Is it possible to drink water during training? Can I drink while eating? To drink or not to drink while eating

To understand the “possibility” and necessity of drinking water, let’s look at the very part of us in which we drink and eat. It is called the “stomach” and has approximately this intricate shape:

The stomach can stretch 4-8 times its empty volume.

Even a mongrel's stomach is covered inside with folds and grooves no less than the most thoroughbred Shar Pei. Nature specially made it so that it could stretch 4-8 times its empty volume. By the way, you can find out why it is impossible to stretch the stomach with food.

You are smooth. And your stomach -
Charmingly crooked.

That part of the stomach, which is located in the picture on the upper left, is called (just don’t make a face) “lesser curvature”. Its entire internal part is also covered with special folds and grooves. Together they form the so-called “gastric gutter” and are located in such a way as to allow the water we drink during meals to flow as quickly as possible to the valve, which is called the “gatekeeper” (this is not from the word “lie”).

This valve is closed as long as there is undigested food in the stomach and it opens when the process of digesting food is completed. Or when we need to skip the water we drank during meals.

The valve is closed as long as there is undigested food in the stomach.

And the gastric groove allows water to get to the pylorus, bypassing the food that is being processed in the stomach. This is how nature conceived us in a water-loving way! The water in the picture is shown with blue arrows.

Solid food components are not able to pass through the pylorus until they are crushed to small particles no larger than 2-3 mm in size. And water drunk during a meal passes freely through the pylorus when it warms up to the temperature of the stomach.

Therefore, if you wash down your food, do it with water at room temperature or lukewarm.

Research results show that a portion of water of about 300 ml, drunk during a meal, leaves the stomach filled with food within 5-15 minutes.
The stomach is not a passive bag for food. We all have a stomach that is a very pumped up and muscular organ! During digestion, it constantly intensively kneads the food due to the alternating tension of its muscular walls. It strains to improve and speed up the process of grinding food. And the lump of food should be quite soft.

What makes food soft in the stomach is not only kneading and thorough chewing, but also a sufficient, but not excessive, amount of water.
Therefore, we just need water during the digestion process to “wash out” lumps of food and ensure the normal functioning of enzymes. It is not for nothing that Ayurveda believes, apparently, that after eating the stomach should be filled one-third with food, one-third with water, and one-third with (take a deep breath) air.

Our stomach knows very well
That there is never too much water.

To store water, which is necessary for digestion, there are so-called “pockets” in the stomach. Water is collected and stored in them until used.

In addition, you should not drink... sorry - forget that the entire mucous membrane of the stomach can absorb some amounts of water. This is specially done by nature in order to flexibly and quickly regulate the water content of food to the optimal level.

So, the first conclusion: nature specially designed our stomach so that we could drink (and drink) water before, during and after meals. Moreover, it is better for us to drink warm water.
But - only water! Passes straight through the pylorus, no digestion, just water. After all, liquids that contain many nutrients are considered by the stomach as food. This is, for example, broth, soup, beer, compote, tea-coffee-let's dance, cola, kefir or milk, fresh juice, juice, etc. They are digested in the same way as solid food. Or - together with her.

Therefore, if the volume of such liquid food is large, then the stomach will have to wait until some of the water is absorbed by its walls in order to reduce the total volume of processing and the stomach does not overwork itself at work. And besides, with a large volume of liquid food, the glands of the stomach and pancreas will be forced to secrete more acid and enzymes. And over time, their regular overload begins to have a negative effect on their own sour work.

Conclusion two: washing down crayfish with beer and herring with champagne is an overload of the digestive system, and soups are not the best food for humans.
The body also needs a large volume of water to absorb food and transport it in the blood throughout the hungry body. Therefore, it is quite reasonable to provide the body with enough water. To do this, you can and should either wash down your food with small portions of water, or drink 1-2 glasses of warm water 10-15 minutes before meals.

The second is preferable. Because, as scientists rejoice, water drunk before meals reduces the number of calories eaten. And in our high-calorie times, this is never superfluous!

Drinking water before meals reduces the number of calories you eat.

And how much less can you eat by drinking more? Quite a lot! Three additional cups of 150-200 ml. of water per day will encourage you to eat 206 fewer calories per day.

A pleasant conclusion: drink when you want and in quantities that are comfortable for you! Naturally, try to maintain reasonable moderation and not drink a liter or two of water with your food (“it’s not beer that ruins people, it’s water that ruins people”).

Sources of life-giving moisture and information:

1. Textbook “HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY”, edited by R. Schmidt and G. Tevs;
2. Joseph J Feher. Quantitative Human Physiology – An Introduction;
3. Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice" by Susan Standring. Elsevier Health Sciences;
4. A.S.Paintal. A study of gastric stretch receptors. their role in the peripheral mechanism of satiation of hunger and thirst;
5. R. An J. McCaffrey: Plain water consumption in relation to energy intake and diet quality among US adults, 2005–2012;

CAUTION: Always consult your doctor when making any changes to your diet or lifestyle, as there may be contraindications in each specific case. The recommendations provided in this article are not a substitute for professional medical care, consultation, diagnosis, advice, or treatment. The author and publication do not accept responsibility for the results of any use of the above information.

Text: Ekaterina Khripko

various trends of alternative medicine gave the world many “rules” on how to live and eat in order to be healthy. And although these movements themselves, as well as their adherents, have long gone out of fashion, some of the myths they generated are still alive. Let’s look at the next one and find out whether it’s still harmful to drink food with water or other liquid.

Who came up with the idea that you shouldn't drink?

The fact that the liquid with which a person washes down food dilutes the gastric juice was said by Herbert Shelton, the same popularizer of the theory, whose books were read at the border of the last and present centuries. Shelton did not have a medical education, and he practiced medicine without having the appropriate license - for which he was repeatedly prosecuted. None of his theories have been adequately substantiated, supported by research data, or published in any medical journal. In addition, recommendations to avoid drinking while eating are attributed to Ayurveda, and Indian philosophy speaks of a ban on cold water, which supposedly “quenches the fire of digestion.”

Nevertheless, the main argument of opponents of drinking - dilution of gastric juice - has been subjected to repeated testing, and it has never been proven that this is even possible. A study put an end to this issue, during which patients were given 300 ml of water to drink before a planned gastric surgery. During operations, samples of gastric juice were taken from them and its acidity was measured. As you would expect, the pH (a measure of acid-base balance) was normal. So the first thing to remember is that there is nothing wrong with drinking while eating.

How does digestion work?

Digestive enzymes begin to be produced before we even start eating, and this process continues throughout the meal and after it, so if water could dilute them, it would hardly be critical not to drink during meals. As physician, toxicologist and medical journalist Alexey Vodovozov says, the theory of diluting enzymes is absurd. The enzyme molecule interacts with the molecules of the substrate, that is, a substance susceptible to this enzyme. To do this, they need to meet, and water rather facilitates this meeting: one thing is a dense lump of food (where the enzyme still needs to somehow squeeze through), another thing is a liquefied one or even close to a solution. In the second case, the meeting of the enzyme with the substrate will occur much faster.

It is worth noting that we are talking about washing down food not while chewing - the food in the mouth should be moistened only with saliva, because digestion begins with the processing of food precisely by salivary enzymes. But there's nothing wrong with drinking after you've swallowed another bite. The acidic environment of the stomach is provided by hydrochloric acid, and in order to lower its acidity (that is, increase the pH) by at least one point, you need to drink several liters of water at once. But even in this case, a healthy stomach will simply continue to produce acid until its amount reaches the level it needs. It has been revealed, for example, that the food itself that enters the stomach can somewhat reduce acidity, but during the digestion process it returns to normal.

Leading employee of the Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, professor, doctor of medical sciences Alla Pogozheva explains that food that enters the stomach stays in it for an average of four hours, while water “flows” in 10–15 minutes, after which it is absorbed in the intestines. The specialist emphasizes that even a very large amount of water is not enough to dilute gastric juice and reduce enzyme activity. In addition, the food itself (especially vegetables and fruits) and the gastric juice itself contain water, so its presence in the stomach is quite natural and does not contradict physiology.

Is it possible not to drink while eating?

You don't have to drink. If only because, in the course of long evolution, the human body has learned to independently regulate the processes occurring in it. In other words, the body is able to adapt to various circumstances and change its work depending on them so that it is comfortable. “The body has several lines of “protection from a fool,” which its owner may turn out to be. The owner who decides to drink water during meals, because it is written so in one source, or not to drink, because it is written so in another. In the first case, some mechanisms for maintaining homeostasis (that is, constancy of the internal environment) will work, in the second - others,” notes Alexey Vodovozov. Professor Alla Pogozheva adds that water during meals contributes to the formation of stool, with its participation various reactions and metabolic processes occur in the body, so it is still better to drink, and if not during meals, then at least after some time.

Can I drink tea, coffee, juice or lemonade?

For comfortable digestion, especially if problems have already arisen with it, warm still water without impurities is best - but in general there is nothing wrong with combining food with other drinks. It has been confirmed that they, like water, do not affect the pH level. For example, in a study that compared the effects of water, tea, coffee and apple juice, there were no significant changes in stomach acidity. There are only a few nuances that it would do well to take into account for people prone, for example, to heartburn or flatulence.

Is it possible to drink water with food? Many of us do this all the time, and “soften” food immediately after eating it not only with life-giving moisture, but also with carbonated drinks, as well as tea, coffee, juices, high-calorie milkshakes - in a word, everything you want. At the same time, few people think about the consequences of such an infusion of fluid into the body. What happens to it when it gets into it, and what effect does such a habit have on digestion, as well as our figure? Having answered this question, we can easily find out: to drink or not to drink?

Arguments of opponents: harmful or not

The first and most serious is intended for those who want to lose weight no matter what. Drinking during meals at lunch, dinner or breakfast, you stretch your own stomach. And the larger it is, the more it can fit in, the larger the portions, the stronger the appetite and the higher the number on the scale.

Why can't you drink water or other liquids with your food? Leading nutritionists are confident that the habit of pouring drinks into yourself during meals can turn into a real disaster for your body - in particular, the gastrointestinal tract. And that's why:

When we swallow soda or juice, the secreted gastric juice dilutes, which contributes to disruption of digestive processes. Do you feel like you are turning into a heavy ball, experiencing discomfort and even pain? It’s all because of the liquid that you drank without hesitation. It slowed down the digestion of food, and it simply “stayed” in the body. It won't do any good in this form. Give up this habit, and after a short time you will feel that the discomfort will go away, and bloating and a feeling of heaviness will no longer bother you.

Why is it dangerous to your health to liquefy the contents of your stomach while eating? The fact is that such softening of consumed dishes, the desire to “dilute” food with juice, water or tea leads to disappointing consequences - loss of bactericidal properties. You risk getting poisoned and contracting an infection, and this is a reason for serious consideration: whether to drink what you cook for breakfast, lunch and dinner or not. What about broths and other first courses? Are they also potentially harmful? No, because soups contain special extractive substances - they stimulate juice secretion and digestion.

Imagine that you are washing down your meal. How do you do it? By taking a sip from a mug or glass for each portion sent into the mouth, we let unwanted air into the body, which later becomes the cause of increased gas formation. The intestines stretch, and the same air that has not had time to be absorbed into the blood leads to serious discomfort - rumbling, pain, bloating.

Should I drink water with my food? A completely logical question - why? After all, we already get the fluid necessary for the body - from the food we consume daily. For example, in vegetables (such as cucumbers and tomatoes) the essential moisture is as much as 95%, in lean meat - from 50 to 70, and there is no need to even mention the first courses - there is more than enough of it. Learn to be content with what is beneficial and not harmful to your health and figure, and you will forget about the discomfort after breakfast, lunch and dinner.

If drinking while eating is so harmful, why do all restaurants in the world serve a glass of water to the table? The answer to this question is this: first, the visitor is asked to choose a liquid that serves as an accompaniment to the main dish, and they are allowed to try a kind of aperitif only 10-15 minutes before the meal. After tasting the culinary masterpieces, the guests also drink - but only after a pause, during which they are supposed to discuss what the waiter served, argue about tastes, or talk about something of their own.

There is even a special profession that is still new to Russia - water sommelier. His responsibility is to select water (mineral or table) for the restaurant visitor. It all depends on the client’s preferences, the characteristics of the dish he ordered, even the taste qualities of what is served in the glass.

Find out more about our weight loss programs:

Is it possible to drink after eating: a question about the usual morning meal

For many of us, a cup of tea or coffee during the first meal of the day is a kind of ritual that only a few can sacrifice. Think for yourself - is it worth turning your stomach into a dimensionless container for food, and then suffer from heaviness and bloating?

Another piece of advice for those who don’t want to take a break between breakfast and an invigorating drink is to reconsider your diet. If all you eat in the morning is a couple of toasts with cheese and sausage, your habit of a glass or two of water or a cup of tea is understandable. In this way, you are trying to soften the food entering the stomach, to help it, not suspecting that you are only making things worse.

What to eat so that thoughts of washing down food don’t arise? Eliminate spicy, overly salty and spicy foods from your diet - they provoke increased secretion of gastric juice and increase thirst. For breakfast, give preference to aromatic porridge with water or milk, healthy and light yogurt with fruit salad - you’ll see, you won’t want to add the usual liquid to such options.

Why can’t you drink after meals and what should those who cannot do without drinks during meals do?

Tea, coffee or something stronger? Our body is unlikely to appreciate such a gift at lunch or dinner: for it it is more likely to be harmful than beneficial. Think about how such a drink works when it reaches its destination - it only makes the kidneys work. It turns out that we only lose the liquid necessary for life, and do not replenish its reserves, as we would like.

There is bad news for lovers of buckwheat or meat eaten with milk - you will not only gain excess weight by increasing the caloric intake per day, but also slow down the body’s work aimed at absorbing nutrients.

Let's remember the standard lunch or dinner for a hearty eater at a fast food restaurant - a milkshake and a huge hamburger. Now let’s see how foods eaten and drunk in one sitting affect us.

By choosing such a high-calorie snack, you will harm your figure - you can forget about losing weight, since a hamburger alone contains as much as 643 kcal.

The milk included in the cocktail prevents the full absorption of iron, the source of which is meat, and calcium from cheese.

Hence the conclusion: if you want to be slim and healthy, forget about unhealthy and high-calorie foods and quenching your thirst while eating.

Few people know that the habit of drinking food can destroy the benefits of even those foods that most of us consider sources of health. For example, green tea is an invigorating and tonic drink that is drunk with such pleasure not only by those losing weight, but also by all connoisseurs of this natural healer. Alas, in tandem with food it will not bring any benefit: tannins affect the sensitivity of the gastrointestinal mucosa, prevent the absorption of nutrients, and inhibit the digestion process. Our stomach works at half capacity, intestinal activity decreases.

As you can see, even green tea can cause discomfort and deterioration in the functioning of the body if you drink it incorrectly - during meals.

What about meat and fish? It is enough to acidify the dish - sprinkle it with lemon or lime juice, and you will not want to wash it down with anything - be it wine or water. This method of processing will allow the body to absorb the maximum of useful substances, and you will be able to enjoy the unusual taste without fear for your own well-being (if you correctly calculate your caloric intake and do not harm yourself by choosing fatty and obviously harmful foods).

How long after eating can you drink?

For those who want not only to lose weight, but also to improve their health, there is the following golden rule - you should quench your thirst 1.5 hours before meals or 2 hours after it. If you fail to take the necessary pause, you risk complicating and slowing down the processes of nutrient absorption and digestion:

Drinking liquid after fruits and berries leads to increased gas formation, a feeling of heaviness and bloating.

Water that enters the body along with fatty foods blocks the digestion of incoming food and promotes its fermentation in the stomach, the appearance of toxic decay products.

Tea or coffee, which we indulge in directly at breakfast or lunch, reduces the splitting effect of saliva and dilutes it.

Those who like to wash down their food with a cool liquid - soda or juice - should know: you are loading your intestines with work that it cannot handle. He will have to cope with undigested masses, and this is the first step towards disrupting the functioning of an important organ.

In other words, if you want to quench your thirst, be patient and do not pour water into yourself while eating - it is better to do it an hour and a half before or 2 hours later. Our body does not tolerate the unreasonable mixing of liquid and solid - following a bad habit can lead to gas formation, bloating, deterioration of intestinal function, as well as obesity - a sure companion of overeating, which is caused by a stomach distended by liquid and food.

So, let’s remember once again why water regime during breakfast, afternoon snack, lunch or dinner is undesirable:

Our stomach secretes juice, and we carefully dilute it. This leads to poor digestibility of consumed food and indigestion.

The habit of drinking with meals can cause pancreatitis - inflammation of the pancreas caused by a failure in metabolic processes.

A sip of liquid is acceptable, but it should be plain water, not soda, coffee or tea with sugar. Sweet drinks contain tannins - it is these substances that reduce the digestibility of foods sent to the stomach.

Cold drinks are especially dangerous - they have a strong effect on intestinal motility, increasing it several times. The result is getting rid of undigested food.

Milk should not be used as a food additive - it promotes fermentation processes, and in many European countries it itself is not considered a drink, but a real food.

If you want to help your body, drink a glass of warm water on an empty stomach. Most of us forget about this, considering such a habit unnecessary and burdensome. But it’s still worth remembering: in this way we help the body wake up, make the digestive system “work,” improve metabolism and get rid of constipation.

If it’s so difficult for you to eat without an obligatory glass of water or something sweeter at hand, listen to the advice of experts: go to the doctor. An uncontrollable desire to drink food, no matter what it is, often becomes an alarming signal - it indicates a lack of iron.

What to do if the reason has not been identified, but your hand still reaches for the mug? Try to change your diet by removing everything dry from it, and prepare semi-liquid dishes and soups (both regular and those with a consistency similar to puree) more often. The ideal option is stewed vegetables in our usual stew, ratatouille, porridge, steamed omelet. You don’t have to soften them in your mouth first, taking one sip after another.

A rule that should not be ignored

Do not allow self-poisoning and do not forget - you need to drink up to 2 liters a day, but first, it is important to learn how to use the source of life, vigor and strength so that the organs of the gastrointestinal tract, and after them the entire body, are not damaged.

On average, you need to drink up to 8 or more glasses a day, and not immediately after a snack, but in between meals. This will help you maintain excellent physical shape, give you a slim figure, and give yourself health and longevity.

You should drink without waiting until you are terribly thirsty - this is a bad sign indicating dehydration. And such a state should not be allowed under any circumstances. Systematic refusal of the norm will lead to unpleasant consequences - metabolic disorders, the appearance of fat deposits and cellulite. Combined with daily overeating, overly dense and frequent snacks, as well as refusal of a proper diet, the habit of seeing life-giving moisture only as an additive to food has a detrimental effect on our health - excess weight appears, problems with the stomach and intestines arise.

Is it harmful to drink water with food? Our specialists will answer this and many other questions. We will help you start a new life - with proper and healthy nutrition, giving up dangerous prohibitions and a positive attitude! Find your path to slimness with us - easily and simply!

Together with a gastroenterologist and nutritionist, we answer a question that has long been of concern to everyone who is trying to lose weight.

We have already told you more than once what valuable properties water has; we figured out how much clean water you really should drink per day (not two liters at all); Is melt water really as beneficial as everyone says (it turned out that it is not), and also how much water you need to drink before, during and after training to avoid dehydration. Now we decided to find out whether it is possible to drink water during and after meals.

Myths that drinking water during and after meals somehow harms digestion and promotes weight gain are not scientifically supported. Until now, scientists have not conducted any research that would put an end to this issue once and for all.

Alexey Paramonov

gastroenterologist, candidate of medical sciences

The fact that drinking water during and after meals is harmful is a popular belief, which is argued in different ways. The basic idea is this: gastric juice becomes less concentrated and this, in turn, disrupts digestion. Sometimes this is somehow associated with weight gain or loss. In fact, all this is fantasy. Such studies have never been carried out by anyone because they are meaningless, and diluting gastric and pancreatic juice so that it stops working is unrealistic. The body is a self-regulating feedback system: if there are not enough enzymes and acids in the digestive juices, an additional portion will be immediately produced. For medicine, this issue was closed almost 100 years ago thanks to the experiments of Ivan Petrovich Pavlov. However, such discussions regularly arise within the framework of various diets and nutrition systems, which are far beyond the boundaries of the scientific field.

Drinking water during and after meals even has some benefits. Firstly, it improves digestion. Water helps break down food - in crushed form it is better and easier to transport through the entire digestive tract. Secondly, water helps break down food so that the body can better absorb all the nutrients. Thirdly, water softens stool and prevents constipation. Finally, water helps control your appetite after eating. For example, after a light dinner you may remain hungry and accidentally (well, how else) eat dessert. Water will create a feeling of fullness, which will help you refrain from overeating. But each person’s body is individual and has its own characteristics. Therefore, there are no universal rules here; you can or cannot drink water during or after meals - learn to listen to your body and organism.

Natalya Fadeeva

nutritionist-endocrinologist, candidate of medical sciences, weight loss expert

It is not advisable to drink water immediately before meals, especially in large quantities. Digestive juices begin to be secreted reflexively in anticipation of food 10-15 minutes before eating in response to its smell and visual stimuli; This helps prepare the digestive tract for the digestive process. A large amount of water during this period will wash away all digestive juices, and digestion will be difficult. As for drinking dry food, this is useful - a food bolus forms in the stomach, and if the food is very dry, this also complicates the digestive process. Wetting dry food allows stomach acids and digestive enzymes to process it more easily. Water is evacuated from the stomach very quickly - within five minutes, so all excess liquid that is not needed to soak the food bolus will go away very quickly.

There is practically no consensus on whether you can drink after eating - this must be decided individually. The usual reasoning that you should never drink after eating, as it interferes with digestion, is far from the truth; there are foods that take a very long time to digest, for example red meat - up to 5-6 hours. The desire to drink after a meal and the need for fluid also depends on the consistency of the food (liquid, dry, thick) - if you ate soup or had lunch with the now fashionable liquid green smoothie, or ate juicy fruits, you are unlikely to immediately want to drink such food. Thirst also depends on the quality of food, on its saltiness - usually you want to wash down very sweet or salty food to dilute the concentration - and on the presence of chronic gastrointestinal diseases. For example, with an overactive intestine, a glass of cold water can speed up the movement of the food bolus and its evacuation, and therefore impair the absorption of nutrients. A glass of warm water or a hot drink with a lazy intestine can contribute to its relaxation, some stagnation, a feeling of heaviness, and constipation. It is important to listen to your body and understand: in what case you feel most good, active and at ease.

The digestive process is aimed at ensuring that the food a person eats is completely absorbed by the body. To do this, it must be broken down into elementary substances - nutrients that can seep through the intestinal walls and enter the blood, giving a person the strength not only to move and work, but also to think. This process begins when food enters the mouth, during chewing.

At this moment, the food begins to be crushed and mixed with saliva, which contains chemically active substances - enzymes, under the influence of which the process of decomposition of food into components occurs. Moving along the esophagus, chewed food continues to be digested, but the main process begins when it enters the stomach. It begins to release concentrated gastric juice, containing not only enzymes, but also hydrochloric acid. Digestion continues after food enters the duodenum and then into the intestines.

Is it possible to drink food with water?

It is believed that drinking water with food is harmful, because... water reduces the concentration of gastric juice and slows down the action of enzymes, as a result of which food is not digested in the stomach to the desired standard and enters the intestines half-digested, provoking the onset of the rotting process. At first glance, this point of view is quite reasonable, but in reality not everything is so simple.

The fact is that there are deep folds on the walls of the stomach. The liquid, having got into it, flows down these folds, moving into the lumen of the duodenum, without having time to dilute the gastric juice. Solid food is digested as usual. The only condition under which such fluid removal becomes possible is the normal size of the stomach - if too much food is eaten, its walls stretch and the folds on them are smoothed out, as a result of which water, mixing with gastric juice, actually reduces its concentration. Therefore, for normal digestion it is necessary to limit the amount of food and try not to overeat.

If you wish, when the food is too dry, you can wash it down, but in no case with cold drinks, which contribute to the solidification of fats, which significantly slows down and even makes it impossible to digest such food. Therefore, there is no harm when you eat liquid soups and even broths - all the beneficial substances contained in them will be completely absorbed by the body. But cold water while eating is taboo; you should drink it no earlier than 1.5-2 hours after you eat.