How long after eating can you drink water, tea, coffee: health rules, tips. When is it better and correct to drink water: before or after meals, warm or cold? How to drink water after meals

Water is the basis of life, and it plays a huge role in the human body. Therefore, doctors recommend drinking a sufficient amount of clean liquid throughout the day. But does it matter when a person drinks? Of course yes. It is important to know how long after eating you can drink water.

Why is it harmful to drink food, and what to do if you want to drink while eating

Many people have the habit of always adding water or juice to their food. In previous years, it was customary to wash down lunch with compote or tea. Scientific recommendations of the 40s of the last century were the need to consume one milliliter of water per calorie of food. However, modern nutritionists are against drinking. In their opinion, food should enter the body separately from liquid.

Is it harmful to drink while eating?

When a person eats dry food, he has to chew the pieces for quite a long time. This factor contributes to the release of a large amount of saliva, which contains a special enzyme that disinfects foods entering the stomach. In addition, well-chewed food is absorbed faster and more completely, which is also beneficial for the body. After all, the load on other organs of the digestive tract is reduced.

Many people are concerned about the question of whether it is possible to drink food at this moment? This is not worth doing. However, if you haven't drunk water beforehand, you may feel thirsty during your meal, especially if the food itself isn't very juicy. In this case, a small amount of water can help digestion. Remember that if there is a lack of water balance, serious intestinal problems can begin. It is also important to drink correctly:

• Drinking water during meals should be done in small sips;
• You shouldn’t swallow water right away, you need to chew it and mix it with saliva, then it will have the most beneficial effect.

We must remember that you only need to drink water that has a temperature close to body temperature:

• too cold will simply displace undigested food from the stomach;
• hot will have an irritating effect on its walls, preventing the process of breakdown of products.

After meal

Recent studies show that water drunk immediately after a hearty meal is not very beneficial for humans.

• Food entering the stomach is broken down by gastric juice and the enzymes it contains. If water gets there at this moment, it reduces its concentration. The digestion process slows down. Without having time to break down completely, the food passes further into the intestines.
• Due to the increase in digestion time, the load on all organs involved in the digestion process increases, as well as on the heart. With that said, is it okay to drink water immediately after eating?
• Washing down food with too cool water or drinks from the refrigerator - juice, soda - is especially harmful. Such liquid quickly displaces incompletely broken down food from the stomach. Products that should be digested in it for several hours leave it much earlier - literally in 20-30 minutes. The feeling of hunger quickly returns, and the person snacks again. Therefore, people who wash down their food with cold drinks often gain excess weight.
• Undigested food that enters the intestines is subject to putrefactive processes and gas formation. The body will not receive the necessary nutrients and energy generated by the breakdown of food. Moreover, rotting products will be absorbed into the blood through the intestinal walls, causing a toxic effect and unnecessary stress on the pancreas and heart.
• Water, if drunk in the first minutes after eating, increases the volume of the stomach, as a result of which portions imperceptibly become larger, gradually leading to excess weight.
• Even green or herbal tea, known for its beneficial properties, will have an inhibitory effect on intestinal activity, delaying the reactions of food breakdown, if consumed immediately, without waiting some time after eating.

Does it have an effect on weight and weight loss?

Water is invaluable in the fight against excess weight. It dissolves harmful metabolic products that have a toxic effect and removes them from the body. Freed from toxins, systems function more productively. However, you need to know when exactly you should drink water.

Water, drunk before meals, approximately 20-40 minutes, has a positive effect on the body. Experiments have shown that it helps:

• significantly reduce the feeling of hunger;
• stimulate digestion processes;
• remove remaining digestive juices from the stomach;
• maintain normal water balance;
• Satisfy your hunger with much less food.

A healthy morning habit would be a glass of water with a slice of lemon, drunk on an empty stomach. You can prepare the drink the night before so that it is imbued with citrus flavor and vitamins. It activates metabolic processes, helping to wake up. Many people are afraid to drink in the evening, fearing swelling. However, they may be caused by salty foods that retain water in the body.

How long after eating can you drink, what exactly and at what temperature?

Is it possible to drink water after a heavy meal? In answering this question, recommendations from nutritionists should be given. They are as follows. After the next meal, enough time must pass before you can drink any drinks. The completion of the digestion process depends on many factors, including the type of food and how it is prepared. Nutritionists recommend different time periods for different foods:

• after fruits and berries you can drink within 30-40 minutes;
• after fresh vegetable salads, 1 hour is enough;
• If a “heavy” dish was served for lunch, you must wait 2-3 hours.

Drinks that are too cold should not be consumed in any case, as they have a negative effect on the body. It is difficult to get enough of your food when drinking such water or compote. This property of the human body is used with great success by establishments specializing in fast food. Only they strive to increase sales volumes, and not to improve the health of customers.

In early childhood, many people were almost forced by caring mothers to drink their food. Having matured and familiarized themselves with the opinions of doctors, they are now wholeheartedly perplexed: why can’t they drink after eating? Especially if the menu contains only “solid” dishes. However, the ban on drinking is put forward not only by nutritionists, but also by gastroenterologists, who are in charge of the health of human stomachs and intestines.

Water is a helper for the stomach

Do not think that any liquid necessarily harms digestion. Yes, there are drinks that are definitely not healthy. This list is headed by various kinds of sweet “fizzy drinks”. And first of all, because they are not able to quench their thirst, that is, they do not fulfill their assigned role. They can only be considered as treats. However, clean, and even still, water does not belong to this category. In this case, why can’t you even drink water after eating? Because you need to drink it BEFORE! Water washes the walls of the stomach, removing mucus from it with the remnants of the previous meal and removing “old” gastric juice. At the same time, the production of fresh, more effective one is stimulated. However, in order for these processes to be successful and the juice to form, you must start eating no earlier than a quarter of an hour after drinking. In addition, some filling of the stomach causes the illusion of satiety, so you will eat less at lunch, which will have a positive effect on your figure.

Several reasons why you should not drink 2 hours after eating

Some of them may be familiar to you (maybe some doctor told you about them), others may be news to you. But they are all true.

1. Any liquid dilutes the gastric juice and makes it less effective. As a result, food takes longer to digest, which is not good for your body.
2. Everything eaten is not completely digested, as a result of which rotting begins in the organs.
3. A decrease in the concentration of necessary enzymes forces the body to produce additional enzymes. Excessive (and absolutely unnecessary) load prematurely “sits” the organs - after all, they are not made of iron.
4. The most unpleasant external manifestation is flatulence. Moreover, in addition to unpleasant aromas, it threatens a person with further, even sadder, consequences: gastritis, diarrhea, pancreatitis and liver diseases.

It is worth mentioning a few more reasons why you should not drink, but only during meals. First of all, food processing begins in the mouth. And if you chew and drink, you wash away the saliva necessary for the initial breakdown of foods. As a result, “unprepared” food enters the stomach, and its processing becomes difficult. The second factor: the feeling of a liquid substance in the mouth reduces the intensity of chewing - and too large pieces enter the digestive organs. They do not have time to be processed, which, in turn, again makes absorption difficult and provokes rotting processes.

Drink temperature is important

There are additional explanations why you should not drink anything cold after eating. If the drink is cooler, the food simply “flies” through the stomach, almost without stopping. That is, instead of the required two (minimum) hours, food is sent by express to the intestines in a quarter of an hour. As a result, the body simply does not have time to understand that it has already received fuel, and requires supplements, experiencing hunger. This is also the reason why you should not drink after eating; excess does not help in any way, because such “drinks” are a direct path to gaining excess weight. In addition, cold liquid reduces the activity of enzymes responsible for processing food, which again threatens gastritis, and in the long term - ulcers.

Now let's try to explain why you shouldn't drink something hot (tea or coffee) right after a meal. Too high temperatures have a similar negative effect on the functioning of enzymes (albeit for the opposite reason), but hot temperatures also reduce the activity of the stomach muscles. As a result, the mechanical effect on what is eaten worsens.

Regarding tea

This drink is very popular, especially green and especially among ladies trying to lose weight. And they are very often surprised and even indignant: why can’t you drink tea after eating? Women even agree to wait until it cools down a little, if drinking it hot is so harmful. However, it’s not only (or even so much) a matter of temperature. The astringent compounds that make up the tea dull the sensitivity of the mucous membranes, as a result of which the absorption of food is almost instantly weakened. Bile is released abruptly and in a larger volume than necessary. Frequent consequences: pacreatitis and cholelithiasis. Tannin, moreover, also “cements” proteins, which are practically not digestible. So, before consuming your favorite drink, you need to wait at least half an hour after lunch.

What to do if you really want to

Even knowing why you shouldn’t drink after a meal, sometimes people simply cannot resist drinking liquid. There may be several reasons, but the most common are the excessive sweetness of the dishes or their spiciness. When you can’t stand it, you can do the following: take water into your mouth, rinse and spit it out. And do this two or three times. In the most extreme case (for example, if the dish was seasoned with wasabi), you can take a couple of sips, but no more!

It's a question of time

Finally, we note that not drinking for two hours after eating is a very conditional recommendation. It all depends on what your meal consisted of. If you limit yourself to vegetable or fruit salads, an hour and a half will be enough. And if you have eaten kebabs, you will have to wait three hours, no less.

Everyone knows that drinking water should be present in the diet of any person. But not everyone knows how to drink water correctly, which is why it is so important not to replace it with any other drinks. And what can a lack of such fluid in the human body lead to?

There are different types of water: which one to choose?

This natural liquid can be different: carbonated and not, “live” and “dead,” enriched with various additional elements and pure, with flavor and vitamin additives, at different temperatures. What kind of water should you drink so as not to harm yourself? And what kind of water is better to drink to improve health and maintain tone?

1. Liquid from springs or wells located in environmentally friendly places is “living” and maximally useful. It does not contain unnecessary impurities and can be enriched with mineral elements necessary to maintain good health.
2. Melt water, as well as that obtained during the freezing process.
3. When wondering whether drinking carbonated liquid without additives is healthy, you need to consider your health status. Such water is not prohibited for drinking, however, it is better to avoid such liquid for people prone to bloating, gas formation or belching.
4. When choosing between enriched alkali and slightly alkaline water, preference should be given to the second option.
5. Filtered water is also a good choice, since after the purification process it retains enough beneficial properties necessary for the smooth functioning of the human body.

Boiled water is considered “dead”, since the thermal effect destroys not only harmful impurities and bacteria, but also the positive aspects of drinking water. It can quench thirst and replenish moisture loss, but it no longer has any additional effects and is not able to improve well-being or help with diseases. Therefore, when figuring out whether it is worth drinking boiled liquid, you need to clearly understand what mission is “assigned” to it.

What kind of water should you drink, boiled or raw, in order not to harm the body? Raw water that has not undergone filtration contains many “heavy” impurities, large amounts of chlorine and alkali, is “hard”, and also contains bacteria that are hazardous to health. Therefore, completely untreated tap water should not be consumed, especially by children.

What can you drink water with?

• With lemon; It is permissible to dilute freshly squeezed citrus juice with a large amount of liquid or infuse some water by throwing a lemon drop into it. This drink should be drunk to improve digestion and eliminate acute hunger.
• With honey; Honey water is considered an excellent help in the fight against constipation, poor bowel function, and it also has a beneficial effect on cleansing the liver. However, drinking this drink at night is not recommended. Dilute a spoonful of sweet (not buckwheat) honey in warm liquid.
• Can I drink water with salt or sugar? Neither option is prohibited. But sugar water will not do any good, although it may cause a spike in blood sugar. Dissolving salt in water is not the best choice. Doctors advise drinking a pinch of salt with several glasses of water, this helps remove toxins from the body.

When looking for an answer to the question of how to properly drink water during the day, you should remember a number of basic points, as well as take into account some simple recommendations. This will not only successfully quench your thirst, but also help all body systems work harmoniously.

1. You should train yourself to drink up to 2 glasses of clean, but not icy, liquid every day after sleep. Why drink water in the morning on an empty stomach? During sleep, a person loses up to 900 ml of moisture through breathing and sweat. Therefore, in order to avoid the feeling of dehydration, in order to charge the body with new strength, “awaken” it and start all vital processes, you need to replenish the loss of water.
2. There is a second reason why you should drink water in the morning on an empty stomach. In the morning, in an empty stomach, the liquid does not linger too long, penetrating into the intestines. Thanks to drinking at such a time, the digestive system is cleansed of food debris, preventing the processes of rotting and fermentation, eliminating the risk of the formation of fecal stones. It also cleanses the kidneys and bladder.
3. In addition to your morning drink, be sure to drink at least a glass of water at room temperature 40 minutes before your meal. Why drink water before meals? This habit helps to dilute gastric juice, which is important for high acidity, and has a beneficial effect on digestion, especially if heavy food enters the body. It also promotes faster satiety and helps during the weight loss process.
4. During the day, you should drink some water after each trip to the toilet to replenish fluid loss. People who smoke, take various medications, including diuretics or medications for constipation, and abuse coffee, tea, and alcohol should also drink more fluid.
5. Is it healthy to drink water in large portions? No. Drinking large quantities of liquid at one time creates a serious burden on the kidneys and negatively affects metabolic processes in the body. Therefore, you need to drink in small portions every hour and a half, taking leisurely sips.
6. During meals, many people have the habit of washing down their food. Is it acceptable to drink water during meals? It is quite possible if the temperature of the liquid is at least at room level, and its quantity is relatively small. It is especially important to drink water during meals to better chew and soften dry, hard food. This promotes better digestion of foods. It is better to refrain from drinking after lunch or dinner for one and a half to two hours.
7. It is important to remember that you should never ignore the feeling of thirst, which should be quenched with clean water. In addition, often a strong feeling of hunger is a signal of a lack of moisture in the body.
8. The amount of water a person needs every day varies depending on body type, conditions and rhythm of life. However, there is a rule that you need to drink at least 2 liters of clean liquid per day to keep the body in good shape. The individual rate of water consumption can be calculated in two ways:
   • for 1 kg of a person’s weight per day, up to 40 ml of clean liquid obtained by drinking is needed;
   • the amount of water should be equal to or slightly greater than the total number of calories consumed with food.

How to drink water correctly during the day: additional recommendations

• Drinking a glass of liquid at night can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. But you should not drink large quantities of water before going to bed, as this can cause additional swelling and a feeling of heaviness.
• Do I need to drink the selected water before or after physical activity, exercise, or training in the gym? Drinking is necessary both during sports, as a large amount of moisture is lost with sweat, and after. Drinking water with additional vitamin components before physical activity promotes better workout results.
• In the hot season, during periods of severe cold, as well as in situations where the air is too dry, the amount of fluid you drink should be increased.
• What kind of water should you drink: cold or hot? Cold water negatively affects the digestion process and can cause pain in the stomach and constipation. Hot water also does not benefit the body, forcing it to spend a lot of energy cooling down. Therefore, the liquid consumed during the day should be at room temperature, not higher than 38 degrees.
• You should drink a lot of liquid during colds, diseases accompanied by elevated body temperature, and various types of intoxication. Clean water helps to quickly remove pathogenic bacteria from the human body and stabilize body temperature.

What are the dangers of lack of water in the body?

Some possible consequences of not drinking enough fluids

1. Disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract, leading to constipation, various diseases of the intestines, stomach, pancreas, liver.
2. Dry and sagging skin, brittle and dull hair.
3. Joint diseases.
4. Being in low moisture mode, the brain sends signals to the processes occurring inside the body, provoking the removal of fluid from the cells and tissues of the skeletal system. This can lead to bone fragility.
5. Severe headaches are often the result of not drinking enough water.
6. Disorders of attention, memory and thinking, coordination of movements.
7. Weakness, fatigue, poor sleep, bad mood, aggression and a tendency to depression.
8. An accumulation of poisons and toxins in the body that are not eliminated, poisoning a person from the inside and provoking various types of severe painful conditions. The immune system is also significantly affected.
9. Lack of water can provoke diabetes and negatively affect hormonal levels.
10. Low consumption of clean water causes the risk of developing cancer, including breast, stomach, and bladder cancer.
11. Various types of kidney diseases.
12. Formation of stones and sand in the gallbladder.
13. Early and accelerated aging is also caused by a lack of moisture.
14. Development of blood diseases.
15. The occurrence of sclerosis and various diseases of the nervous system.

This question is increasingly asked by people who care about their body and its health. There is a simple answer to this: “of course you can,” but a more precise and correct question is “How long after eating can you drink?” On the Internet you can find a variety of and, interestingly, completely contradictory information on this matter. Some believe that drinking immediately after eating is okay, while others argue that this can lead to extremely negative consequences. Let's figure out this difficult and important issue together. To answer this question clearly and correctly, you need to know how the digestion process itself occurs, and what exactly the liquid you drink can affect.

How does the digestion process occur?

• Such a vital process for humans as digestion begins even before the moment food reaches the stomach. Gastric juice begins to be released at the sight of food, the smell of it, or even just imagining food in your head, this is the so-called “conditioned reflex” digestion.

• This process then continues in the oral cavity when food directly enters it, which irritates the salivary receptors and thereby produces saliva. Digestion in the oral cavity can be divided into mechanical - grinding food with the help of teeth, and chemical - enzymes contained in saliva begin to break down carbohydrates.

• After this, a lump of food moistened with saliva passes through the esophagus, enters the stomach, irritates the receptors of the gastric mucosa, and the reflex secretion of gastric juice begins. The process of protein digestion begins in the stomach itself, thanks to hydrochloric acid and enzymes, which together are contained in gastric juice.

• Then the food bolus from the stomach, called chyme, enters the duodenum, which receives pancreatic juice and bile from the liver, containing enzymes that can break down proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The action and digestive ability of these enzymes is related to how intense and high-quality the digestion process was in the stomach. It should be noted that an important and, in fact, the only enzyme that is capable of breaking down fats is lipase, which is found exclusively in pancreatic juice.

• At the next stage, the chyme reaches the small intestine, where the final breakdown of food into amino acids, fatty acids and glucose occurs under the influence of pancreatic juice, with which it is soaked in the duodenum and also under the action of enzymes produced by the glands of the small intestine itself. It is in the small intestine that the necessary nutrients produced during the digestion process are absorbed into our blood, which already delivers them to all vital organs.

• In the last phase of digestion, processed food penetrates the large intestine, which intensively absorbs water; it also releases toxic breakdown products, which, after absorption, immediately reach the liver and are neutralized there.

• Finally, the dehydrated food remains form what is called feces and are eliminated from the body through the rectum.

WhyCan't you drink immediately after and during meals?

• It is believed that if you drink liquid immediately after finishing (or during) a meal, it dilutes the gastric juice, making hydrochloric acid and enzymes less concentrated and the intensity of their action is significantly reduced, therefore, food is not completely broken down. This seems reasonable, because if you drop a concentrated solution of acid on your hand, for example, it will immediately corrode your skin, but if you first dilute it with enough water, then its effect will practically “disappear.”

• Also, drinking liquid while eating food dilutes saliva, due to which the initial process of carbohydrate breakdown is weak, and this also contributes to the rapid passage of food into the esophagus, interfering with complete chewing of food. For the same reason, it is not recommended to drink liquid less than 30 minutes before eating.

• In addition, the digestion time of food increases, and consequently the load on all organs directly involved in the digestive process increases, which are forced to produce more enzymes (stomach, duodenum, pancreas, liver, small and large intestines). At the same time, a person feels heaviness, heartburn, bloating and gas formation. With such constant overload, the gastrointestinal tract organs wear out, which leads to many problems in the body.

• Another disadvantage is that the liquid dilutes the pancreatic juice, thereby slowing down fat metabolism, which causes weight gain.

• Also, drinking liquid accelerates the passage of food through the gastrointestinal tract; the necessary processes in the gastrointestinal tract do not occur properly, due to which food is not completely digested and broken down. Consequently, the necessary microelements and vitamins are not absorbed into the body. Also, due to the accelerated passage of food through the gastrointestinal tract, the feeling of satiety disappears, and a feeling of hunger immediately appears.

• But the worst thing is the processes of decay that occur when there is incompletely digested food in the intestines, during which highly toxic compounds are released that are absorbed into the blood and poison our body. It is also an excellent breeding ground for completely “not good” bacteria. Regular consumption of liquid during or immediately after meals can provoke a number of gastrointestinal diseases.

• Surgeons say that decay processes and, consequently, the appearance of harmful bacteria can be the cause of many diseases, including cancer. And that during many of the operations they carried out there was an “incredible stench,” which is a sign of putrefactive processes.

So, what are the possible tangible consequences of regularly drinking liquid during or immediately after meals:

• Bloating, heartburn, heaviness and gas appear

• Increased body weight due to metabolic disorders

• Due to the rapid passage of food through the gastrointestinal tract, a quick feeling of hunger appears, which also leads to weight gain

• Liquid consumed with food takes up more space in the stomach (than the food itself) and thereby stretches the stomach, causing larger portions of subsequent meals

• Diseases and disorders of the gastrointestinal tract may appear, such as: gastritis (and later stomach ulcers), indigestion, low acidity

• Rotting processes provoke intoxication of internal organs, and bacteria multiplying in this environment cause serious diseases, including cancer.

• Drinking liquids during meals does not put adequate stress on the teeth, which causes weakening gums

How long after eating

can I drink?

In order for the liquid you drink to benefit the body and not harm the digestion process, it must enter the already empty stomach. To do this, you need to know when it will be empty. This directly depends on the type and quantity of food eaten, as well as on its heat treatment, since different foods take different times to digest. For clarity, here are the main types of food and their digestion time:

• Raw fruits and vegetables – 30-40 minutes

• Vegetable and fruit juice – 15 minutes

Protein food:

• Egg - 45 minutes

• Fish (not fatty) – 30 minutes

• Fish (fattier fish) – 45 – 60 minutes

• Chicken - 1-2 hours

• Lamb and beef – 3 hours

• Pork – 5-6 hours

Carbohydrate food(potatoes, porridge, mushrooms, cottage cheese, nuts, legumes) – 2-3 hours

If you really want to drink, and not even an hour has passed since eating, we recommend drinking in small sips, thoroughly mixing the liquid with saliva.

There are also supporters of the idea that you can drink after eating. They believe that water passes through the longitudinal folds of our stomach, and does not mix with stomach juice and food, and passes directly to the duodenum, where it somehow bypasses the secreted juice. We do not undertake to refute this theory, but we sincerely advise you to wait at least an hour after eating.

Many people who stop drinking during and after meals claim that it has helped them shed pounds and also improved their well-being and overall health.

CanShould I drink water after eating?

Water is an irreplaceable, vital element of our body. To maintain health and beauty, doctors advise drinking 1 liter of water per 30 kg of weight daily. It has a wonderful effect on the entire body: removes toxins, waste products, metabolic products and infections; reduces the risk of gastrointestinal cancer; and also has a beneficial effect on the appearance, moisturizing our skin

Drinking 20-30 minutes before meals, a glass of clean water helps set up the entire digestive system to work, accelerates metabolic processes, which improves and speeds up the functioning of the entire gastrointestinal tract.
But during meals and immediately after, as has already been described in detail above, it is not advisable to drink any liquid, including clean water. In this case, it dilutes the acid and enzymes that are released in the gastrointestinal tract, reducing their concentration, and as a result, the entire digestion process slows down and worsens, which ultimately causes various disorders and diseases. Also, water taken immediately after or during a meal accelerates the passage of food through the gastrointestinal tract, preventing the absorption of nutrients into the blood in various areas of the gastrointestinal tract, and also due to the fact that food quickly leaves the stomach, the feeling of hunger soon sets in again. In addition, if you drink water during meals, you run the risk of stretching your stomach, because water also takes up space in it, and in the future, in order to feel full, you will need larger portions, which leads to weight gain.
Water brings incredible benefits to the body if it enters an empty stomach, so after eating, you need to wait a certain period of time, depending on the type and amount of food eaten. If you are very thirsty, and sufficient time has not yet passed after eating (at least 1 hour), then it is advisable to drink water in small sips, thoroughly moistening it with saliva.

But under no circumstances should you drink COLD WATER after or during a meal.

Soviet radiologist scientists experimentally proved that such water reduces the required time for food to stay in the stomach to 20 minutes; cold water seems to “push” food out of it. This is the reason for the inevitable increase in body weight, due to the rapid onset of hunger, and also, what is much worse, undigested (partially digested) food stagnates in the intestines, begins to rot and ferment, which leads to various disorders and diseases, moreover, in this environment Harmful bacteria multiply, highly toxic compounds are released that poison the entire body.

HOT WATER drunk during or after a meal irritates the intestinal mucosa, which also adversely affects the course of digestion itself.

Therefore, if you suddenly decide to drink water during or after a meal, let it be warm water of average temperature: above 20 0 C, but below 40 0 ​​C.

CanShould I drink tea immediately after eating?

Since childhood, we have become accustomed to a standard set lunch: first course, main course and tea (juice, compote, etc.), but is such a standard correct and healthy? To find out, let's look at Chinese and Indian tea ceremonies.

Long ago, in the true homeland of tea, the principle “do not drink tea before meals” arose, meaning right before meals. This is all because the substances present in tea dilute saliva and thereby interfere with the initial digestion of food, which further negatively affects the entire process of food digestion. Also, tea irritates the receptors responsible for taste and they do not convey the full taste of food, which seems bland. Therefore, real experts on this issue advise drinking tea 20-30 minutes before meals.

They also have the principle “do not drink tea immediately after eating”, but wait at least 40 minutes. This allows the food consumed to be fully digested. This is due to the fact that tea contains tannins and a set of other substances that interact with food in a certain way, which interferes with its absorption by our body. This especially applies to protein foods, which are a necessary building element of the body. It is not recommended to drink tea immediately after a meal because tea, like any other liquid, also dilutes the juices of the stomach and pancreas, which, as already described, leads to a number of negative consequences.

Also, true connoisseurs do not advise drinking tea that is either too cold (below 20 0 C) or too hot above (50 0 C), as it irritates the throat, esophagus and stomach.
The tea ceremony is an ancient custom that can be compared to a religious ceremony. This custom has long existed in Asian countries as a separate, independent ritual and has no connection with food intake.

Not everyone knows about the harm that drinking after eating can cause. Indeed, after eating we always drink tea, juices, cold water with ice, and other drinks and liquids. It is difficult to imagine eating without drinking, especially if the food is sweet, spicy and salty. Having tasted such a dish, the hand automatically takes a glass of drink to reduce the strong taste of the food.

But how to figure out when, nevertheless, drinking becomes harmful - before, during or after a meal? According to one method, drinking before starting a meal is prohibited, while others advise refraining from drinking liquids during meals. There is a third opinion that drinking a glass of any liquid after a meal greatly harms our health.

To drink or not to drink: searching for the truth

But the main factor is the liquid you drink. Digestion will not be affected if food is washed down with warm tea or coffee or a glass of water at room temperature. It is much more dangerous to drink cold water, especially if there is ice in it. Such liquid, entering the stomach, pushes out food that has not completely undergone the splitting process. If food is usually digested for several hours, then cold liquid entering the stomach shortens this process to 20 minutes. This phenomenon carries two dangers.

• The person does not have a feeling of satiety. Consequently, after a very short time, the feeling of hunger arises again, resulting in overeating and weight gain. This feature of the human body is well known to fast food chains, and they successfully use it for commercial purposes. Please note that in most of these food places the drink must be served with ice added or very chilled. Having eaten food and washed it down with such a drink, a person is not satisfied, and the food is simply not digested. The feeling of hunger forces you to take an additional portion, which is a direct path to profitability of the catering enterprise.
• Drinking cold water or drinks after meals leads to diseases in the intestines. When liquid enters the stomach, the protein food contained in it remains undigested and the process of rotting begins. In addition to unpleasant sensations, such processes cause dysbiosis, as well as inflammatory bowel diseases. This development of events occurs especially quickly if a person constantly drinks cold drinks after meals.

What drinks are taboo?

Fans of sparkling water should postpone drinking it until before meals, taking a few sips. Soda, even unsweetened, should not be mixed with meat and fish, otherwise diarrhea, dysbacteriosis and flatulence cannot be avoided. After eating, you should completely avoid any drink containing carbon dioxide. The fact is that this substance disrupts the acidity of the stomach, and the possible consequences were discussed earlier.

Those who want to lose weight wash their food down with a cup