Drinking While Eating: Yes or No?

lemurcat12

I've never thought about it and never considered that it would have an effect either way, I just can't imagine eating without having something to sip on too. Anyway, I don't find that I get hungry especially quickly after a meal--I'm pretty much a 3 meals a day and no snacking person and haven't had an issue with that. What I eat makes a difference in how soon I get hungry, though.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

I like to drink while eating. I don't really care if it makes a minimal difference on satiety either way.

LessHeavyVeggie

Personally I pretty much always drink water while eating, but I guess it's a personal preference.

Anyway, on to the most important point: hooray for kittens! Anyone who posts kittens in exchange for responses gets my vote.

dbmata

1) Sip on water constantly while eating. This will help you fill up during the meal.

2) Don't drink while eating (and 30 mins after, some say). This helps you stay fuller longer.


I'm curious as to what you guys think about this.

Both are dumb, and I feel sorry for people who believe they are magic bullets.

Ah, what eloquent and valuable input. Bravo dude.

You forgot the picture. I admit, I found it a challenge to respond to the OP with the level of intellectual rigor that matched their post, but I think I nailed it.

Tony_Von_Stryfe

I thought this post was going to be about liquor...

whatsallthisthen

I thought this post was going to be about liquor...

Hah! Yeah I could see that. I have read that ingestion of alcohol does indeed slow down digestion a bit though, if you're curious! ( http://www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c6731)

whatsallthisthen

Looks like with more research, the answers converge toward 'very very minimally if at all."

As far as diluting acids, it appears that water itself is not a signalling factor for gastrin, which is the main chemical that induces the release of hydrochloric acid from the parietal cells of the stomach- and other studies show that water on an empty stomach does little to effect stomach PH.

So drink lots of water and you'll feel more full during a meal, right?

Well, kinda: in another study "results show that drinking two glasses of water affects subjective feelings of hunger and satiety during the meal, but this effect is not maintained after the meal".

So yeah, while I have heard multiple comments(again and again) to do one or the other, that while overall water intake is important of course, to maybe skip over these suggestions entirely.

Also,

So you can't 'fool' your stomach into thinking water is food. I never could. People say they drink water to fend off hunger. Never worked for me. I guess if your hunger is actually thirst or 'bored mouth' it could help, though.

I'm the same way. I wish simply drinking tons of water could just 'fill me up' like others mention it does, but unfortunately my stomach isn't falling for that one.

lsmsrbls

For me, it's neither:

I don't drink water 30 minutes before eating or 30 minutes after eating (or during) because drinking water will dilute the sulphuric acid in your stomach, which will reduce the efficiency of your digestion.

I've started doing it this way and it seems to help. YMMV.

If you have sulfuric acid in your stomach you should probably get to a hospital immediately.

janatarnhem

Dunno, sorry, but nice kitty!

JosieRawr

I thing it's just a matter of preference... I don't need a drink while eating... My partner and our daughter do... I do usually like to have a drink after I'm done eating though.

Possibly related to this claim is - thirst is often confused with hunger. If you are in fact thirsty and you eat a meal, you could still be hungry when you're done eating because you're still thirsty...

JosieRawr

Drinking directly after eating does cause food to pass through your system faster. If, say, there was a funnel filled with apple sauce, the drip would be very slow. If you poured water on top of that applesauce, the drip would be much faster.

I would drink before your meals if you're concerned about it and give a short grace period after if you're concerned about it, but it really isn't a big deal. It's mostly a problem with people who have had bariatric surgery.

About this... might be relevant if your gastric system has been altered to something that resembles a funnel(I agree with the part about surgery ), but I don't think that the sphincters(sp?) care.

kimny72

Thanks for the kitten!

Just because something isn't important, doesn't mean it isn't interesting to discuss. I'm curious about everything.

I do suspect that for survival purposes, your body is able to tell the difference between a stomach full of food and a stomach full of water, so I have never given much credence to the water before a meal thing. Honestly I think if you believe it works, it's at least a trick to keep you listening to your body's signals.


i have to take sips of water while I eat, otherwise I feel like my mouth and teeth get icky. But I have heard that some people take in more air when they sip water while they eat, so it can make them gassy and bloated.

So I think they are both "tricks" to help you eat slower and therefore eat less, and if either one helps a person with that, awesome!

Cherimoose

I don't drink water 30 minutes before eating or 30 minutes after eating (or during) because drinking water will dilute the sulphuric acid in your stomach, which will reduce the efficiency of your digestion.

You mean hydrochloric acid. It also functions to disinfect food, so drinking a lot with meals could theoretically flush germs out of the stomach before they have had a chance to get killed by the acid. That's why i rarely drink a lot when i eat out. Call me paranoid, but i almost never get food poisoning.

Need a good trick for eating less? Put the fork down, get your butt up and go do something!!! You can't stuff your face if you're not near food. :bigsmile:

Also chew slowly.. like 20 times per bite. Only swallow liquids, if you know what i mean.

Kitten-free post.

ahoy_m8

That's awesome. The kitten was great, but this made my day. Thanks!

wellthenwhat

For me, eating a meal without drinking water is would be miserable. My family are big water drinkers. Once after a soccer game we visited some people with rather small cups. I drank 7.