As we all know, good food is very important for healthy living but there are certain things you should avoid right after you eat in order to avoid indigestion, discomfort, and absorption of nutrients.

Long life is a function of what we consume. So for us to have longer life on earth, we need to watch what we eat as well as watch what we do immediately after eating. A lot of people may be eating healthy foods, but how they eat it and what they do after eating plays an important role in the overall well-being of an individual.

Did you know that some things we do after eating can have serious consequences on our health? As much as we love indulging in a nice nap after a meal, it’s actually a really bad habit!

Here are 7 things to avoid after eating a meal to prolong your life span:

Do not drink cold water

A lot of people are guilty of this. Water is essential for proper digestion but drinking chilled water immediately after a meal leads to clumping of food, thereby hindering the process of food digestion. If digestion was like fire then cold water is like an extinguisher.

Sleeping

I know eating can be exhausting and that you deserve a rest after tackling that huge plate of food but resist temptation for at least a few hours.

Going to bed or taking a nap right after eating often cause discomfort, gas pains, and bad sleep. Studies show that people who go to bed hours after having a meal have less chances of suffering from a stroke or heart attack. Laying down after eating causes your stomach to burn excessively, leading to discomfort and sleeping irregularities.

Smoking Cigarettes

If you go ahead and smoke right after a meal, the nicotine binds to the excess oxygen that is required in digestion, allowing your body to absorb more carcinogens than usual.

No matter how satisfying a good smoke is after an even better meal may seem your body needs to digest properly after eating. Unfortunately, this is a wildly popular habit amongst smokers. Studies have said that the damage from smoking one cigarette after a meal is the same as smoking 10 cigarettes at once.

Taking a Shower

When you take a shower, blood rushes to your hands and legs meaning that there is less blood flow to your stomach, leading to incapacity of the body to absorb the necessary ingredients. If you take a bath after eating, the blood flow again back towards hands, legs, and body. So the amount of blood will decrease around the stomach area, thereby weakening the digestive system and causing slow digestion. Therefore, either take a shower before your meal, or wait for at least 1-2 hours till the consumed food is digested.

Eating Fruit after a meal

Fruit is best to consumed on an empty stomach, not after a big meal. The stomach has trouble digesting fruit which means you won’t get the essential nutrients! When you eat a fruit after a meal, it will get stuck with the food, and will not travel in time to the intestines and getting spoiled as a result, thus spoiling food too which was taken along with them.

Drinking Tea or coffee

This is one of the food or beverages that should be taken before food like the fruits because tea or coffee right after eating, you’re preventing your body to absorb iron from food.

If you drink tea right after eating, you’re preventing your body to absorb iron from food. The absorption of iron reduces by 87% and can result in anemia, pale skin, cold hands and feet, dizziness, and loss of appetite.

 Loosening the belt after meal

The fact is that it is bad, not just for your intestines or stomach. It’s a sign that you’ve eaten a lot more than was necessary is very bad. Although there is lack of scientific evidence, it is believed that loosening the waist belt immediately after eating might cause the intestines to get tangled and blocked, hampering the process of digestion. To prevent this, remember to loosen the belt prior to every meal.