Drinking Water During Meals to Help Your Acid Reflux, Burning and GERD? Don't!

Did you know that the heartburn is actually caused by TOO LITTLE stomach acid, rather than too much acid as we're always told?

This lack of stomach acid prevents full digestion, particularly of undigested carbohydrates which is a great contributor to your burning heartburn and gas.

If that's true, then why do people insist that drinking a lot of water is helpful when they're eating? When it comes to acid reflux, drinking too much water can work against you.

Let's be clear, sipping some water when acid is in the esophagus can be helpful to flush out the acid and give us relief. And drinking enough water is a good things.

A better solution (no pun intended) is to try to prevent that acid from getting up there in the first place! And drinking water during a meal can make your acid reflux worse. Here's why:

You need acid in your stomach to digest food!

Think about it. What does water do? It dilutes things and makes them weaker. We use water to dilute all kinds of things. Water- based paint, cooking sauces, salad dressings and more.

So doesn't it make sense that if we add a lot of water to our stomach (which contains acid) when we eat, that our stomach acid will be diluted, weaker, and less effective too?

This leads to the incomplete digestion of food.

Undigested food stays in your stomach longer, creating gas, bloating and pressure which makes your acid reflux symptoms worse.

Remember, acid reflux occurs when the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) opens too often or does not close tight enough. This sphincter is supposed to close to keep stomach acid in the stomach.

Drinking water with meals also over fills your stomach. Your overfilled and bloated stomach can cause pressure on the LES. When pressure forces it to open stomach contents can leak into the esophagus.

There seems to be a fixation on drinking water. We used to drink water when we were thirsty. Now there's a false worry about being "dehydrated" as people tote around their water bottles to get their 8 glasses a day.

Enough is enough.

If you're having painful heartburn, acid reflux problems and GERD, other than a sip or two, try NOT drinking water with your meal and let your stomach acid do its thing.

Give it a try, and I think you'll be well on your way to a healthier gut.

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