drinking water at the right time

[Mysterie]

Drink one glass of water 30 minutes before a meal to help digestion. Remember not to drink too soon before or after a meal as the water will dilute the digestive juices. Drink water an hour after the meal to allow the body to absorb the nutrients.

this one kinda took me off guard, i hadn't ever questioned the cultural norm of having something to drink with your meal. now it makes sense to me as it would make it more difficult to digest food through diluting the concentration of enzymes in the stomach.

anyone thought about this or tried doing it?

i'm going to start leaving time after eating and a bit before to see how it affects my energy levels etc.

 

[belligerent drunk]

I always drink water with my meal, and right after. I don't care if it dilutes the juices/enzymes and other substances and slows absorption, I don't like feeling dehydrated (which happens if I don't drink). I really am not sure if it really is significant, to be honest. Because nutrients (simple molecules) get absorbed well whether you drink or not. For example, if I take my codeine on an empty stomach, and drink 500-1000 ml of water right before or after, it will not delay the onset not even a minute. I don't know about digesting food (which requires enzymatic work to break down polymers), but I somehow don't think drinking a reasonable amount of water is going to disrupt that process.

 

[Mysterie]

i think it would have some impact, diluting the concentration of nutrients would mean our body would need more energy to metabolise that food because it would take longer.

as for dehydration, the same water you would usually drink could easily be taken during the time you are awake, just not close after meals or just before.

i'm not trying to convert anyone to this idea tho, i just found it interesting and am curious to experiment with it myself.

 

[belligerent drunk]

The body doesn't need energy to digest food. The term used here, "energy", is a misnomer. The amount of energy released or consumed in a chemical process is not dependent on how long it takes, only on time-independent variables, such as heat and entropy of the process. Now, in a biological system that may not be strictly true, because it's a lot more complicated, and difference in time may result in different fluxes of substances/whatever resulting in different gradients and different energies, but I doubt the difference would be significant.

The GI tract releases enzymes and some other substances that help speed up passive absorption, but it's not like it's grabbing stuff inside with arms, and the more dilute it is, the more strength it has to use. That's not how it works at all. It's a chemical process.

There can be another reason that I'm missing or not aware of why diluting your food is not good, that's a given, of course.

About dehydration. You need water to hydrolyze (read: digest) things like proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Now it may not be a lot, but it still is something. And the main reason I do it is because I feel slightly dehydrated (and feel the need to drink), it is mainly just to alleviate that feeling.

Oh, and I'm not bashing you for the idea. I just don't think it has a lot of ground, but it's always good to discuss, because I may as well be wrong. I'm not a human biologist.