Why should you wait 30 minutes to drink after eating?
Many people believe that drinking beverages during meals are
harmful to your digestion.
Some claim that it can cause pollutants to build, resulting
in a variety of health problems.
Understandably, you might ask if a simple glass of water
with your dinner could be harmful - or if that's simply another urban legend.
The above article presents a scientific review of how
liquids during meals affect digestion and health.
fundamentals of healthy digestion
It's helpful to first understand the regular digestive
process to understand why water is supposed to disrupt digestion.
Digestion begins in your mouth as soon as you begin chewing
your food. Chewing causes your salivary glands to produce saliva, which
includes enzymes that aid in digestion.
Food is broken down further in your stomach by the acidic
gastric juice, which generates a viscous liquid called chyme.
Chyme is mixed with digesting enzymes from your pancreas and bile acid from your liver in your small intestine. Enzymes break down the chyme, even more, preparing each vitamin for absorption into your bloodstream.
The majority of nutrients were absorbed as chyme passes
through your small intestine. Once it enters your colon, only a little fraction
remains to be digested.
Nutrients move to various parts of your body after they
enter your bloodstream. When the residual items are evacuated, digestion is
This entire digestive process might take anywhere from 24 to
72 hours depending on what you eat.
Food is broken down throughout your body during digestion so
that nutrients can be taken into your bloodstream.
drinks cause digestive problems?
Drinking enough water on a regular basis provides numerous
Some argue that drinking beverages during meals is a poor
These three most prevalent justifications for why drinking
liquids with meals is bad for your digestion are listed below.
The theory asserts:
Alcohol & acidic drinks have a bad impact on saliva.
Others argue that drinking acidic or alcoholic beverages
with meals causes saliva to dry down, making it more difficult for your body to
Alcohol reduces saliva flow by 10–15% per unit of alcohol. However, this only applies to hard liquor, not the modest alcohol concentrations found in beer and wine.
Acidic drinks, on the other hand, appear to enhance
Lastly, there is no scientific evidence that moderate
consumption of alcohol or acidic drinks has a deleterious impact on nutritional
digestion or absorption.
The theory asserts: Digestion enzymes, stomach acid, and water
Many people believe that drinking water during meals dilutes
stomach acid & digestive enzymes, making digestion more difficult.
This idea, however, suggests that your digestive system is
incapable of adapting its secretions to the consistency of a meal, which is
The theory asserts: Liquids & digestion speed
A third common reason against drinking liquids during meals
is that they speed up the passage of solid foods through your stomach.
This is assumed to shorten the contact time of the meal with
stomach acid & digestive enzymes, resulting in poor digestion.
However, no scientific evidence supports this assumption.
A stomach emptying study discovered that, while liquids pass
through your digestive system faster than solids, they have little effect on
the digesting speed of solid food.
Drinking liquids during meals — water, beer, or acidic
drinks — is likely to impair your digestion.
might improve digestion.
Large bits of food are broken down by liquids, making them
simpler to glide down your throat and into your stomach.
It also aids in the easy passage of meals, avoiding bloating
While digestion, your stomach secretes water, as well as
gastric acid and digestive enzymes.
In reality, this water is required for the efficient
functioning of these enzymes.
Liquids, whether eaten during meals, serve various
critical roles in indigestion.
Water has been shown to reduce appetite and calorie intake.
Drinking water during meals can also help you pause between
bites, allowing you to assess your hunger and fullness signals. This can help
you avoid overeating and might aid in weight loss.
Furthermore, in one 12-week trial, those who drank 17 ounces
(500 ml) of water before every meal lost 4.4 pounds (2 kg) more than those who
According to research, drinking water can increase your
metabolism by roughly 24 calories for each and every 17 ounces (500 ml)
Surprisingly, when the water was warmed to body temperature,
the number of calories burned was reduced. This could be because your body
expends more energy heating the cold water to body temperature.
However, the effects of water on metabolism are minimal at
best and not universal.
Please remember that this largely pertains to water, not
calorie-containing beverages. According to one study, drinking sugary drinks,
milk, or juice with meals increased overall calorie intake by 8–15 percent.
Drinking water during meals may help you control your
appetite, avoid overeating, and lose weight. This will not apply to
Whenever it comes to drinking liquids with meals, go with
your gut instinct.
If drinking liquids with your food causes pain, bloating, or
worsens your stomach reflux, drink liquids beforehand or between meals instead.
Otherwise, there is no reason to avoid drinking with meals.
In the alternative, beverages drunk just before or during
meals can encourage easy digestion, optimum hydration, as well as a feeling of
Just keep in mind that water is the healthiest option.
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