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You return to work after a tasty lunch. A new project sits on your desk. Rather than feeling ready to tackle it, you feel ready to take a nap. You feel tired after filling your belly, and have zero umph or inspiration. With a cloudy head and lunch in your gut you struggle to keep your eyes open, to plug on through.
After a big meal, like Thanksgiving or Christmas day, it's normal to feel tired. Feeling fatigued after every meal, on the other hand, is frustrating, especially when you've got a deadline to meet. Food is supposed to energize you. But if food frequently makes you drowsy, there's something wrong. Postprandial drowsiness isn't just an annoyance in Ayurveda, it's one of the most important warning signs your body uses to tell you it needs help.
For kapha individuals, fatigue after eating is the first and most important sign that you have a Kapha imbalance. Kapha is one of the three body types in Ayurveda. It is the body type most often associated with heaviness. A kapha imbalance could mean you are gaining weight, that mucus is building up in your respiratory tract, or even that your blood sugar levels, triglycerides or cholesterol levels are elevated. Attentiveness to this single symptom can help Kapha individuals avoid or regulate these conditions. It could mean that your metabolism is too slow or sluggish to digest the food. It could be a sign of poor circulation. Finally, feeling tired after eating could mean that you have too much mucus in your stomach. Ayurveda pays close attention early warning signs like fatigue after eating. Self-awareness up-front prevents disease and keeps your body vital and healthy.
So if food makes you tired how do you lighten up and regain your zeal? What will restore your mental alertness and motivation? To begin, check your portions. Larger portions make you tired. According to Ayurveda you should eat no more than what would fit in your two hands if they were a bowl. Digestion takes a lot of energy. If you overeat you will strain your metabolism. Your gut will slave away trying to digest the enormous portion. If you feel tired after a meal, recall what you ate and adjust accordingly.
Eat only when truly hungry. Don't force yourself to eat breakfast if you aren't hungry. Instead, make a nice cup of ginger tea. If your digestive tract is backed up with old food, it might need a break to get caught up and detox. Fasting for a day can be beneficial if you're otherwise healthy and strong. Eating a simple meal like kitchari for 3-5 days can also help give your gut a breather.
Next look at what you're eating. Heavy foods like wheat, dairy, sugar and red meat make you tired, Try lighter foods like salad, spelt bread, or vegetables. Instead of pizza or a sandwich, opt for soup. Use fresh herbs like parsley, oregano and thyme to keep your meal zesty. Seek out the foods which energize you.
Favor foods with bitter flavor - like dandelion greens, arugula and kale. These foods stimulate movement in your digestive track - freshening it up so to speak. Eat your food warm and well spiced - especially if you tend to have sluggish digestion. Digestive spices like ginger, cardamom, mint and black pepper can help put the pep back in your step. And speaking of step, take a short walk after meals to stimulate blood flow and metabolism. These spices can also break up excess mucus in your GI tract.
You can also try these Joyful Belly Formulas to put the spring back your step: Digestive Bitters, CCF.
Food is medicine, and well-designed recipes function as gentle herbal formulas.
The recipes below highlight biocharacteristics and ingredients that may support Tired after eating
from a Classical Metabolic Theory perspective*.
Because every person is unique, certain recipes may support your body more effectively than others.
Choose according to your constitution.
Suggestions are not strict, reflecting the real world need for variety and balance in diet.
As always, please consult your medical doctor before making any changes to your diet or wellness plan.
Augment your diet with these specially chosen ingredients below which may be useful for 'Tired after eating'.
Individual results vary depending on the cause of your imbalance and by constitution.
Please research the ingredients below to find which are most helpful for you, and check with your doctor before making any changes to your health and wellness routine.
A vasodilator is an herb that widens the blood vessels by the relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, thereby increasing circulation systemically or to a local area.
Herbs or spices with volatile essential oils that present strong aromas. Aromatic oils shock, refresh and numb tissue, with the end result of relaxing, opening and clearing stagnant fluids in tissues.
A vasodilator is an herb that widens the blood vessels by the relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, thereby increasing circulation systemically or to a local area.
Herbs or spices with volatile essential oils that present strong aromas. Aromatic oils shock, refresh and numb tissue, with the end result of relaxing, opening and clearing stagnant fluids in tissues.
DISCLAIMER: The pathogenesis of each person's condition is unique, and so the diet must be fit to the individual and the unique root causes of the condition in your body.
The information on this page is for educational purposes only and should not be used to treat a medical condition. It is not a substitute for medical care.
Please check with your doctor before making any changes to your health and wellness routine.
A vasodilator is an herb that widens the blood vessels by the relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, thereby increasing circulation systemically or to a local area.
Herbs or spices with volatile essential oils that present strong aromas. Aromatic oils shock, refresh and numb tissue, with the end result of relaxing, opening and clearing stagnant fluids in tissues.
TIRED AFTER EATING IS IN STAGE OF DISEASE #1 - AFFECTING DIGESTION
If you have symptoms in this category, your body is sending you a warning sign.
Since digestion is so metabolically intensive and sensitive to stress and emotions, the earliest warning signs of imbalance usually appear in the digestive tract first.
You may have gas and bloating, for example, or acid reflux.
Ayurveda recommends paying careful, close attention to warning signs.
They indicate that an imbalance is starting to accumulate.
Correct these warning signs before they accumulate further and weaken your body's resistance.
This is usually accomplished by removing diet and lifestyle habits that aggravate your imbalanced doshas and biocharacteristics.
(See all disease stages on JB)
AVOID DIETS, LIFESTYLES & HERBS THAT AGGRAVATE THESE BIOCHARACTERISTICS
According to Personalized Medicine Systems (Ayurveda and Greek medicine), aggravation of any of these
body types
and biocharacteristics may lead to 'Tired after eating'.
Reduce the foods and lifestyle habits that aggravate these qualities (when dystempered).
Click on the biocharacteristic to learn what foods and
lifestyle habits should be reduced.
Symptoms Tell A Story
The first step to healing is learning patterns from your symptoms.
Symptoms are clues that reveal underlying imbalances.
Symptoms show you where your body is weakened.
Ultimately, all disease has a root in tissues too weak to defend itself.
Ayurveda describes these patterns of weakness using doshas & biocharacteristics.
If you notice a biocharacteristic or dosha appears next to many of your symptoms,
it helps you establish a pattern that may be systemic.
SOME (NOT ALL) HEAVY FOODS MAY AGGRAVATE TIRED AFTER EATING
FIND OUT
Status Unknown
Take these quizzes
to find out if you have an imbalance of 'Heavy' guna.
OILY
ABOUT OILY BIOCHARACTERISTIC
In Ayurveda, oily refers to anything moistening. More specifically, oily refers to building substances that increases fat, or are themselves fatty. For example, sugar is Oily.
The following symptoms & habits may be related to 'Tired after eating'.
See your quiz results for a computerized assessment of your body type.
Please click on the symptoms below to learn more about them.
Risk Factor: 10% less often Complication: +2.1 times as often
Please login or create a free account to see statistics filtered on Tired after eating and Slow, heavy digestion.
Biocharacteristics of 19,124 People Reporting Tired after eating
On average the biocharacteristics
of people reporting Tired after eating were less aggravated than 66% of other symptoms.
From the 19,124 people who reported Tired after eating
average deviation in biocharacteristic levels were the following:
Please login or create a free account to see statistics filtered on Tired after eating and Pitta.
24.8% avg client level
27.5% (5,254) of cases
10,540 have Pitta constitution
Risk Factors of Tired after eating
Below you will see general risk factors as well as the greatest risk factors, i.e. those who were also more likely to report Tired after eating.
Overall, 47.80% of people surveyed reported Tired after eating.
Please login or create a free account to see statistics filtered on Tired after eating and Chronic Infection.
894 cases with both
+1.3 times more likely
5% of cases
3.94% (1,413 cases)
DISCOVER YOUR BODY WITH YOUR FREE INDIVIDUALIZED BODY MAP
Find ideal foods, herbs and lifestyle tips.
See your imbalances, and locate intervention points.
Your body map contains a complete analysis of your Ayurvedic imbalances, organ by organ.
Give your chart to your functional medical doctor or any alternative health practitioner.
Ayurveda strengthens the body while opposing disorders. It takes a holistic,
systemic approach that looks at the whole body. Ayurveda
shows how to interpret signs and symptoms of imbalance, and how to address them
using diet, lifestyle adjustments, and herbs. It shows a person how to optimize their health on a continual basis. You can't
take the doctor home with you, but you can take Ayurveda home with you.
Ayurveda is the most advanced and easy to use home system for self healing.
HOW DOES AYURVEDA WORK?
Ayurveda starts by identifying your body type,
which identifies certain tendencies in your body to get sick (as well as identifying your strengths).
It uses body type to determine the likely root causes of your disorders.
Next, Ayurveda analyzes the nature of your disorder.
It fits all your signs and symptoms into a pattern, expressed as a combination of biocharacteristics (gunas).
For example, you may have a heat disorder, a cold disorder, or an oily disorder, etc.
This simple categorical approach shows you how to correct systemic imbalances and strengthen your body as a whole.
On Joyful Belly, we've created an extensive categorization of food so you can easily match food to your imbalanced biocharacteristics.
By eating an optimal diet that balances your biocharacteristics, your whole body is strengthened
and the conditions that created the disorder are removed. Once the root causes of the disease
are removed, the disease lessens in strength or disappears altogether. Additional remedies -
such as herbs and lifestyle practices - focused on the specific disorder, can greatly enhance
your healing.
GET STARTED
To get started on your Ayurvedic journey, we first recommend that your find your body
type by taking our free quiz. In Ayurveda, every solution is based on your unique body type, so
by taking this quiz, you’ll get the best results.
5 WAYS TO HEAL YOUR BODY WITH AYURVEDA - FREE REPORT!
New to Ayurveda? Not sure how Ayurveda can help you?
This free report shows you 5 simple ways you can heal your body with Ayurveda.
It shows you simple, practical ways manage your health.
John Immel, the founder of Joyful Belly, offers
professional clinical training
in personalized diet, lifestyle and herbs through Classical Metabolic Theory (Ayurveda & Greek Medicine).
His approach is clinical, yet exudes an ease which many find enjoyable and insightful.
John's hobbies & specialties include advanced digestive disorders,
classical Christian philosophy for mental wellness, languages (French, Arabic, Bengali), cooking & botany.
He holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Harvard University.
John, his wife Natalie, and their 8 kids live in Asheville, NC.
Founder of Joyful Belly Ayurveda, John Immel, answers the question ‘What is Ayurveda?’
Comments & Questions
How does 'tired after eating' affect your quality of life?
What aggravates it? What has helped you? Is there something else you'd like to know about 'tired after eating'?
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* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
The information and products on this website are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any
disease.