Five Quick Vital Points on Hydration (4 of 5)

4. Avoid trying to make up your daily water intake at mealtimes

Regardless of the time of year dehydration is still a big issue. Even as we begin to add more water, developing right habits is essential.

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When do you “get in” those extra glasses? First thing in the morning? Excellent! At night? That’s okay. Sipping throughout the day? Perfect. Yet, habitually drinking your extra water with meals can be a mistake. Remember that digestion starts in the mouth. In our saliva is the enzyme, ptyalin (like tie-uh-lin), and as we chew our food well…ahem…I said… as we chew our food well it mixes with the ptyalin so that the mix level could work best with the stomach.

As you swallow the food/ptyalin mix, it first just sits allowing time for the ptyalin and food enzymes to interact; but your body doesn’t know when it’s ready to be mixed with stomach acid. Through all I’ve read, it’s just timing. Now the ptyalin is deactivated as the acid is produced from the stomach and (Here’s the key!!) pancreas. Pouring in extra water at this time dilutes the acid and throws off the acidic level (pH ) in the stomach. So now your body has to puts in more acid which really pushes your already full-speed, working pancreas.

If this becomes a lifestyle, you could be setting yourself up for a few things that many don’t teach are related to this: One, acid reflux (heartburn) because your body is constantly pouring extra acid into your stomach to help digestion; and two, diabetes, because the pancreas becomes overworked with helping in digestion and does not do its job as well to control blood sugar levels (hence the term sugar diabetes). As you can see, our systems are all interconnected and related. (This will lead us into the fifth vital point.)

Last notes, this is not written to say don’t drink water with meals. Tea has been used for thousands of years as an after-meal digestive aid. This is to caution against trying to make up your daily intake of water during mealtimes. Also, this is not to release fear of any sickness or disease (Christ is still above every name and we have not been given the spirit of fear) but to inform of the need to create better habits for lasting wellness.