Heart palpitations feel like your heart flutters, pounds or skips a beat. Certain ingredients in food, such as sugar, carbs or salt, can cause them. Supplements, medications and other factors can also play a role. Heart palpitations after eating usually aren’t harmful.
Have you ever noticed your heart racing or pounding after eating a large pulled pork meal? This sensation can feel alarming, but it’s often harmless.
Pulled pork is a classic barbecue dish made of slow-roasted pork shoulder meat that’s shredded or “pulled” into strands It’s a crave-worthy comfort food, but the high fat and sodium content can affect your heart rate and rhythm after eating
Let’s explore why your pulse may quicken after devouring mounds of pulled pork and what you can do to prevent an uncomfortable tachycardia episode.
How Pulled Pork Impacts Your Heart
Pulled pork is intrinsically high in fat and sodium, two components that directly impact heart function.
Fat Content Raises Heart Rate
A typical pulled pork sandwich can contain up to 40 grams of fat, with around half being artery-clogging saturated fat.
Eating a high-fat meal like pulled pork forces your heart to work harder. Your heart needs to pump more forcefully to push blood through arteries constricted by fat molecules.
This extra workload stresses the heart, causing it to beat faster to circulate blood and nutrients during digestion.
Sodium Spikes Blood Pressure
Pulled pork is also notoriously high in sodium, with a single serving containing over 1000 mg
Excess sodium intake causes your body to retain water This increases the volume of blood circulating through your vessels
To accommodate the extra fluid, your heart rate accelerates and your blood pressure rises. The sudden spike in blood pressure further strains your cardiovascular system.
Blood Sugar Spike From Breading
Breaded and fried pulled pork variants send blood sugar levels soaring. This triggers the release of adrenaline and cortisol stress hormones.
Both adrenaline and cortisol increase your heart rate and constrict blood vessels. This reaction evolved to provide your body with extra energy to “fight or flight.”
However, in modern times, this response causes unnecessary cardiac strain after eating heavy carb- and fat-laden foods.
Other Factors That May Play a Role
Beyond the fatty meat and high sodium, other elements of a pulled pork meal can drive tachycardia.
Caffeinated Drinks
Many enjoy pulled pork with caffeinated sodas. The caffeine stimulates your central nervous system, signalling your body to accelerate processes like heart rate.
Caffeine also releases catecholamines, hormones that increase blood pressure and constrict blood vessels. Consuming caffeine with pulled pork creates a double whammy effect on your cardiovascular system.
Allergic Reaction
Some individuals may experience food-induced anaphylaxis to pork or other ingredients in pulled pork dishes.
Severe allergic reactions cause chemicals like histamine to be released into the bloodstream. Histamine radically spikes heart rate and crashes blood pressure, making you susceptible to fainting.
Eating Too Quickly
Scarfing down mounds of pulled pork sandwiches can literally overwhelm your body. Eating too quickly doesn’t allow your stomach time to tell your brain it’s full.
This delayed signaling response means you can easily overeat greasy pork well past the point of feeling full. The extra calories force your heart to work overtime digesting.
Pre-Existing Conditions
Those with pre-existing arrhythmias, palpitations, or heart health conditions may experience more severe tachycardia compared to healthy individuals.
If you have a diagnosed heart condition or symptoms of an undiagnosed problem, consuming heavy, greasy pulled pork may exacerbate cardiovascular issues.
Tips to Prevent Post-Pork Palpitations
You don’t need to strike pulled pork off the menu completely. Just follow these tips to help prevent pounding heart sensations after pork pig-outs:
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Choose leaner pork shoulder cuts with less marbling and trimmable fat. Remove the fatty skin before cooking.
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Opt for dry rubbed or naked “pulling” methods over heavily breaded and fried.
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Limit portion size to 3-4 oz of finished pork. Fill the rest of your plate with green veggies.
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Pair pork with water or unsweetened ice tea instead of soda.
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Slow down, chew thoroughly, and don’t overeat past the point of fullness.
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Avoid dousing pulled pork in sugary BBQ sauce – use vinegar-based sauce instead.
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Substitute some pork for plant protein like sautéed mushrooms or grilled tempeh.
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Season pulled pork with lemon, vinegar, salsa, and herbs rather than just salt.
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Wait at least 30 minutes before going to bed after eating to allow digestion.
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See a doctor if palpitations persist regularly after eating to rule out underlying conditions.
When to Seek Emergency Care
In most cases, a racing heart and tachycardia after devouring pulled pork will resolve on its own as food digests.
However, if you experience severe symptoms like:
- Crushing chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Lightheadedness or fainting
- Irregular pulse sensation
Seek prompt medical care, as these may indicate a heart attack, allergic reaction, or arrhythmia requiring treatment. Call 911 or have someone drive you to an emergency room immediately.
The Bottom Line
Pulled pork’s high fat and sodium content causes most people’s heart to beat faster during digestion. Limiting portion sizes, trimming fat, controlling sodium, and eating slowly can help minimize unpleasant palpitations.
See a doctor promptly if you experience severe cardiac symptoms after eating pulled pork. Otherwise, just take it easy on second servings and avoid caffeinated or sugary drinks that exacerbate effects on your heart.
What causes heart palpitations after eating?
Usually, heart palpitations are harmless. They can occur due to the chewing, swallowing and digestive process or because of ingredients you eat. Most palpitations don’t mean you have an underlying health problem.
What medications can cause heart palpitations after eating?
Certain medications, which you might take with food, can also lead to heart palpitations. These medications include:
- Allergy, asthma and cold medicines.
- Antibiotics.
- Diet pills.
- Heart disease medications.
- High blood pressure medications.
- Insulin.
- Thyroid medications.
Heart Palpitations After Eating Testimonial With Holistic Doctor in Cumming, GA
FAQ
Why does eating meat make my heart race?
What foods can cause heart palpitations?
Why do I get tachycardia every time I eat?
What causes a racing heart after eating?
It appears that individuals with gastrointestinal problems such as acid reflux, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and sluggish gallbladder function are at increased risk of a racing heart after eating. Digestive processes activate the vagus nerve, a major nerve regulating various physiological functions, including heart rate.
Why is pork not recommended to eat?
This is not true, some cuts like sirloin and pork rump steak, for example, are very healthy, even healthier than beef and chicken. Only the fattest cuts like bacon and crackling should be avoided.
Why does my heart pound when I eat?
Sometimes palpitations make you feel like your heart skips a beat. And palpitations aren’t only felt in the heart. You may experience that pounding feeling in your chest, throat, or neck. Eating causes changes in blood flow, which can result in an increased heart rate, and can also lead to an increase in blood pressure.
What causes high heart rate after eating?
They are stress, stimulants (alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs), dehydration, and some medications. Eating a big meal, allergies, aging, and menopause can also contribute to heart palpitations. In many situations, elevated heart rate after eating could result from what you eat or drink.