Fatigue After Eating

A feeling of fatigue is referred by various terms such as lethargy, tiredness, and exhaustion. Fatigue can be of two types namely, mental fatigue, and physical fatigue which is also called muscle weakness. You will be surprised to know that fatigue is actually a symptom and not a disease. The sole reason for this is that fatigue is something that is reported by a patient and not something observed by a doctor. Fatigue after eating a heavy meal that is observed only occasionally, is perfectly all right. However, some people tend to feel lethargic after each and every meal, which certainly makes it a cause of concern, because that signals a disorder in the body.

Symptoms of Fatigue After Eating

Tiredness after eating is accompanied by many other symptoms like stomach pain, diarrhea, bloating, nausea, stomach cramps, loss of energy, lack of concentration, nervousness, vomiting, confusion, and irritability. Several other symptoms of fatigue are also seen such as muscle weakness, feeling sleepy, decreased level of consciousness and many more. It is a symptom of a disease or a dysfunction in itself. Food is our only source of energy and if a person is feeling tired after eating, then one cannot deny the possibility that yes, there is something that needs to be checked out here.

Causes of Fatigue After a Meal

Besides a list of reasons that contribute to feeling exhausted after a meal, the most important reason is sugar. The following will list out the primary causes behind tiredness after eating.

Sugar
When you ingest sugar into your body, it releases a small amount of energy, however, this is not long-lasting, in fact, your body was better off with a low level of glucose which was at a constant than after the sugar intake. Because now what happens is that after the small burst of energy there is again a slump which takes the body by surprise, resulting in you actually be shocked into fatigue and sleepiness.

Brain Drain
A normal healthy meal is going to account for that slight fatigue that you're experiencing because your brain has diverted most of the blood that's in your body toward your digestive system. Now to add to that if you consume a high fat meal, then your digestive system's going to have to work extra trying to digest that food, which means more blood diverted there, resulting in unbearable fatigue.

Circadian Rhythm
People do suffer from depression sometimes and that has a major role to play in feeling fatigue after eating as well. Here's how it works, depression makes you overeat one day and the next day you hardly nibble on a bite, or you're supposed to be feeling sleepy, but you're wide awake. This is your pituitary gland gone haywire because it's now unable to control the processes of your body, hence, when it's time for you to sleep you're going to be eating which is going to cause a strain in your body that will no doubt contribute to your fatigue after eating.

Food Allergies
It was suggested by doctors that a very probable culprit for fatigue after a meal is a food allergy. According to their analysis, if a mildly allergic food was consumed by a person, the cytokines in the body tend to treat the food as an invading foreign substance, thus prompting them to attack the food, however, the results wouldn't be apparent enough to produce visible signs such as hives, however, they would be enough to warrant a major energy crisis in the form of fatigue in the body.

Having heavy meals loaded with excessive sugar can cause fatigue along with stomach pain after eating. Over-stimulation, working, stress, anxiety, job stress, under-stimulation, overeating, lack of sleep, jet lag, boredom and lack of body movements can cause fatigue after eating.

Mostly, fatigue is temporary that fades away just like the common cold, but sometimes symptoms that can indicate chronic fatigue syndrome can arise and make a person susceptible to various medical conditions. On the other hand, fatigue after eating can be one of the most alarming symptoms of different medical conditions such as depression or an autoimmune disease, to even something really serious such as a heart disease.

Prevention and Treatment of Fatigue After Eating

If a person is feeling tired after eating only once or twice, it can be cured after getting a good rest for some time. But fatigue after eating every meal and that too on a regular basis, does need a serious change in daily habits. The first thing is to change your daily diet into a healthy diet plan. Heavy meals with large portions of sugary and floury items need to be avoided by those who are suffering with fatigue after eating. Our body is not built to process huge amounts of food at one time, it's just us giving into our greed. It is said that carbohydrates need to be taken in small quantities only after every 3 hours, as that provides the right amount of fuel that we need to carry us through the day.

Exercising should become an important part of out daily routine because it keeps the metabolism running, so that nothing is stored in excess. Avoiding indigestion by drinking plenty of water or lemon juice can prove beneficial. Consuming a high fiber diet with loads of fresh vegetables and fruits can also prevent fatigue after eating.

If you suffer from dizziness, stomach problems, and abdominal pain after eating, you have to make several important lifestyle changes like not starting work right after a meal, avoiding fast food, having a proper and heavy breakfast, and following a balanced diet in small portions, 5 to 6 times a day. Exercising for 30 minutes everyday can alleviate the problem of feeling tired after eating. Try to follow the aforementioned guidelines and I am sure the results will be more than what you desired for alleviating your fatigue.