Water at Mealtimes?

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cessnaholly
cessnaholly Posts: 780 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I just read this article about the best diets out there (MFP should defintely be the winner IMHO). Here is it if you want to read it.

http://todayhealth.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/04/9945784-report-picks-top-three-weight-loss-diets-for-2012

My question is though about one of the commenters who wrote this:

QUOTE:
We've all heard it a million times, drink your water! The key however is to avoid drinking water/liquids around meal times... they dilute natural digestive enzymes necessary for proper food digestion and absorbsion!

Kathy,

Puristat Digestive Specialist

END QUOTE

That seems just a little out there to me. I've always heard that you should drink water 20 minutes before you eat, and then again when you eat to help your stomach digest foods and to help you feel full.

What do you think?

Replies

  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
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    You are probably both correct. Water does dilute, and it does make one feel fuller. If you want to get the meal digested, eat lots of fiber. That aids the process and lowers absorption because it moves things through more quickly.
  • KyleB65
    KyleB65 Posts: 1,196 Member
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    Sounds plausible to me.

    However, I always have a little water with my meals. The big gulps are between meals to control hunger. But, I need some water when I eat.
  • savethecat
    savethecat Posts: 290 Member
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    So the suggestion is to literally not drink a liquid while eating a meal to aid proper digestion? Huh. Interesting.
  • bcampbell54
    bcampbell54 Posts: 932 Member
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    I've heard this from an old 8th Day Adventist nutritionist. I've always wanted to ask someone about it. I've also heard that drinking cold liquids with a meal inhibits digestion of fats, but never substantiated that either.
  • mehaugen
    mehaugen Posts: 210 Member
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    Drinking a lot of water raises the pH of your stomach contents. A lower pH will digest food faster, because it is more acidic. That is why you may experience some indigestion if you drink a lot of water with meals. Some people think that they need to take a Tums or whatever for indigestion, but that is actually a BAD thing to do because indigestion tablets are BASIC and also raise the pH of your stomach. What you really want to do is lower it.

    If you don't have problems with indigestion, you can probably safely drink as much water as you want with food, up to a point.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I have no idea if that's true. But, I rarely drink water with a meal, but I always drink something (soy milk for breakfast, tea at lunch, wine for dinner). It's never kept me from losing or maintaining a healthy weight and so far I've had nothing but healthy checkups. So, as my grandpa used to tell me "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

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