Is It Good To Drink Water While Eating?

There is general disagreement about whether it is good to drink water while eating. While it is true that water is a vital fluid and the body is for the most part water, it is said that drinking water  during meals can also interfere with the digestive process. In this article, we discuss that contradiction.

Water, an essential liquid

The benefits of water are familiar to everyone. It removes toxins, hydrates the internal organs, transports minerals to the cells and helps with metabolic processes. Therefore, it is recommended to drink two to two and a half liters of water a day.

There has long been a debate about whether drinking water while eating is good or not. Does it help with weight loss or not? Does it change the digestive process? Does it help maintain a better fluid balance? There are many beliefs and prejudices on this subject.

First, there are no calories when drunk as such in water. If you drink water before lunch and dinner, your stomach will fill up and you will eat less, but water alone will not help you lose weight.

The American Chemical Society  has published a study showing that people who drank two glasses of water before a meal ate 75-90% fewer calories during a meal. This is because water satisfies hunger. Sometimes when we imagine we are hungry, we are actually thirsty.

Another belief is that if you drink water during meals, it will cause fluid to build up in your body. According to experts, this is not the case, but the opposite. Drinking water stimulates kidney function and helps maintain fluid balance, no matter what time it is or what you are doing.

Some diets prohibit drinking water when eating carbohydrates, claiming that it complicates digestion. This method should be followed when eating foods containing potatoes, bread and white rice. It is claimed that these foods swell with water and therefore enlarge your stomach and make you look fatter.

Questions and answers about the relationship between water and food: another perspective

As we mentioned at the beginning, there are people who are in favor of drinking water while eating and people who are against it. Those who oppose arguing that drinking water during a meal is not helpful because cold water hardens fats, which disturbs and delays digestion.

What happens in the body when you drink cold water while eating?

It is claimed that when water enters the body and is absorbed in the intestine, food quickly turns into adipose tissue and goes directly into the arteries. If this continues for a long time, it can cause cholesterol or heart problems.

What reaction does the process trigger?

The stomach is designed to produce acids that help digestion so that nutrients are absorbed. The action depends on everyone’s own digestive system.

In any case, when you drink cold water, the action of acids slows down and weakens, which means that it takes longer to digest food.

Is it better to drink water before or after a meal?

Drinking water before a meal fills the stomach and possibly helps to eat less, while water ingested after a meal protects the walls of the stomach.

In any case, it is important to keep in mind that the water consumed before or after a meal or during it should be at room temperature or warm and not refrigerated cold or ice water.  Cold water raises the body’s pH (which makes it more alkaline), which complicates the digestive process in the stomach.

Is the effect the same if I drink juice or soft drinks instead of water?

In these cases, both drinks have a greater effect on the stomach because the stomach fluids dilute them and digestion changes in this case as well. Therefore, we do not recommend drinking industrial juices or soft drinks before or after a meal, nor during a meal. In reality, it is best to eat without consuming any fluids at the same time.

When and how should water be drunk?

The recommended amount is to drink at least eight glasses of water throughout the day between meals. In the evening it is good to drink two or three glasses of water within an hour and wait 30 minutes before dinner. We recommend drinking water every half hour throughout the day, especially in summer, even if you don’t feel thirsty.

The debate over whether or not it is good to drink water while eating continues, as there are not many studies to support either theory. So it all depends on your body and how you feel, depending on your habits. If you drink water while eating and feel swollen even though your meal was light, it may be a good idea to change your habits.

If instead you don’t drink anything and you find that your digestion takes longer, then you should drink water after a meal. The glass is certainly not bad at all.

Some recommend eating dessert after a meal. For many, eating a fruit, such as a pear or orange, an hour before lunch or dinner reduces appetite. Fruits also provide plenty of fluids to maintain fluid balance.