Drinking While Eating Can Inhibit Work of the Digestive System

Many drinks while they are eating because they can chew the food easier and also make it easier to swallow the food. What they don’t know is thatdrinking water during meals can inhibit the stomach and digestive power which causes anincrease in insulin that can bind more fat.

“Most people drink water while eating. The theory is that it makes food goes down more quickly. But these people do not know how wrong this is and that this is bad for their digestive system” said Shonali Sabherwal, macrobiotic counselor fromIndia, acccording to the timesofindia.

Shonali explains, drinking water while eating can inhibit the digestive system and cause a rise in insulin significantly. For people who suffer from digestive problems, the consequences can even be mixed.

“Our stomach has the ability to know when you will eat and immediately begin releasing digestive juices. If you start drinking water at the same time, all you do is scrape the digestive juices that have been released to digest food, so in the end it inhibits the work of the digestive system,” continued Shonali.

Water that is consumed while eating will be absorbed by the stomach wall. This absorption will continue to happen until the digestive juices are concentrated enough to begin digesting food.

“But with this, because digestive juices mixed with water, the concentration of substance now becomes thicker than the content of the food in the stomach. It causes fewer gastric fluid to be secreted to digest the food. As a result, the food is not digested will enter into the system because will be absorbed by the stomach wall. This will cause acid reflux and heart burn (heat sensation in the chest), “said Shonali.

Drinking during meals may also lead to elevate levels of insulin. The more insulin is released in the bloodstream, the more likely the body to store fat.

To avoid a lot of drinking during eating, Shonali give some advice, among others, do not eat foods that are too salty or can cause thirst and can make you eat a lot, and try to eat slowly.

Research shows that drinking a little water during a meal is not a big concern, but drinking a glass or two more glasses of water can interfere with digestion.

“The best thing is to drink water before and about two hours after a meal because it helps in the absorption of nutrients,” said the researchers.