You have just enjoyed a delicious lunch and you return to work to finish the rest of your day with a very satisfied belly. You sit back down at your desk and as you attempt to resume your work, you find that you can’t keep your eyes open! You are constantly nodding off. You get up, walk around your office and try to “shake it off”…Despite all your attempts at staying conscious, you can’t. You may ultimately resign to a teeny nap (if you have a private office)…or you go for the coffee…or better yet, the “5 Hour Energy” shots. You are the victim of a Food Coma! AKA “Post-Prandial Somnolence”
The experience above is SO very familiar to me. I once constantly battled food comas almost on a daily basis. I decided to do some research and figure out what causes a food coma, and how to avoid it. Fortunately I have learned the causes of food coma and have been successful at avoiding it for a while now. My hopes are that this article will help you overcome the food coma and stay alert after lunch!
First, we will start with the misconception:
“A food coma is the result of eating too much food and the blood rushing from your brain to your belly to digest”
This is NOT true!
Here is a very scientific excerpt from Wikipedia debunking this myth:
Myths about the causes of post-prandial somnolence
Cerebral blood flow and oxygen delivery
Although the passage of food into the gastrointestinal tract results in increased blood flow to the stomach and intestines, this is achieved by diversion of blood primarily from skeletal muscle tissue and by increasing the volume of blood pumped forward by the heart each minute. The flow of oxygen and blood to the brain is extremely tightly regulated by the circulatory system and does not drop after a meal[9], and is not a cause of post-meal sleepiness.[10]
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postprandial_somnolence
So…on to what really causes a Food Coma…Since Wikipedia’s definition was WAY too Scientific to be understood by most, I referenced Scientific American for a more digestible explanation:
“What is the link between eating a big meal and feeling sleepy? The process begins as food hits the stomach and small intestine. Eating stimulates activity in the parasympathetic nervous system, which tells your body to slow down and digest. The more food you consume, the more the parasympathetic nervous system revs up, causing your body to focus the bulk of its energy on digestion.
Although large quantities of any food can cause a food coma, common table sugar, or sucrose, found in desserts tends to be the main culprit. As food breaks down into glucose—the simplest form of sugar, which the body uses for fuel—you will experience a surge in blood sugar. To counter this spike, your body releases the hormone insulin. Insulin helps to mop up the excess glucose in the blood and returns levels to normal. The increase in insulin also causes your brain to produce more serotonin and melatonin—two neurochemicals that can leave you feeling drowsy. Luckily, this sleepy sensation does not last long—it usually passes after an hour or so.”
-http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-do-i-get-a-slump-in-mental-energy
To simplify, a Food Coma is caused by consuming a large meal, especially one consisting of simple carbs. White bread, pasta (non wholegrain), white tortillas, fries, hamburger buns, etc. are examples of the type of carbs that can cause a Food Coma. If you eat a large pasta dish at lunch, you can expect to feel very sleepy afterwards.
How to avoid a Food Coma:
1. Maintain portion control…do not eat a large meal
2. Replace simple carbs with complex carbs…eat wheat or whole grain breads and pastas
3. Go Naked! Do the “Naked” Taco Salad or burrito and omit the high carb tortilla
4. Choose a meal high in protein. This is will give you a solid energy lift that will maintain through the day
5. Eat your Veggies! Vegetables provide natural sugar, digest slower, and support your energy
How to Survive a Food Coma:
1. This will last atleast 1 hour
2. Get mobile…walk around, run, do jumping jacks, just move!
3. Talk! Call up a coworker or relative and just get talking
4. Don’t cave to the desires of a nap. Coffee or Sodas won’t fix it but if it makes you feel better, go for it
Free radicals are also found in our environment (pollution, foods, chemicals). Free radicals are unstable molecules because they are missing an electron. The reason they cause damage, is because they are bouncing around in our bodies trying to steal an electron from nearby healthy cells. Our cells are constantly being attacked…it is estimated that our cells experience 10,000 hits from free radicals daily. Antioxidants are the “foot soldiers in the battle to disarm free radicals in our body”. They neutralize free radicals by giving up an electron to the free radicals. In doing so, the free radicals are no longer a threat to our health. 
