Water during meals

[chrissyrey]

The book says, "Drink plenty of water throughout the day, but not with your meal, as it can inhibit proper digestion by diluting stomach acid and digestive enzymes." Is there a reference for this assertion? Every credible reference I've found says that water doesn't negatively impact digestion. Is there a study I'm not finding that says otherwise?

[chrissyrey]

Also, this recommendation is in the section for people with IBS/IBD. Does it only apply to them, or are you recommending that everyone refrain from drinking water at mealtime?

[ShannonM816]

Also, this recommendation is in the section for people with IBS/IBD. Does it only apply to them, or are you recommending that everyone refrain from drinking water at mealtime?

 

It's actually a common recommendation for people with IBS/IBD, not just a Whole30 thing. I don't know all the science behind it, or whether it really works or not, but it's not just W30 recommending it.

 

It's just for people with IBS/IBD. 

[cinagain]

Chrissy, this isn't from an IBS/IBD standpoint, but as a weight loss surgery patient, I was always told to not drink with meals.  The reason for us (WLS patients) is that it moves your food out of the stomach more quickly.  Kind of makes sense, I guess...lots of water creates a slurry that might pass through into your small intestines faster?  Maybe it's really better to let the digestive enzymes work at "full strength" vs diluting everything with water?

 

The other impact might be in fullness/satiety.  If you're drinking a lot of water, you might feel full/satisfied faster, but it's temporary.  What you really want is to feel satiety from the food so it sustains you until the next meal.

 

Of course, all that's just guesswork on my part.