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Myth or True: Is Drinking While Eating Unhealthy?

Older people like to lecture their grandchildren with the supposed wisdom that drinking while eating is unhealthy. However, they are wrong about that. On the contrary, low-calorie drinks such as water or unsweetened teas can even support digestion.

This applies above all to roughage, which swells better due to the accompanying liquid intake and can therefore be better digested. In addition, many people generally tend to drink too little liquid, which is why they should not be dispensed with when eating. Overall, you should drink at least one and a half liters of liquid throughout the day, preferably water and other low-calorie drinks.

Water is both a solvent and a carrier for nutrients and helps the chyme slide better through the various stations of the digestive tract. Also, water or another low-calorie beverage before or during a meal can fill up the stomach. You get a feeling of satiety faster, so water and unsweetened tea can help you lose weight.

The myth that drinking while eating is unhealthy stems from the belief that the extra fluid you drink dilutes stomach acid. Stomach acid breaks down food and thus plays an important role in digestion. Anyone who thinks drinking while eating is unhealthy may fear that the diluted stomach acid can no longer break down the food as well and digestion could therefore falter.

The fallacy already consists in the assumption that the liquid ingested leads to such a strongly diluted gastric acid. Water and other drinks with a neutral pH have only a negligibly small effect on the acid concentration in the stomach. Even when eating and drinking at the same time, this is high enough to break down the food pulp.

In addition, the stomach is able to control its acidity as needed. When the stomach expands, cells in the stomach wall deliver hydrochloric acid. In addition, acid production is stimulated by chewing, smelling, and seeing appetizing meals.

Very few people have the problem of producing too little stomach acid. Many are plagued by the opposite symptoms, such as heartburn, which is usually aggravated by alcohol, nicotine, and stress. Therefore, take drinks with every meal without a guilty conscience.

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Written by John Myers

Professional Chef with 25 years of industry experience at the highest levels. Restaurant owner. Beverage Director with experience creating world-class nationally recognized cocktail programs. Food writer with a distinctive Chef-driven voice and point of view.

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