September 07, 2014
Wives Tales that are the Real Deal #13: Eating and Swimming
I know that I ALWAYS hated this wives' tale whenever I heard it:
Wait 45 minutes after eating before going swimming, or else you'll get a cramp.
Sad, but true!
The reason is that your body only has so much blood, so it can only provide oxygen and nutrients to certain organs and muscles at once. When your body is focused on digesting after eating, drawing blood away to power the muscles used for swimming can cause the pains in your digestive system that you register as cramps.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Source: ourbitsandpiecesblog.com[/caption]
Even if the blood flows to your muscles, there is still blood needed in the stomach and digestive tract, so your muscles only get a percentage of the blood flow they need to work. You could end up weakening quickly, which is why it just makes sense to listen to your parents in this case.
As for how long to wait, the time varies according to the size of your meal. You may only need to wait 20 to 30 minutes after snacking, but you may want to wait up to an hour after a big meal.
Source: ourbitsandpiecesblog.com[/caption]
Even if the blood flows to your muscles, there is still blood needed in the stomach and digestive tract, so your muscles only get a percentage of the blood flow they need to work. You could end up weakening quickly, which is why it just makes sense to listen to your parents in this case.
As for how long to wait, the time varies according to the size of your meal. You may only need to wait 20 to 30 minutes after snacking, but you may want to wait up to an hour after a big meal.