BY OWEN MORRIS
Cameron Miller swimming strong after a meal at Winstead's.
No matter how many doctors say it's safe to swim after eating, millions of Americans still count the minutes from their last bite until jumping in the pool. My own relatives included.
At a family gathering some weeks ago, my aunt refused to let my cousins swim until properly digesting their food. As I tried to explain to her why that wasn't necessary, she quickly interrupted me. "I've seen those articles too. But those scientists and doctors never actually get in the water do they? They just say it's OK without trying it."
She has a point. The NY Times article debunking the myth relies on statistical data from drowning reports. There are dozens more of articles on the subject relying on quotes from medical authorities with no first-hand evidence.
Even though my chances of drowning while trying to swim are about 50/50 no matter what I've eaten, I decided to take the plunge and swim after eating.
For my co-guinea pig, I enlisted the help of Cameron Miller, a former collegiate distance swimmer for the University of Kentucky. We met at Winstead's.
"Nutritionists would coach us on how to eat and you're only supposed to have carbs an hour or so before you swim," Miller told me. "Fruits, vegetables, pretzels. No sweets. I have eaten a lot of crap foods right before I swam in practice and it felt awful. I felt like I was going to puke the entire time."
So the rule is correct? "Yes. No. It depends on how much you eat. When I say I got stuffed before a practice, I would get stuffed. It feels bad to do anything when you're that full. If you eat a little you'll be fine ... if I go swimming now I wait at least an hour but it's the same with running or any other sport."
With that, we both scarfed down cheeseburgers, fries and drinks and headed to the pool.
I was feeling very full when I got in the water -- more in the mood to veg on a couch than swim laps. In the time it took me to get acclimated to the water, Miller had gracefully lapped me a time or two. "This actually feels really good!" Miller yelled -- and she was right. After a sluggish start it did feel good. The water was cool and the sun was setting and it felt nice to workout after such a bad meal.
"I don't want kids to read this and disobey their parents, but you really can't hurt yourself swimming after eating," Miller said mid-backstroke. "If anything, it's better to eat before swimming than to not eat at all. Especially if you're going to be swimming hard. When you don't eat you get light-headed easier and could pass out."
After ten laps, not only was I not cramping but the burgers and fries had spiked my energy levels and I was feeling strong. Strong enough that I challenged Miller to a friendly race.
While the results of the race aren't important, what does matter is that at the end of it I was breathing as hard as I could and my heart was pounding like a bass drum. Still, I didn't get cramps, die or fall into a coma and neither did Miller. No, we ate and swam and lived to tell about it.
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