Four major misunderstandings about "after meals"

Myth 1: Drinking yogurt after a meal helps digestion

Many people believe that yogurt is rich in probiotics and drinking a cup of it after a meal can help digestion.

But this is not the case. What we often call digestion requires regular gastrointestinal motility and digestive enzymes, but yogurt itself cannot correct the body's irregular gastrointestinal motility, and it does not contain digestive enzymes, so it cannot really help digestion. Yogurt can be regarded as a food with a strong sense of fullness, and many yogurts on the market have a high sugar content. Drinking yogurt after a meal will add extra calories and become more difficult to digest.

Myth 2: You can’t exercise right after a meal

It is not suitable to do very strenuous exercise after a meal, as it may affect gastrointestinal motility and cause some discomfort. However, you can choose relatively mild exercise, such as walking, Tai Chi, etc., which is fine. If you want to do strenuous exercise, you can wait 1 to 2 hours after a meal.

Myth 3: Lying down immediately after a meal will make your stomach bigger

A bigger belly has nothing to do with your posture. There are usually two reasons for a bigger belly: your food intake exceeds your body's needs; you don't get the required amount of exercise.

In simple terms, if you eat a lot and move little for a long time, then no matter what kind of posture you take after a meal, fat may go to your body! As for where the fat grows, it depends on each person's physique. Some people like to grow it on their stomachs, while others grow it on their thighs. On the contrary, if you like to exercise, consume a lot, and control your eating habits, then you will not gain weight no matter how you lie down after a meal.

Myth 4: You can’t eat fruit after a meal

Fruits are much easier to digest than pork, beef, chicken, and duck, and they will not block the digestion of other foods. As long as you can eat and like to eat, you don’t need to be particular about whether to eat fruit before or after meals, and it’s even okay to eat one mouthful of rice and one mouthful of fruit.

Eating some low-sweet but filling fruits before meals can help you lose weight! Just be careful not to eat sweet and high-calorie fruits such as bananas. For those who need to gain weight, it is not recommended to eat fruits before meals. You should eat fruits after you have eaten enough, between meals.