Is It Good To Drink Liquid With Meals?

Your body is made of mostly fluids. It is important for you to stay hydrated each day so that your body can run properly. Drinking fluids while eating is good to do and might even help your body. Fluid intake while eating encourages digestion and regularity. It can even make you fuller faster, resulting in less overeating. So go ahead, drink up.

The Concern

Your stomach works to digest food and protect you. Using the hydrochloric acid that it produces, the stomach does both. The concern with drinking liquid with meals is that it will work to dilute the stomach acid, reducing digestion and leaving you open to food-borne illness. The stomach works, however, to balance and regulate itself, interpreting and monitoring its pH and making adjustments when needed.

Gastric Emptying

The movement of food and liquid through the stomach is referred to as gastric emptying. The composition and volume of the food and liquid that you consume influence the rate at which they move through your stomach and into your small intestine. Because liquid moves quickly through the stomach, drinking while eating can increase the rate of gastric emptying. If food remains in your stomach for too long, you can suffer from stomach pain. Increasing the speed of gastric emptying is also useful if you need to increase your blood sugar in a hurry, such as in the case of hypoglycemia.

Digestion and Breakdown

Even drinking fluids after eating is encouraged, says MayoClinic.com. Drinking during and after eating keeps your digestive system functioning smoothly and also helps with digestion. Added fluid can help your body break down the nutrients in your food, making digestion easier on your stomach and small intestine.

Constipation

Drinking water with meals might also help keep you regular. When you are dehydrated, your body cannot properly function; this includes your digestive system. Dehydration makes it hard for your body to move along waste, which causes constipation. Drinking water with meals keeps you hydrated and keeps you regular.