Does drinking water with meals interfere with digestion? – GOOD SHAPE

Before talking about whether or not water consumption during meals is beneficial to health, let’s understand a little more about how our digestion and metabolism works.

Did you know that our organism produces about 3 liters of gastric juice a day, with 1.5 liters of saliva only?

I hear a lot of patients who commonly have the habit of drinking liquids during meals, complaints such as: feeling of dry mouth, difficulty swallowing food, thirst while eating, or even the feeling that, even eating an adequate amount of food, they feel as if they are not were satiated.

It is important to know that for the digestion of anything we eat to occur, an “enzymatic ballet” is necessary, which has the function of breaking down the molecules of the food until its total absorption.

When, together with meals, we consume water, juices, teas and even soft drinks, these enzymes undergo a PH change, changing and decreasing the absorption of nutrients, causing even protein malabsorption and even constipation.

Normally, people who are in the habit of drinking liquids at meals are the ones who forget to consume them throughout the day, and associate eating with drinking, making that moment the time to drink water. This also impairs chewing, making you eat faster.

The stomach has a specific size, which when fed distends to fit the food consumed. Liquid intake makes this distension even greater, causing the stomach to increase in size over time and the increased gastric volume is the major cause of weight gain.

If the liquid chosen is soda, the situation becomes even worse, because the stomach PH is increased and for correct digestion, this PH needs to be neutral. As a result, the formation of gases, swollen belly and lack of satiety occurs.

The tip for those who want to leave this habit aside is simple and you’ve certainly heard a lot from your mother: chew slowly!

The enzymes begin to do their job in the saliva, so give them time to do their job. They are the ones that will take away the symptom of dry mouth, so don’t rush, as in time they will resume the function that, by pushing water at mealtimes, you took away from them.

Have a glass of water 10 minutes before sitting down to eat. Eat and wait 30 minutes to drink more water. Remove the glasses and pitcher from the table. Be careful with the salt. Very salty foods cause thirst. Consume foods rich in water. Chuchu is a great alternative.

If you start like this, you’ll soon want to drink more water throughout the day and very soon you won’t miss water at all at meals. You stop disturbing your satiety mechanism and health thanks you!