Have you ever caught a cold after eating a meal? The potential causes include – Dysautonomia, Diabetes, Hypothyroidism, Anemia, infection, and more.
When digestion becomes a tough process for your body, it results in increased internal temperature.
Frequently feeling cold or suffering from a cold after eating could be a symptom of a medical condition.
In today’s blog, we’ll learn about all the primary causes of this condition. However, before jumping to the causes, let’s first learn about the relation between eating and temperature change. Here we go!
How Does Eating Affect Body Temperature?
During the warm summer days, you might want to drink a chilled beverage to cool you down. However, on a cold day, you find yourself wanting to eat hot steaming soup to give you warmth. Certain food items affect your body’s temperature, however, not directly.
Different foods react differently with your body. Their distinct reactions cause contrasting temperature changes. Below are some examples that will help you understand this better.
- Complex carbohydrates present inside whole grains like rice makes it tough for your body to digest. Therefore, they offer a warm effect
- Consuming alcohol dehydrates you and thus reduces your body’s core temperature
- When you eat watermelon, your body temperature goes down. It is because there’s a lot of water present inside the fruit
- The same concept of watermelon is applied with dark and leafy greens
When food enters your body, the digestion process gets started. The digestion process slightly affects your body’s inner temperature.
However, when your body temperature changes drastically, especially if you feel cold after eating, it could be a symptom of some other issues. It’s time we learn about all the potential causes of body temperature change after eating.
Top Reasons to Feel Cold After Eating
There are numerous possibilities for why you get cold after eating. For example, if you immediately eat a meal after a workout session, it might make you cold. Here are some more causes behind this condition. Make sure to give a thorough read!
Dysautonomia
Dysautonomia is defined as an autonomic nervous system disorder that makes people experience the feeling of sudden cold and hotness. Individuals with dysautonomia often misinterpret their body temperature. However, dysautonomia patients don’t experience these temperature swings only after eating.
Temperature swings can happen anytime, whether in the morning or at night. Therefore, if you feel cold after eating a meal, there could be a possibility that you might be suffering from dysautonomia. Thus, getting yourself checked with a doctor becomes crucial.
Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism is a health condition in which a person’s thyroid becomes underactive. Due to this, the thyroid loses its capability to produce enough enzymes and hormones. Hypothyroidism directly affects our metabolism, making it slow.
If your metabolism is slow, you’ll obviously feel cold after eating. It’s because your body needs the energy to carry on the digestion process. Slow metabolism means less energy, thus slow digestion.
Now you might ask – how would I know if I’m suffering from hypothyroidism? Individuals with these health conditions often have cold feet and hands, even in summers when the temperature is high. You can get the right treatment for hyperthyroidism. However, if left unaddressed, the patient’s health will worsen.
Diabetes
Diabetes is defined as a health problem in which your body’s glucose usage is affected drastically. Glucose is an energy source for the human body to form muscles and tissues. Moreover, it’s also the fuel for your brain.
If you neglect your diabetic condition and do not treat it on time, it can cause some serious medical problems. Diabetic nephropathy, also known as kidney damage, is one of those health conditions. People suffering from diabetic nephropathy or diabetes feel cold most of the time.
The bodily reactions of diabetes are often seen after meals. One of them is feeling cold. This happens because the bodies of diabetic patients are sensitive and cannot handle all the diet choices.
Anemia
Anemia is a condition in which the human body lacks RBCs (red blood cells) to carry enough oxygen to different parts of the body. People suffering from it are often seen experiencing colds all the time. This includes feeling cold after eating.
If you have anemia, make sure to get the right treatment. If you ignore this condition, it will spread all over your body, resulting in multiple organ damage. For pregnant women, treating anemia on time is crucial as it will cause a low birth weight or preterm delivery.
Infection
Developing chills and feeling cold are often the side-effects of infections. If there’s a virus in your body, you’ll continue to experience colds, even after finishing a meal. Traumas and infections are some serious issues. They can cause additional complications if not addressed on time.
When to See a Doctor?
If you feel cold after eating, infrequently, then it’s normal and nothing to be worried about. But, if it happens all the time, there might be some serious health condition causing it. Therefore, consult your doctor to find if there’s anything serious to be taken care of.
They will inform you about any serious health issue causing you frequent colds and suggest the right treatment to cure it.
It doesn’t matter if you experience one symptom or more; even if you have a slight doubt, visit your doctor immediately. If you feel sudden chills with upper body pain and heartburn, it’s a sign of a heart attack. In such a case, seek an expert medical condition ASAP!
Final Takeaway
Human body temperature falls and rises throughout the day, which is absolutely normal. Moreover, it’s also perfectly normal if your body changes its temperature slightly after you are done eating. However, you should be concerned if you experience drastic body temperature swings.
So if you are asking what’s the reason why you caught a cold after reading, it’s a sign that something is wrong. Therefore, pay proper attention to all the warning signs and consult a doctor on time. Many health issues causing people to feel cold all the time or after eating are serious and need to be addressed fast.
In addition, share this blog with anyone you know who’s suffering from the same issue. Help them know the reasons behind the condition.
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