Tiredness after the meal

Tiredness after eating is not necessarily a cause for concern. Many people feel the need to rest for a short time after eating. This is because the gastrointestinal tract becomes active and starts digesting.

During this time, this part of the body is better supplied with blood and needs more energy. The blood is used to remove nutrients that are absorbed through the intestinal mucosa and released into the blood. The blood volume and the oxygen that is transported by the blood is then lacking elsewhere, which is noticeable by tiredness.

However, fatigue after eating can also have other causes. If the meal is very rich in carbohydrates, the body then releases insulin. This is a hormone that regulates the body’s sugar balance and controls the absorption of sugar into the body’s cells.

Some people have a tendency to excess insulin secretion after carbohydrate-rich meals. This leads to a very rapid drop in blood sugar levels and, as a result, to hypoglycemia. However, since the metabolically active body cells need a lot of sugar in order to work efficiently, fatigue develops.

Last but not least, tiredness after eating can also be caused by components of the food.This is especially true for foods that contain a lot of tryptophan (an amino acid), such as meat and sausage, various types of cheese, peanuts and hazelnuts, fish, eggs and legumes. Tryptophan is absorbed by the body and converted into serotonin. Serotonin is an important messenger substance in the brain and has, for example, a mood-lifting effect.

However, it can also cause fatigue, which is why this can occur after eating very tryptophane-rich foods. Even very high-fat meals lead to increased tiredness, as they require a particularly high digestive effort. A walk after a meal, on the other hand, can prevent leaden fatigue and additionally stimulates digestion. After a meal, it is therefore normal in parts that you are always tired.