On health food TV shows, they often say that eating and drinking at the same time are prohibited. Some experts explain that water dilutes stomach acid. Others think it makes us fat. And some people even think that water pushes undigested food out of the stomach! Can ordinary water be that harmful to us?
We have finally decided to find out the truth about drinking water while eating and what is simply a myth.
What Happens To Food And Water In The Stomach?
The digestion process begins just when we think about our future food: saliva is produced in the mouth. When we chew food, we mix it with saliva that contains the enzymes necessary for digestion.
Then the softened food reaches our stomach, where it mixes with gastric acid. On average, the stomach takes 4 hours to digest food before turning it into liquid or chyme.
The chyme travels further into the intestine, where it supplies all the nutrients to the body.
Water does not stay in the stomach for long. It takes about 10 minutes for the stomach to move 10 ounces of water. So if you drink while eating, the water doesn’t puddle on your stomach. It passes through chewed food very quickly, hydrates it, and quickly leaves the stomach.
Liquids Don’t Decrease Acidity
Our body is a complicated system, but very fine-tuned. If the stomach “feels” that it cannot digest something, it produces more enzymes and increases the acidity of the internal fluid.
Even if you drink a half-gallon of water, it will not affect your acidity level. By the way, water also enters the stomach with food. For example, on average, orange is made up of 86% water.
By the way, studies have shown that some foods can reduce the acidity levels in our stomach, but they return to normal very quickly.
So, Can We Drink While Eating?
If you drink while eating, it won’t do any harm. On the contrary, water helps to soften solid foods. But do not drink before swallowing food; there must be enough saliva in the food to contain the necessary enzymes.
There are certain advantages to drinking while eating. Research shows that when a person takes short breaks to drink a little water, the eating process slows down. As a result, people eat less, which is good.
If you are used to drinking tea with food instead of water, there is nothing wrong with it either. Research shows that there is no difference in acidity levels after drinking tea or water.
The temperature of the water you drink does not influence the speed of digestion or the number of nutrients you receive. The stomach can heat or cool food to the required level. However, scientists recommend drinking warm water-cooled to 150 ° F.
Have you ever bothered to drink water while eating? What do you think of this topic? Let us know in the comment section below!
Preview photo credit depositphotos.com, depositphotos.com
