Running After Digestion

By: Mujuthaba

If you are part of a physically demanding job or profession, such as professional sports or even in the military, running seems to be the number one physical activity. Running is a very good way to increase your functional capacity of the lungs, heart and blood vessels. Recent studies also show that running is the best mode of exercise for losing fat. Running, not jogging, at its intense, do have some detrimental results sometimes. In this article I will be referring to its effect on the digestive system or the gastro-intestinal tract.

The digestive system is a long tract which starts from the mouth and ends at the rectum. This tract is an average 30 foot (9 meters) long in length. They are made up of muscle tissues (smooth muscles; not skeletal muscles), and obviously functions on nutrient and oxygen availability to these tissues. The digestive system moves the food in the body by contracting these intestinal muscles. So what happens if the digestive system doesn’t get enough nutrients and oxygen?

Running uses much of the largest muscles of the body. This creates excessive flow of blood into muscles of the lower body. This increased blood flow to the legs will be so much in demand, that the blood flow to the other systems of the body is reduced. One such system that loses its blood supply to the lower body is the digestive system. This decreases the nutrient and oxygen flow to the intestines and other secondary digestive organs.

Once the food is ingested, there will be an increased blood flow into the digestive tract. At a demanding time for the digestive system, if one starts to run before digestion of the food is complete, complications start to occur. Such complications as abdominal cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea may occur from running. The recommended time to exercise after a meal is between 1-2 hours. Longer time should be given depending on the meal. In short, time should be given for the food to be digested before going for a run. It is important to note that if you are getting ready for an event, avoid taking high fibre meals, which would take longer to digest. It is best to intake a high GI meal before an event. Even in these cases, appropriate time should be given for the food to digest to avoid complications.

I hope this brief article gives an idea of avoiding a run immediately after a meal. Running maybe the mode that creates the majority of complications in this issue, but this goes for all types of physical activities.