Everyone says that a person should drink about 2 liters of water a day. But what is the right way to do it?
There is an opinion that it is by no means possible to drink food with food – supposedly the liquid reduces the concentration of acid in the stomach and complicates the digestion process. This is the opinion not only of non-professionals, but also of some certified nutritionists. It’s time to figure out where the truth is.
Myth 1. Water dilutes stomach acid and interferes with digestion
Our body is designed in such a way that everything is provided in it to the smallest detail – during a meal, exactly that amount of juices and enzymes is released, which is necessary for the digestion of food. Even if you eat all day, they will be released as much as needed. And it doesn’t matter whether you drink water or not.
Myth 2. Water mixes with food, because of this there is a heaviness in the stomach
The digestion process takes place at the points of contact of food with the mucous membranes of the stomach. Liquids leave it earlier (after about 20 minutes) than solid food (after 4-12 hours). This is facilitated by the anatomical structure of the stomach and its location in the body.
Liquids move along the lesser curvature of the stomach, simply flowing down the wall and leaving it, but solid food is placed in a cavity called the greater curvature, which has pronounced folds in order to retain food and continue the digestion process. The stomach separates solid food from liquid food, retaining it in the upper part of the stomach and getting rid of the liquid phase in the first place.
You can drink with meals, after meals, and before meals. It is an integral part of all fluids in our body, from mucous membranes to digestive secretions. If you can’t drink with and after meals, then it is logical then not to take liquid food containing water: soups, smoothies, tea, juices?
Myth 3. Water stretches the stomach
Yes, if you drink it at the overeating level. Initially, the size of an adult’s stomach contains 200–250 ml of food. We’re just stretching it. However, water is not the key factor. Very often, when losing weight, there is a method of drinking food with water, because in this way a person is satiated faster and consumes fewer calories. Also, water helps to kill hunger and avoid unhealthy snacks.
Myth 4. Water pushes food, it does not have time to digest
If the food is dry or not moist enough, the body sends water from our blood for digestion. The acidity of the gastric juice increases with the consumption of sweets and foods high in fat. They are very difficult to digest. Drinking water makes the process of eating more comfortable, facilitating the movement of the food lump through the digestive canal, while entering the stomach, food is conditionally divided into two fractions: liquid, from which we get rid of in the first place, and solid, which is digested in the distal part of the stomach …
Myth 5. You can only drink water, but you cannot drink juice or tea.
There is, of course, a difference between drinks. Water is a liquid of 0 kcal, everyone else will have a certain amount of calories. Especially sugary drinks and fresh juices, alcohol, which increase the level of glucose and insulin and provoke the storage of fat in the body. Carbonated drinks strongly irritate the mucous membrane of organs and increase acidity. Any drinks and liquids that are not water are not equal to water. It is water that is the essential component of our diet, which directly affects the metabolism and detoxification processes of the body. There is no harm in drinking water before, during or after meals, just as there is no research showing that you shouldn’t drink with meals.
Consultant nutritionist, nutritionist, detox and weight loss specialist. Member of the closed International Community of Nutritional Consultants “Dietetics for All”. Member of the Association for Preventive and Antiaging Medicine.