How many times have we heard that it is dangerous to bathe after eating because we can suffer from cramps? Practically all of us, when we were children, have heard it. To put an end to the debate, the Scientific Review of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the American Red Cross carried out a study that aimed to put an end to the myth of the danger of bathing and its direct relationship with the increased risk of drowning.
Both the results of the study, as well as those of the study conducted by Dr. Know for the Discovery Health Channel in 2006, debunked that myth, demonstrating that swimming right after eating does not pose any risk to current safety, unless you swim many miles. Are you one of those who waits for a swim or one of those who dives in head first to cool off?
Cultural myths
There are many cultural myths that are passed from generation to generation without questioning where they come from or why. Beliefs that our grandparents and great-grandparents had, that we have learned by repetition and believed unquestioningly. There are many examples of this type of beliefs. For example, that if you swallow a chewing gum, it stays 7 years in your stomach, that if you swallow a watermelon pipe, one will grow in your stomach. If you cross your eyes, they will stay that way, or that if you take a bath while having your period, the bleeding will stop.
All these and thousands of other examples are statements that we have heard from our elders since we were children, and without realizing it, we have been incorporating them into our collective imagination. But the truth is that none of them is true and all of them have been disproved by science.
Debunking myths
There are several studies that have been commissioned to disprove myths and give them a logical explanation, even to interpret where these beliefs could come from or what purpose they had. In the case of bathing after eating, there have also been those interested in studying this phenomenon and, of course, disproving it. This is the case of the Scientific Review of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the American Red Cross. In 2011, it published a report in which it stated that there was no scientific evidence to confirm this myth, after examining the available research in this regard.
What did the researches say?
One of the investigations was carried out with a sample of 24 people. Divided by gender, some ate cereal, toast, sugar, butter and whole milk. After 1 and 2 hours, the two groups swam 200 yards freestyle in 30-minute intervals. It was reported that none of the swimmers experienced cramps, nausea or any other symptoms at any time. On the other hand, in 2006, Dr. Know presented to the Discovery Health Channel a study that explained the following: an individual would have to eat and then swim for miles for those cramps to really appear, and that they could pose a real risk of drowning.
Conclusions
After analyzing the various studies available, one of the most recognized authorities on health and safety, the Red Cross, concluded that there was no risk at all. It explained that swimming pools can be stressful for parents, but that the real issue is the attention that needs to be paid to young children, not the risk of cramps from eating.
“Eating before swimming had no effect on swimming performance and minimal side effects at several different time intervals after a meal,” he explained. This myth has all the appearance of having been created so that the adults could rest or take a nap after eating without having to keep an eye on the children who, logically, did not want to sleep and wanted to return to the water.