Passeggiata: The Walk After the Feast
Hands up if you’ve ever tried to erase a spell of overeating during the festive season with a brisk walk. We’ve all been there. How often have you laughed at yourself for thinking so? Well, you were actually onto something. Even the science agrees. There’s very little we can do about our need to feast. As you are about to find out, it’s basically in our genes. And when there’s a feast, there’s bound to be overindulgence. This is not one of those health articles meant to impart advice on calorie counting or fitness goals. But who can ignore the science when it is so compelling?
FEASTS OF THE AGES
As with so much of our human chronicle, pinpointing exactly when stuff happened before we started writing them down – or doodled about them on rockfaces – is a matter of guesswork. So, to the best of our guestimation (and this is not to demean the incredible work of archaeologists), we first learnt to cook around 80,000 years ago.
Okay, not us exactly, but the Neanderthals. We tend to write our sister species off as unintelligent brutes, but perhaps the joke’s on us. Despite their proclivity for cannibalism, they had similar sized brains to us, also made tools and weapons from stone, and, living in the colder recesses of prehistoric Europe, knew a thing or two about survival. But ultimately, we survived them either because they were socially awkward (they lived in smaller tribes), a 1000-year-long cold snap all but wiped them out and cleared the field for us, or we were just better at warfare. We still make a habit of violence.
But we digress. With fire came a lot of other mod cons. Feeding became something more. It became feasting – a social event – because suddenly fire didn’t only spell danger, but warmth and comfort. We could control it. We took a leap in our evolution, separated even more from the animals, particularly herbivores who are constantly grazing. We shifted up a gear, created rituals and routines around meals, drew boundaries around the place where we eat (we now even have a thing called a dining
room), and created social distinctions like hierarchies and table etiquette.
Today, every culture in the world feasts, no matter how much Neanderthal we have in us, because feasting is an inclusive activity – it brings us together. A feast can celebrate many different occasions, like a performance, an announcement, a prayer (or sacrifice), a commercial venture or a political event. Indeed, some of the most important decisions in human history were made around a feast table.
Apart from creating solidarity (while enhancing a host’s social standing), feasting is also how we adapt to new environments. One of the greatest pleasures we derive from travelling is experiencing the cuisine of another culture, which is why – with all its regional nuances and rich culinary heritage – Italy remains one of the world’s most thrilling destinations.
FEAST TO FOOT
Wisdom dictates that a brisk walk after a meal has the ability to clear the mind and aid digestion. Well, wisdom wasn’t wrong for once. It’s all true.
At first, scientists gave it a number and worked their way back from there. They found that just a 15-minute walk after a meal could reduce one’s blood sugar levels significantly enough to publish a paper on the matter.
But then, another group of scientists had a different idea. What if they didn’t say 15 minutes exactly, but figured out how short a walk could be and still make a difference? Remember, when it comes to moving one’s limbs around – even flailing them about – physical activity isn’t all or nothing. Anything is better
than nothing.
Then came the biggest surprise of all. Just two or three minutes of walking had a very discernible impact on blood sugar levels. Did it have the same impact as those who walked for 15 minutes? Of course not, but let’s stick to the better-than nothing rule, shall we?
In addition, what they (another team of scientists) found was that, although standing is better than sitting, even light intensity walking (so, not the power-walking kind you might witness on a promenade) was better than standing. The reason is that when you move, your muscles soak up excess glucose in your blood, meaning the impact of that glucose on your body is lessened. For best results, taking a walk within 60 –90 minutes of a meal was most effective at curbing blood sugar spikes.
If nothing else, let taking a walk after meal – a brisk passeggiata – allow you to reconnect with the world around you, even if it’s just to be in the moment more or to get perspective, or simply to socialise. And why would you not take a walk when the scenery is this beautiful?
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