What causes a rise and fall in blood pressure?

I am 65 years old. My blood pressure tends to increase when and I am hungry and when I eat, it goes down. Why? Kamanzi

Dear Kamanzi,

When a person eats, more blood leaves the rest of the body and travels to the gastro-intestinal system to digest and absorb food.

To avoid a severe lack of blood in the rest of the body and arm where pressure is measured, the blood vessels to the rest of the body contract thereby increasing measured pressure. This means the pressure fall in the rest of the body after eating will be temporary.

 Older adult hypertensives and other hypertensives, may get a more prolonged fall in pressure which is called post prandial hypotension, which might make one dizzy or collapse after eating, requiring taking lots of water before eating and resting after eating to prevent it.

Visit a doctor to rule out other serious causes of a drop in your blood pressure after eating. 

Why am I so gassy after exercising?

Whenever I engage in intense exercise, say on a treadmill or jogging, I keep passing lots of gas when I stop. Why? Bareeba

Dear Bareeba, 

Every human being passes gas or they would suffer abdominal bloating, the discomfort of gas distending the abdomen and loss of appetite, among other effects.

Gas is normally formed in the digestive system from the process of digestion of food itself, small organism activity in the big intestines and from swallowing air. This gas has to be expelled by breaking wind (about 20 times a day) or belching to avoid health complications.

If one produces much more gas, then they may notice increased flatulence just as when someone eats foods that produce more gas (beans, diary) or certain digestive system disorders, including food intolerance and irritable bowel syndrome. Because of these factors, regardless of whether they exercise or not, some people will actually break wind more than usual. 

That said, people doing intense exercises tend to swallow more air when they drink fluids (or eat a snack) while exercising. This is because at the same time, they are eating or drinking, they are gasping for air and swallowing too much of it instead of breathing the air in.

Also, intense physical activity speeds up the digestion process, causing gas to be produced faster leading to breaking wind more to avoid air accumulation in the digestive system.

Therefore, it is important to take a snack and fluids before or after an intense physical activity instead of during the intense activity.