swimming after you eat - fact or fiction?

[springbulb81]

Why do people say not to swim after you eat? They it causes cramps, but why? Is this true?

[Tim123]

Put it up there with water going down the plug hole the opposite way in Australia. It's total nonsense.

[4getmenot]

It can cause cramps straight away, but to leave an hour before you swim is fine

[Tim123]

Snopes call it an Old Wives' Tale

http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/hourwait.asp

[springbulb81]

yes but if its true why does it cause cramps? I've never believed it and have always gone swimming after eating on holiday and never had cramps!

[yogasun]

I think the thinking behind it is that directly after a meal the
blood flow increases around the digestive organs and therefore flow to muscles may be reduced leading to cramps. I'm sure this is an old wives' tale that has been handed down the generations (My father was a swimming teacher and swore by it!)

[drdave690]

To Tim 123, "Isn`t ignorance bliss".

The reason for the cramps, is the reduced oxygenated blood flow to the skeletal muscles. Its oxygen reserves need to be replaced otherwise "Oxygen debt" sets in.....Cramps

[Tim123]

"Isn`t ignorance bliss"

Isn't it just? Like those who cite the Coriolis force to explain why water 'ought' to go down the plughole the opposite way in Australia, you have given a reason why swimming after eating 'ought' to cause cramps.

The only problem is, it doesn't. If your body needs oxygenated blood for both the digestive system and the skeletal muscles, it sends it to the muscles, and lets digestion wait. It might make you feel bloated and sluggish, but it won't cause cramps. You never hear this nonsense spouted about (say) cycling, even though a sudden attack of cramp while riding a bike down a steep hill would be just as dangerous, if not more so.

There is no record of anyone ever dying as a result of cramps caused by swimming after eating. Ever.