March 05, 2014: Many of us have some peculiar habits, like taking a stroll in the office campus after lunch or drinking tea/coffee or even smoking a cigar after meals. Have you ever thought about what can be the effects of these things on our body? Let's find out...

1. Smoking: Smoking after meals or snacks hampers the nutrient absorption, which means, you eat good food, but your body is starved for nutrients like vitamins (especially vitamin C, D & E) and minerals.

2. Post lunch or post dinner coffee: There are many people who drink either tea or coffee after the major meals. The tannin and caffeine present in tea and coffee respectively, act as hindrance factors for iron absorption.

3. Walking or Exercising: Walking fast or exercising within the first 2 hours after meals is not recommended as it diverts the blood circulation towards the limbs, so the blood flow to the digestive system is hampered. This may cause abdominal discomfort sometimes.

4. Lying down: Sleeping immediately after dinner is commonly seen in many households. Being in a horizontal position makes the food which you have eaten to regurgitate (the indigested food comes back from the food pipe). When a person eats food, he/she should sit straight instead of lying down. There should be a gap of 2-3 hours between the meals and sleeping time.

5. Bathing: Bathing after meals is not a good idea. The blood supply is diverted from the digestive system to other parts of the body, hindering the digestion process.

Make sure your body is able to digest the food that you eat, and is able to absorb the digested nutrients for its wellbeing! You need food, your body needs nutrients!