Why You Shouldn't Drink Water Immediately After Meals

There has been a lot of debate on the time and amount of water you should be having before, with and after meals. A lot of people have the habit of downing umpteen glasses of water along with their meals, perhaps with the intention of washing down the food and hoping that this aids the digestive process. However, nutritionists across the world dismiss the idea strongly. Various studies show that the practice severely hampers digestion by diluting the essential gastric juices and causes an upsurge in insulin levels. The issue here is three-fold: consuming water before meals, consuming water alongside meals, and consuming water after meals.Renowned nutritionist Dr. Anju Sood says, “It roughly takes two hours to digest what you eat. The food goes through your esophagus to the stomach, then to your colon before being flushed out of your system. There is a certain fluid-solid proportion in our gastric system. If you consume water before the meals, you are not only disturbing the fluid component by diluting what you eat, you are also fastening the digestion process as the food now enters the large intestine much sooner than it should. Hence it is not advisable to have water just before your meal.”She also strongly dismisses the idea of having water alongside meals, as it not only fastens digestion but also tampers the natural absorption of nutrients after digestion. “Some people who drink water alongside meals have also shown a tendency to have an expanded colon,” she said.(Also Read:4 Amazing Benefits of Drinking Water (and Why You Should Skip Cold Water)