Approximately 60 percent of your body is made from water, an essential chemical that is involved in nearly every process from metabolism to respiration. According to MayoClinic.com, the average adult needs to drink eight to nine cups of water every day. If you're more physically active, you need more water to replace the amount lost in sweating. Becoming even mildly dehydrated can have significant health implications, because your body can't perform critical functions quickly or efficiently enough to meet demands. As a result, all processes, including digestion, can be impaired.
Importance of Drinking Water
Water plays an important role in moving toxins out of your organs, transporting nutrients, and maintaining your mucous membranes, the first line of defense against bacteria and viruses. Even if you're not physically active or don't live in a warm climate, you can lose significant amounts of water through breathing, sweating and excretion. Mild dehydration, while not imminently dangerous, can cause symptoms such as fatigue, headache and weakness. In response to inadequate water, your body slows every process down to conserve water stores.
Digestive Process
Your digestive system runs from your mouth through your body, ending at the anus and is the passageway for the food and beverages you consume. Nutrients are extracted from food after it has been reduced to a usable form by enzymes. Digestive juices, made of enzymes, other substances and water, help to break food particles down to a size small enough to pass through the walls of the digestive tract. Water too, is extracted by the digestive tract and sent throughout the body.
How Water Affects Digestion
Dr. Michael F. Picco of the Mayo Clinic explains that water doesn't appear to impair the digestive process. In fact, he adds that drinking water with or following a meal can help aid digestion by providing a source of transportation of nutrients. If you find that drinking water with a meal seems to cause symptoms of indigestion such as excess gas and stomach upset, drink 30 minutes before or after a meal. See your doctor if your symptoms continue or become worse.
Considerations
Drinking water rather than beverages that contain large amounts of sodium or sugar is a healthy way to provide your body with a nutrient that is essential for digestion. In contrast to the purported belief that drinking water during or after a meal will delay digestion, it actually facilitates the process, according to Dr. Picco. In addition, if you're trying to lose excess weight, drinking water before or during a meal may help fill your stomach so you eat fewer calories.
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