Is it true that you shouldn't swim after eating?

Every child knows the rule: you have to take a two-hour break after eating before you can go into the water. Otherwise you risk stomach cramps and drowning. Truth or myth?

First of all, I can give the all-clear: There is no proven link between sudden stomach cramps and eating before bathing. But the fact is that when we eat food, enzymes break down the nutrients so that they can be absorbed by the stomach wall. The entire stomach area is supplied with more blood and stomach acid is produced. All this leads to the rest of the body being less efficient. Just think about how you lay on the sofa with a full stomach after your last raclette. Sport seemed impossible, didn't it?

Not every meal makes you tired

The good news is that sluggishness after eating depends on the food itself and the nutrients it contains. While fats and long-chain carbohydrates, such as those found in pasta and potatoes, take longer to break down, simple sugars such as glucose and fructose are absorbed by the body without being broken down. The energy is immediately available to the body.
Put simply, while the stomach needs a lot of energy to digest fatty foods, foods with a high sugar and protein content are absorbed relatively quickly. Fats serve as long-term energy reserves, while short-chain carbohydrates and proteins are fast energy suppliers that can also be broken down more quickly.

How much break with which snack?

What does this mean for swimming? After a sumptuous meal, such as a large portion of pasta with cream sauce, chips or a hamburger, you should really give your body a breather of one to two hours.
For smaller meals, a break of 30 to 60 minutes is usually enough . It's worth listening to your body - do you feel full and tired? Then it's definitely not swimming time yet. Is your child actively jumping around? Then most of it is probably digested. Unless you have a child who is ALWAYS active - then you should give them a compulsory break and keep an eye on the clock.

Light snacks and the obligatory ice cream are no problem. On the contrary: if you swim on an empty stomach, you run the risk of dizziness or fainting spells.
Picture: Fotolia

Optimal swimming provisions:

Small, healthy meals and snacks in the pool:

  •  Früchte
  • Gemüse
  • Vollkornbrot / kleine Sandwiches
  • Getreide- und Müsliriegel
  • Knäckebrot und Cracker
  • Nüsse 
  • Käse
  • Dörrfrüchte
  • Wasser und ungesüsster Tee
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About the author

Nadja Winter ist Schwimmschulinhaberin und Kursleiterin in Glarus. Die Mutter von drei Kindern ist gelernte Pharma-Betriebsassistentin und hat in Zusammenarbeit mit swimsports.ch ein
Nadja Winter is a swimming school owner and course instructor in Glarus. The mother of three children is a qualified pharmaceutical business assistant and has published a teaching aid on learning to swim in collaboration with swimsports.ch. At www.gumpifrosch-lernt-schwimmen.ch, she informs parents about the dangers in the water and the learning processes involved in swimming.

Read more:

  • Why is learning to swim so important in Switzerland and how difficult is it really? Interview with Nadja Winter
  • When can children go to the pool alone? Nadja Winter helps you decide.