Many of us exercise to feel good. Some people get “Runner’s High” after training, but unfortunately others leave the gym with nausea. This is usually temporary, but it can still be unpleasant.
Fortunately, there are some good explanations for why this happens. So if this happens, don’t worry.
Exercise increases blood flow to the muscles, brain, lungs, and heart.
This increase in blood flow is caused by the sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system (which helps regulate all of our involuntary physical reactions such as heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion). This is done by widening the arteries to allow these tissues to carry more blood.
However, the sympathetic nervous system usually drives the “fight or flight” mechanism, simultaneously narrowing blood vessels that enter the gastrointestinal system (such as the stomach) by up to 80% during intense training.
This is due to the limited amount of blood in the body. The increase in oxygen demand by some tissues can only be met by changing the amount of blood sent to other tissues.
This means that blood supply may be reduced in areas that do not currently require as much oxygen at that time. This is true regardless of whether you have eaten recently.
But let’s say you recently ate before going to the gym or running. When we eat, food stretches the stomach and releases the acids and enzymes needed to digest the food.
The muscles of the stomach also become active during digestion, increasing the demand for oxygen and blood flow to the stomach and other gastrointestinal tissues. Another part of the autonomic nervous system increases blood flow to the gastrointestinal structure when they need to be active.
Significant physical conflicts from various tissues that require oxygen can be one of the reasons for nausea during or after training. As demand changes, the body needs to adapt blood flow to tissues.
Therefore, when exercising, blood needs to flow to the muscles, heart, lungs, and brain. This means that even if you are currently digesting supper, blood flow will decrease in less active tissues such as the gastrointestinal tract. Decreased blood flow in this area stimulates the nerves of the intestines, which in turn causes nausea.
In addition to this, the stomach and other abdominal organs can also be compressed during exercise, which can further contribute to the sensation of nausea. This is especially a problem when crouching. As the heart rate and oxygen demand in the tissue increase, the body draws large amounts of air into the lungs.
This causes the diaphragm (below the ribs) to push down on the abdominal organs more strongly. Other muscles, such as the abdominal wall muscles, also help, putting more pressure on the abdominal organs with each breath. This can cause serious nausea and vomiting, even on an empty stomach.
Some evidence suggests that exercise, especially long-distance running and other endurance events, can damage the lining of the stomach. This is probably due to a decrease in blood flow and oxygen available to the organs. This also causes nausea.
In extreme situations, this can cause bleeding of the lining of the stomach, especially in endurance and long-distance athletes.
When to eat
If you exercise immediately or within an hour of eating, you are more likely to experience nausea, regardless of exercise level or intensity.
It takes about 2 hours for the solid food to break down in the stomach and enter the small intestine, so if you feel nausea after exercising, it’s a good idea to wait at least 2 hours after eating.
What you eat before training also determines whether you experience nausea. High fiber, fat, and even high protein foods are all associated with an increased likelihood of nausea after training.
Supplemental proteins, especially whey and shakes, also slow down digestion. This can cause nausea during training as the stomach tries to digest the nausea.
Certain fats, especially saturated fats, can induce nausea in different ways. In animal models, it stimulates and damages the inner wall of the gastrointestinal tract, activating nerves in the inner wall of the stomach and connecting to the vomiting center of the medulla oblongata. brain.
Ingestion of sports drinks and other high-carb drinks (juice, energy drinks, soda, etc.) can also lead to nausea during and after training. This may be due to the fact that these drinks are very slow to digest and stay in the stomach longer than other drinks.
If you frequently experience nausea after training, there are a few things you can do. First, change or reduce your regular workouts and slowly increase your intensity. This is because the longer you train, the more blood is consistently drawn from your stomach.
Make sure you drink plenty of water before and after training. Too little or too much can cause nausea for a variety of reasons.
When it comes to eating, avoid it 2 hours in advance and choose the right foods such as high quality carbohydrates (such as bananas and sweet potatoes), proteins, and unsaturated fats (such as nuts). Not only do they fuel the body, they are not as difficult to digest as other foods if you plan to exercise.
Adam Taylor, Professor and Director of the Center for Clinical Anatomy Learning, Lancaster University.
This article has been republished from Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Please read the original article.
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