Myth debunked: drinking water, coffee, and tea with food is safe

It's okay to drink during meals: doctor dispelled a popular myth about digestion

As reported by TUT.AZ, well-known endocrinologist and nutritionist, candidate of medical sciences Oksana Mikhaleva refuted the widespread belief about the harm of drinking during meals in an interview with Gazeta.Ru.

The expert pointed out that many mistakenly believe that you shouldn't drink while eating because it dilutes stomach acid and subsequently worsens digestion.

"In reality, the stomach always produces exactly as much acid as is needed to process specific food. Chemoreceptors help with this by monitoring acid concentration and regulating its production. If a person drinks while eating, a temporary decrease in gastric juice concentration is simply compensated by additional acid production, and digestion is not disrupted. On the contrary, more moistened food mixes better and is more accessible to the effects of gastric juice," the expert explained.

Mikhaleva also refuted the misconception that liquid stretches the stomach. According to her, water leaves the stomach so quickly that it doesn't have time to affect its size.

"You can only stretch your stomach through regular and significant overeating. Liquid has nothing to do with this. Moreover, in some cases, doctors even recommend drinking with meals - for example, for people with digestive diseases to facilitate digestion, or for overweight people: water saturates the fiber, increasing its volume several times, which accelerates the feeling of fullness," the doctor clarified.

Regarding tea and coffee, the specialist noted that their moderate consumption during meals is safe. The myth that tannins in these drinks prevent the absorption of vitamins and minerals also does not correspond to reality.

"This is incorrect. Tannins do not affect the absorption of vitamins at all. They may affect the absorption of minerals, but this mainly concerns taking mineral supplements. The minerals contained in food are bound to amino acids and other molecules, so a small amount of tannins from one or two cups of a beverage does not affect their absorption," Mikhaleva explained.

She added that when taking dietary supplements with minerals, additional precautions are needed. Tea and coffee can reduce the absorption of supplements with magnesium, iron, copper, zinc, and calcium, so it is recommended to take a break of two to four hours between drinks and taking these supplements. This also applies to certain medications.