Water

I was recently asked, "I heard a teacher that I work with say the you couldn't (sic) drink water with your meals. She said that it causes the fat in your food to stay in your body. She said that you should drink a glass of water 1/2 hour before and after meals to flush out the fat. Is this as crazy as it sounds?????"

I say, listen to your bullshit detector when it goes off, it's probably right.

The Mayo Clinic says, "There's no concern that water will dilute the digestive juices or interfere with digestion. In fact, drinking water during or after a meal can actually improve digestion. Water and other liquids help break down the food in your stomach and keep your digestive system on track."

In my opinion, this is just another trick people use try to avoid doing real weight loss. Real weight loss is hard. You have to work at it. Rearrange how you are drinking your water is something to do if you feel guilty about not changing your calorie intake.

That is different from using water as a tool. Many people will try and drink a glass of water before a meal to make them feel fuller and so they eat fewer calories. Ta da! You're on the road to weight loss. Otherwise you're tricking yourself into believing that you can eat a higher calorie diet and still lose weight.

However, there is also a lot of misinformation about how much water a person should drink. I know we've all heard the 8 x 8 number (Eight 8-oz glasses). That is not true. I found the best explanation of the misinformation in Scienceagogo.com (love the name)

I copied the pertinent passage:

"The 8 x 8 rule is slavishly followed. Everywhere, people carry bottles of water, constantly sipping from them; it is acceptable to drink water anywhere, anytime. A pamphlet distributed at one southern California university even counsels its students to "carry a water bottle with you. Drink often while sitting in class..."

How did the obsession start? Is there any scientific evidence that supports the recommendation? Does the habit promote good health? Might it be harmful?

Valtin thinks the notion may have started when the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council recommended approximately "1 milliliter of water for each calorie of food," which would amount to roughly two to two-and-a-half quarts per day (64 to 80 ounces). Although in its next sentence, the Board stated "most of this quantity is contained in prepared foods," that last sentence may have been missed, so that the recommendation was erroneously interpreted as how much water one should drink each day."

The bottom line is to drink when you're thirsty, preferably water.