Digestion is extremely important for health, staying slim, AND mental well being.  Without proper digestion, many discomforts can be born into the body – indigestion, irritability, heartburn,  lethargy, bloating, insatiable cravings, headaches, and depression.

Seriously imagine that you are doing something every single day that UNKNOWINGLY is causing ONE or MORE of these symptoms!  Wouldn’t you want to know what that was?

Have you thought about what you drink and how much you drink with your meals? Growing up, we weren’t allowed to drink with our meal. My mom’s reasoning was that we would get full with liquid, not eat our dinner, and then be hungry 1/2 hour after we were done with our meal. Unknowingly, my mom was leading us to a healthier us. And I still don’t eat while I eat.

When you digest foods, without complications, the feelings of clarity, happiness, optimism, contentment, and lightness appear in your body. To maximize those feelings, it is really important to understand how drinking can effect your digestion.

When going out to eat, the same old story  happens – the waiter or waitress comes by with glasses of iced cold water for everyone even before you order any other drinks. Most restaurants across America, and elsewhere, do this every single day without a second thought. This is the first big mistake for digestion. Drinking iced cold water with your meal.

Don’t drink cold water with your meals.

A few years ago when several studies were published about how consuming cold water increases your metabolism, people jumped on the band wagon right way and started drinking iced cold water all day.  I never did for the simple reason that I just can’t drink iced cold water. I get to drink more if it’s room temperature.

People thought – “Wow, if I just drink cold water all day, I can lose weight!” – well this bit of wisdom is a double edged sword. While drinking cold water does indeed speed up your metabolism (about whole 4 extra calories per 8 ounces of water), it does so by using energy to heat up the cold water to body temperature. This diverts energy that should be used for digestion.  When you are eating, you want all your energy directed at breaking down food so your body can easily assimilate the nutrients and eliminate waste. When you have bad digestion you could actually gain weight in the long run. All because toxins can be built up in your digestive organs which can inhibit the bodies ability to breakdown fat, cause insatiable cravings, and mess with your body’s ability to determine if you are full or not.

The second big mistake I see – is people getting refill after refill of liquids while eating.  Using the liquids to literally aid in gulping down huge amounts of inadequately chewed foods. Sometimes, drinking the equivalent of 24 ounces of liquid during the meal.

Don’t drink liquids with your meals.

Drinking liquids during your meal dilutes your naturally occurring digestive enzymes and stomach acids which makes it harder to breakdown food. Stomach acids are dissipated with the act of consuming liquids with solids because water is excreted faster than solids.   If you are chewing properly, thus creating saliva, you should be able to eat comfortably without lots of liquids.  Allow your saliva to naturally help you swallow your food.

Drink water or other liquids 20 mins before you consume food and wait at least an hour after.

Focus on hydrating yourself between meals instead of during. You will still be adequately hydrated throughout the day with this method and allow your food to be digested without complicating matters for your stomach and intestines.

If you must drink with your meals, sip on a warm beverage.

Good options are room temperature water with lemon or herbal tea (my favorite )– the temperature will be closer to your body’s normal heat and ease digestion as opposed to disrupting it. Ginger would be a favorite type of tea of mine to drink with or after meals because it naturally moves food from the upper part of the digestive tract into the lower. At home I just cut up a few pieces of fresh ginger and pour hot water over it.  Ginger tea should always be a standard on menus.

You have the power – Be unconventional and you just may start a trend to drinking more thoughtfully and healthfully.

Please share this information with anyone you might know that would benefit from this, one that has digestive issues.