Doctor praises health benefits of water as experts reject 'flush food' myth
Downing a pint of water with dinner is quite the norm, yet many wonder if it aids or disrupts the digestive process. A team popularly known as the 'Gut Health Doctor' has weighed in on this commonly asked question, while putting to rest several nutrition-related myths.
The experts underscored the point that drinking water does not 'flush' food through your system, nor does it weaken digestive enzymes. Rather, it might simply contribute to a sense of fullness or instigate temporary reflux symptoms for some individuals.
"For most people drinking a glass of water with a meal won’t have any negative impact on digestion," the health experts outlined in a previous blog post. "And if you're a fast eater, sipping on water during your meal could actually be a good thing to help you slow you down.
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"Water doesn’t 'dilute' your digestive enzymes. The contents of your stomach are constantly monitored so it can adjust to different contents of our meals – it’s amazingly adaptable!"
The 'Gut Health Doctor' isn't alone in their perspective; many other professionals also agree. Among them is Dr. Michael Picco, a MayoClinic gastroenterology specialist with board certification, who reinforces that consuming water with meals is usually harmless.
"There's no concern that water thins down or weakens down (dilute) the digestive juices or interfere with digestion," he explained. "In fact, drinking water during or after a meal helps how your body breaks down and processes food (digestion).
"Water is vital for good health. Water and other drinks help break down food so that your body can take in (absorb) the nutrients."
Beyond this, drinking water before meals has been linked with potential weight loss benefits. This was highlighted in a 2009 study where participants lost as much as 2kg after a period of drinking 500ml of water everyday before dinner.
Further research from the University of California earlier this month also saw similar results. While the latter study wasn't solely focused on drinking water with food, one trial saw individuals drinking more water boast between '44% and 100%' greater weight losses than control groups.
This was particularly true with six cups of water per day. "For such a ubiquitous and simple intervention, the evidence hasn’t been clear and the benefits were not well-established, so we wanted to take a closer look," said senior and corresponding author Benjamin Breyer at the time.
"The amount of rigorous research turned out to be limited, but in some specific areas, there was a statistically significant benefit. To our knowledge, this is the first study assessing the benefits of water consumption on clinical outcomes broadly."
