4:26:00 AM
We are often advised not to consume water after eating certain foods. Other than our mothers telling us to do so, there lies a scientific reason as to why we need to follow this diet tip. Let us find out why we need to follow this age-old therapy:
"Food with high water content should not be consumed with water," says doctor Aditi Sharma, Chief Nutritionist, Columbia Asia, Gaziabad. Some examples are: watermelon, melon, muskmelon, cucumber, orange, kakdi, pineapple, grapefruit, strawberry.
Let us know the reasons:
It disrupts the pH level
Your body needs a certain pH level to digest the food. This pH level is disturbed if you consume water after having food items which already contain water. This is because too much of water will dilute the pH of your digestive system and will lead to a weakened digestion. Due to the presence of fibre and water, fruits like papaya or melon are not advised to be taken on an empty stomach as they dilute the pH level of our digestive system.
"These water containing foods pass quite swiftly on an empty stomach and they start getting digested in your food pipe even before they reach your digestive system. Consuming water after consuming these fruits disturbs the pH and stops the digestion process, leaving the food undigested. So, in some cases instead of giving nutrition, they get converted into toxic substance. As a result, our food can become detrimental to our health," says Dr. Simran Saini, Nutritionist and Weight loss consultant, Fortis, Shalimar Bagh.
It can lead to diarrhoea
Fruits like cucumber and watermelon improve digestion if taken in the right way. If water is consumed after taking these fruits, it can upset your digestion. This is because water containing food smoothens the digestion process and makes the bowel movement easy. If water is consumed over them, the bowel movement becomes too smooth and can lead to loose motion/diarrhoea. Our gut movement becomes speedy rather than getting stabilized. The digestive juices which are secreted in the process get neutralised due to which they are excreted out from our body sooner than they should, leading to a weak digestive system.
"Food with high water content should not be consumed with water," says doctor Aditi Sharma, Chief Nutritionist, Columbia Asia, Gaziabad. Some examples are: watermelon, melon, muskmelon, cucumber, orange, kakdi, pineapple, grapefruit, strawberry.
Let us know the reasons:
It disrupts the pH level
Your body needs a certain pH level to digest the food. This pH level is disturbed if you consume water after having food items which already contain water. This is because too much of water will dilute the pH of your digestive system and will lead to a weakened digestion. Due to the presence of fibre and water, fruits like papaya or melon are not advised to be taken on an empty stomach as they dilute the pH level of our digestive system.
"These water containing foods pass quite swiftly on an empty stomach and they start getting digested in your food pipe even before they reach your digestive system. Consuming water after consuming these fruits disturbs the pH and stops the digestion process, leaving the food undigested. So, in some cases instead of giving nutrition, they get converted into toxic substance. As a result, our food can become detrimental to our health," says Dr. Simran Saini, Nutritionist and Weight loss consultant, Fortis, Shalimar Bagh.
It can lead to diarrhoea
Fruits like cucumber and watermelon improve digestion if taken in the right way. If water is consumed after taking these fruits, it can upset your digestion. This is because water containing food smoothens the digestion process and makes the bowel movement easy. If water is consumed over them, the bowel movement becomes too smooth and can lead to loose motion/diarrhoea. Our gut movement becomes speedy rather than getting stabilized. The digestive juices which are secreted in the process get neutralised due to which they are excreted out from our body sooner than they should, leading to a weak digestive system.
