A pharmacist, Lanre Alege, on Saturday urged Nigerians to be wary of seven dangerous acts after meal.
Alege, who is of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), spoke while delivering a lecture at the Kwara Stadium Complex during the monthly keep fit exercise for members of staff of the tertiary health institution.
Acts to avoid, he said, included smoking after meals, eating fruits immediately after meals, drinking tea, loosening the belt, taking bath as well as walking about and sleeping immediately after meals.
“When you eat your fruits with meals, the fruit sticks in the stomach along with the content of the meal and cannot reach the intestine in time.
“Lying there, they get spoilt and spoil the remaining food in the stomach too,’’ he said.
He said fruits should be eaten at least one hour after eating a meal or before a meal, and preferably on an empty stomach.
“It is in the morning that the body can best use the nutrients in the fruit and get enough energy to start the day,’’ he explained.
Alege also said tea leaves contain a high content of acid and that the substance could cause the protein content in the food to be hardened and thus difficult to digest.
He also said that bathing after meals would cause increase of blood flow to the hands, legs and body, causing the amount of blood around the stomach to decrease.
“Loosening the belt after meal is bad, not because it causes the intestine to twist or block, but because it means that you have over eaten to a level that you are uncontrollable.
“ Walking about directly after meal is bad as it can result in acid influx and indigestion,’’ he added.
Alege, who is the coordinator of the keep fit programme, also cautioned against going to sleep immediately after meal, saying the food would not be able to digest immediately.
He also said that this may lead to gastric infection of the intestines.
Alege, who is also the Internal Auditor of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), said smoking a cigarette after meal was comparable to smoking 10 cigarettes, adding that the chances of cancer was higher.
The institution’s Secretary, Mr Philip Tsado, and the Head of Finance and Accounts, Alhaji Musa Babaita, commended the participants for sustaining the programme.
They also commended the management of the institution, the stadium’s authorities and those supporting the programme.
They used the forum to congratulate Prof. Yinka Buhari, who had just been elected as the Chairman of Medical Advisory Committee at the hospital. [NAN]
