Lot of us have the habit of drinking glasses of water along with our meals, perhaps with the intention of washing down the food and hoping that this aids the digestive process.
However, nutritionists across the world share a different perspective. Various studies show that the practice severely hampers digestion by diluting the essential gastric juices and causes an upsurge in insulin levels.
“It roughly takes two hours to digest what you eat. The food goes through your esophagus to the stomach, then to your colon before being flushed out of your system. There is a certain fluid-solid proportion in our gastric system. If you consume water before the meals, you are not only disturbing the fluid component by diluting what you eat, you are also fastening the digestion process as the food now enters the large intestine much sooner than it should. Hence it is not advisable to have water just before your meal,” said Dr. Anju Sood, renowned nutritionist.
“Some people who drink water alongside meals have also shown a tendency to have an expanded colon,” she said.
While speaking of drinking water right after your meals, Dr. Sood said, “By drinking water right after your meals, you are again tampering the natural time it takes for your food to digest. This also makes you feel hungrier faster than anticipated and results in overeating and bloating.” She recommends a 30 minute window both before and after your meals. “In these 30 minutes, your system proceeds to the next stage of digestion.”
Studies suggest that it is essential to maintain some gap after your meals as this helps in absorption of essential nutrients too. Consuming water right after the meal tends to dilute gastric juice. Though, our stomach is adept at absorbing water, but an excess intake of water after meal dilutes enzymes that are essential for digestion. This is responded by lesser secretion of digestive enzymes that in turn can lead to heartburn and acidity.
The glucose from this undigested food converts into fat and is stored in your body. This process leads to the upsurge of insulin, which causes a rise in the blood sugar levels of the body, and can lead to diabetes and obesity.
Therefore, when it is important to remain hydrated, it is also important to keep yourself aware of right timing for drinking water.