Why Do I Feel Tired After Eating?

For people with active lifestyles, food – aside from health supplements – gives them the right amount of energy to get them through the day. A typical person would start his or hers with light breakfast which is just enough to wake the senses and fuel the body for a busy morning. At noontime, he or she will eat again, this time to sustain energy until the day ends. However, other people, instead of feeling alert after a meal, feel sluggish and tired. Are you one of them?

While some believe that this is a normal reaction of the body during digestion, there are actually many possible reasons why you could get tired after eating. Each is dependent on several factors which could include pre-existing conditions in your body. Feeling tired after eating on few occasions is hardly alarming, but recurring symptoms is something you should look into. Learn the possible causes for this ironic body reaction from other people and find out which of these can you relate with most.

Suspect #1: Starchy Meals

Lisa, a 52-year old female, always feels sleepy after eating a starchy or sugary meal high in carbohydrates, such as bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, cookies, soda, and other sweets. Feeling alarmed, she sought the advice of a friend who told her that it was just natural reaction of the body especially after meal time, given her age. Was her friend correct?

True, feeling tired after sleeping is a natural reaction of the body – but not because of age. In Lisa’s case, this condition is brought upon by the orexin neuron – a neuron responsible for stimulating wakefulness and energy expenditure. Eating a high-carb meal increases a person’s blood sugar level, and when it does, the orexin neuron is inhibited from doing its job. Most likely, Lisa’s starchy meal triggered this reaction in her body, causing her to feel tired after eating.

Suspect # 2: Food intolerance or allergy

There are a lot of people whose body mechanism is not built to tolerate certain kinds of food, and Valerie is one them. A young adult, Val has suffered from food allergies since childhood. Some foods give her rashes, others chronic constipation, while most leave her feeling tired and cranky.

Food allergies and intolerances contribute to tiredness in a several ways. First, they can cause an irritation to the intestinal lining which could lead to malabsorption, called the leaky gut syndrome. Also, a person who has eaten a certain kind of food the body cannot process would unnecessarily place a burden on the digestive system. To cope with food intolerance and allergies, Valerie’s body would then use up most of her energy, leaving her bushed.

Suspect # 3: Liver Congestion

Kyle is a middle-aged man with an unhealthy lifestyle. He ate what he wanted, as much as he wanted. He thought it normal to feel tired after eating, but apparently it was already a symptom of what was about to come. His energy level fluctuated throughout the day, especially after breakfast and lunch. Then, he was diagnosed with liver congestion.
This is probably one of the most serious reasons why your energy level is unusually low after eating. If the liver becomes congested, the body’s fluids will be polluted and its toxin level will rise. To cope, your eliminative organs will have to work double time. This internal struggle to combat liver congestion left Kyle tired after every meal, a symptom which should not be ignored.

Each of us have different body reactions after eating; some may feel full of energy while others do not. To experience the former rather than the latter, preventive measures are called for. To avoid tiredness after eating, a healthy diet and an active lifestyle should be practiced at all times.