Although we have heard
a lot about the innumerable benefits regarding drinking gallons of water, many
find it contradictory that one should not drink water immediately after eating
food.
Why?
Well, one is supposed to
drink water only when he or she feels thirsty. One must eat food only when one
is hungry. Isn’t it?
As Ayurveda recommends
that natural urges of body must be attended only when they arise. No eating
when you are already feeling full or are not willing to eat. If one eats for
any number of reasons that ought to give troubles to body such as indigestion,
vomiting, stomach ache, gastric etc.
Even doctors suggest
that one should not have water before or after eating food, though small
quantity of water can be taken in between eating, only if it is needed. Many
people drink water before eating so that they feel full and tend to eat less.
That’s also a trick if you are aiming to lose weight.
The pancreas in your
stomach creates certain digestive juices, which flow more after you have eaten your
food. The juices are full on active upon digesting the food and your body
starts absorbing vitamins, minerals and other healthy components of food.
At that time, when you drink
water, it will dilute the digestive juices and impact their digestive power
negatively. It will slow down the digestion. Moreover, your body will also find
it hard to absorb the nutrients and vitamins from food.
You can check it for
yourself these simple facts. Here we have given two exercises for you. Take one
for each day, and then see for yourself the result:-
Day 1: Let’s go for
lunch. Make sure you have taken half a glass of water nearly one or half an
hour before eating --- it’s not necessary either. After eating, do not drink
even a drop of water. After you have had your lunch full, then see how soon you
digested your food, how soon you felt light, energized and then felt hungry at
an appropriate time interval.
Day 2: It’s lunch
again. You can do this exercise with dinner also. This time, drink half to one
glass of water (as you desire) after you have completed your dinner. Now,
you would be feeling heavy, with a bloated stomach. It will seem ages after you
food started getting digested. Some would even find it difficult to sleep
soundly.
The
risks of drinking water immediately after eating:
Certain foods release
not-so-healthy gases in stomach when mixed with water, and this hinders active
digestion.
Drinking water
immediately after having food also leads to mucous secretion, which can often
cause cold and decrease in immunity power.
It is especially more
harmful for people who are diabetic or obese, to drink water after eating,
since this increases the sugar levels in the body and fluctuates the insulin
level.
So, give your tummy at least
one hour time to digest and absorb. You will stay healthy as a result and stay
in tune with your body’s natural urges.
Go for a light walk
after having food, this will speed up the digestion process!
Follow healthy habits - Live a long happy life