Have You Been Drinking Water After Meals? Science Says it Might Not Be a Favourable Option

It is not an unknown fact 60-65% of our body is made up of water and it is sometimes the bane of our existence. Any kind of hindrance and fluctuations in the hydration levels in our body often ends up resulting into something negative. But, that’s not what we are focusing on in this article. We were going to talk about drinking water after meals.

What are your opinions?

Is it something favourable for our well being or the complete opposite?

The debates encircling the happenstance of drinking water before, during and after meals are something that has very conundrum results. While some nutritionists might give drinking water in between meals a green signal, some might not.

In order to clarify the myths and cloudiness surrounding the stances of drinking water before meals, drinking water during meals and drinking water after meals, we have brought together an article to you to indulge yourself into.

Is it Good to Drink Water Before Meals?

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Now, let us start from the initial stage, shall we?

The question of whether or not it is good to drink water before meals is always a priced one. What do you think? Should you or should you not?

It is believed that it is good to actually drink a glass of water before consuming a meal and we don’t have just one but three distinct reasons to back the claim up.

It Helps You Lose Weight

Studies have shown that drinking water before meals help in making you feel full and help you attain satiety faster. When you drink water before meals, there are chances that you will consume fewer calories while eating because you will already feel full and bloated with the water. This is what aids in weight loss.

It Helps to Improve Your Skin Health

Yet another amazing effect of drinking water before meals is that it helps in boosting the condition of the skin, preventing it from any kind of scaling and dehydration. Lack of proper hydration in the body is often the primary underlying reason behind the lack of healthy skin.

It Helps Boost Energy

Drinking water before meals has beneficial impacts in ensuring that your ingested food is not just digested but also absorbed properly which is what contributes to providing your body with the required amount of energy to get you through the day. It also helps keep the possibilities of dehydration at bay, thereby further contributing to one’s well being.

A quick side note is to ensure that you don’t drink the glass of water just before you are about to chomp down on your food. Make sure that you drink it at least an hour or so before your meal.

Now that we are done with the good possibilities behind the drinking of water before meals, let us focus on the effects of drinking water during meals.

Is it Good to Drink Water During Meals?

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This is the question that has very coinciding answers because while nutritionists might side with it, some actually oppose the same.

But, what is actually the true answer to this question? Is it actually good to drink water during meals?

Let us answer that then.

Sorry to disappoint but the majority of concrete scientific evidence (R) claims that drinking water during meals might not be the ideal choice.

Majority of people often tend to empty glasses after glasses of water during their meals to wash down their food easily and thinking that it would actually promote digestion but several doctors and experts completely diss that notion.

In reality, consuming water during meals (R) end up diluting the stomach acids, thereby hampering the proper process of digestion of the ingested food. Not just that, it also tends to increase the insulin levels in the body and not just by a little but almost three folds which can impact the body’s overall metabolism drastically.

Focus on the Digestion

In order to explain the physiological basis of this entire process of food consumption and drinking water, let us focus on the process of digestion first.

Our body takes about 1.5-2 hours to completely digest the ingested food. If you are tampering the process by drinking umpteen glasses of water during your meals. The presence of water tends to fasten the process of digestion, thereby prohibiting the food to get properly digested in the body.

Several doctors even claim that people who drink along with their meals tend to show signs of the expanded colon which affects the process of absorption in the body.

Is it Good to Drink Water After Meals?

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Now for the last and the most crucial segment of the article that highlights what the article is actually about. Many people often wonder if there are actually any kinds of side effects of drinking water after meals. Studies and experts say that there is.

To answer the question, NO, drinking water after meals is not a good option and we are talking about the time frame right after you finish eating the food. Abstain yourself from gulping down inconsiderate amounts of water right after you have finished eating a meal.

Drinking water right after meals tends to dilute down the digestive juices which adversely affect the entire process of digestion. You will tend to witness signs of bloating and indigestion when you drink right after finishing a meal. The permissible time frame for drinking water after meals is either one or two hours.

This ensures that the majority of your food has been digested already and the water won’t hamper the process.

Not just that, ensuring a proper gap between the consumption of meals and drinking water ensures that your body effectively absorbs all the essential nutrients for proper functioning. When the process of digestion and absorption is hampered, your body is devoid of the necessary nutrients that it needs to function properly and without any obstruction.

Space out the time when you drink water – be it before, in between or after meals. Make sure that you drink water only when it is permissible for the body and won’t induce any form of side effects.

What Has Ayurveda Got to Say in this Regard?

Ayurveda has its very own rendition about the entire “drinking water before, in between and after meals” concept. While the majority of it is almost similar to what you might have read in the prior sections of the article, it has a slightly different take on the “drinking water in between meals” part.

While majority of the doctors would suggest you to not drink water in between meals, Ayurveda has a slightly different take on it.

Let us start with the drinking water before meals according to Ayurveda. Is it good or is it not?

• According to Ayurveda, drinking water before meals weakens the digestion strength, otherwise known as the Agni. The water we drink acts as a coolant and ends up diluting the digestive juices, which, in turn, hampers our digestion process.
• Not just that, it is also believed that drinking water before meals can induce weakness and emaciation in an individual which is definitely not something you want to experience.

Let us now move on to the drinking water after meals according to Ayurveda, shall we?

• According to Ayurveda, drinking water after meals and that too right after finishing a meal ends up degrading the quality of food that you ingested, not to mention that it induces bloating and makes you feel full more than what you have eaten.
• Apart from these, Ayurveda also suggest that drinking water after meals can make you obese because of the improper digestion and absorption of the nutrients which later get accumulated in the body.

Now, for the last and most crucial part, drinking water during meals according to Ayurveda.

• This is where it takes a complete U-turn to what normal doctors say and advice. According to Ayurveda, drinking water during meals is beneficial. According to the stated facts, it aids in moistening and softening the food that you are eating and aids in proper breakdown of the ingested food.
• But, even that has its limitations. Ayurveda doesn’t condone chugging down of a full glass of water. It is always best adviced to drink small sips of the water to quench your thirst and that is all. Don’t go overboard with the advice because the same might have adverse effects too.

Now, to finish it off – Does drinking water after meals impair digestion? Yes, but only if the water is drank right after you finish a meal. If you are drinking it one or two hours after the consumption of a meal, it is actually beneficial for the proper metabolism of the body.