The Digestive Tract

Pharma / TRT
1

OK, before someone flames me and says “hey dipshit what does this have to do with steroids??”… let me say that I like hearing what you dudes have to say a lot more than some newbs elsewhere.

People on this board are for the most part experienced in bodybuilding and nutrition or they wouldn’t have stepped it up a notch. Therefore I am most interested in those people’s opinions I regularly read. That and there are some smart fockers on here, especially when it comes to science.

Here is the question “Do you drink water while you eat?”

For non-North Americans: “Do you by chance drink water whilst eating?”

I have heard a metric shitload of opinions on this and have never come to a resolution. I get indigestion from time to time, mainly because I eat like a hog and am constantly on the run for work. I don’t eat beef that often any more because it’s super hard for me to digest and then my system gets jacked and you know the story.

My father claims NO WATER should be eaten during meals because it dilutes digestive enzymes and your stomach cannot properly break down food. I have read this from doctors and I have also read your body cannot absorb all the nutrients in food unless you space your water consumption to be greater than 2 hours before eating and 2 hours after.

Some people say drink red wine with your meals as it has digestive properties and can encourage proper digestion and protein synthesis.

Wait a second, don’t we eat like every 2.5 to 3 hours? When the hell do I drink my water? Jay Cutler claims he drinks a half gallon of water WITH EVERY MEAL and he seems to have no problems absorbing nutrients!

The information all seems inconclusive. Does anyone have personal knowledge or research on this? As for now I just drink minimal water with my food and wait until about 20 minutes later to start guzzling again.

2

look into HCL therapy. It has been a miracle for me. The basic theory is as we get older our bodies produce less acid, which causes all sorts of problems.

3

Whats up, H? Just my opinion, but the opposite is true from what your father and the MD’s say… One must remember most of the older Doc’s haven’t had ANY nutritional training!

H2O is the basis for all life, that’s why the scientists look for water on other planets before even thnking a planet has other life forms… I’m getting out there a bit, so i’ll back up, water is necessary for digestion, at least that’s what i learned from PhD’s in Anatomy and Phisiology 1 and 2.

Have you ever taken protein and not drank enough water? The next couple of days you’ll feel like your shitting concrete blocks! Anyway, thats my take and experience. And also, WATER IS A MUST WHILE ON THE SAUCE!

Aren’t you the one who is hurting from the winnie? Not enough fluids around the joints will friggin’ cause major pain (One of my favorite movies, BTW!)
Hope this helps…

5

Uhh, yes. Water is evil.

Better to choke on your food instead.

We should all eat dry rice and overcooked stringy roast beef WITHOUT water.

Oh, and don’t even THINK about eating (drinking?) soup. It must be, by definition, be a completely indigestible foodstuff.

All that crap about diluting digestive enzymes smacks of new-age naturoquackery…

6

[quote]shamus wrote:
Whats up, H? Just my opinion, but the opposite is true from what your father and the MD’s say… One must remember most of the older Doc’s haven’t had ANY nutritional training!

H2O is the basis for all life, that’s why the scientists look for water on other planets before even thnking a planet has other life forms… I’m getting out there a bit, so i’ll back up, water is necessary for digestion, at least that’s what i learned from PhD’s in Anatomy and Phisiology 1 and 2.

Have you ever taken protein and not drank enough water? The next couple of days you’ll feel like your shitting concrete blocks! Anyway, thats my take and experience. And also, WATER IS A MUST WHILE ON THE SAUCE!

Aren’t you the one who is hurting from the winnie? Not enough fluids around the joints will friggin’ cause major pain (One of my favorite movies, BTW!)
Hope this helps… [/quote]

Thanks for the opinions. Looks somewhat mixed again, but yeah, … I guzzle water all day and usually wake up a couple times at night to use the bathroom. I am kinda experimenting with the water intake, but I have been drinking massive amounts with my food for so long that it’s become second nature.

7

This is the biggest load of crap I have ever heard. Your digestive tract easily adjusts the water content of whatever it has to digest to an appropriate level. Hell, some of the food you eat is 99% water. Virtually all vegetables and fruits are at least 70% water. Meat is around 60-70% water.

Just drink whatever you want to help the food go down, in whatever quantity suits you. (But pref. not a sugar solution, aka soft drink.)

9

http://www.fitness.com/articles/118/the_importance_of_water_consumption.php

Quote from the above article:

“Water consumption plays an important role for the digestion of solid foods in the body. The digestive system depends on a sufficient amount of water present to help with the break down of foods. Acids and enzymes that are in the stomach need the balance of water to break down food into a homogenized fluid. Once the fluid is formed, it can be easily passed into the intestine for the next stage of digestion. An acidic stomach will respond to hydration, and therefore make it easier to digest foods. At times, an absence of water may lead to common symptoms such as heartburn and constipation. Drinking water will prevent these symptoms from occurring, and keep the stages of digestion constant.”

Not a totally authoritative source, perhaps, but there are others. According to these sources, if you don’t provide the necessary water, your body adjusts the fluid level to that necessary by withdrawing it from other body tissues.

I suspect this is an area where physiologists have made assumptions rather than performing controlled experiments. But happy to be corrected if you know of any.

BTW, I understand that normal stomach pH can vary from 1.5 to 3.5. Suggests to me that there may beconsiderable individual variation in whether water consumption with food is desirable.

10

I’m agreed on the bodily tissues concept as I’ve noticed that when I don’t drink enough water to digest certain meals it will turn my skin into sandpaper.

I also don’t know though if these studies are studying under the same set of terms because it seems like that article is talking about water consumed prior to eating and not during.

11

[quote]sharetrader wrote:
http://www.fitness.com/articles/118/the_importance_of_water_consumption.php

Quote from the above article:

“Water consumption plays an important role for the digestion of solid foods in the body. The digestive system depends on a sufficient amount of water present to help with the break down of foods. Acids and enzymes that are in the stomach need the balance of water to break down food into a homogenized fluid. Once the fluid is formed, it can be easily passed into the intestine for the next stage of digestion. An acidic stomach will respond to hydration, and therefore make it easier to digest foods. At times, an absence of water may lead to common symptoms such as heartburn and constipation. Drinking water will prevent these symptoms from occurring, and keep the stages of digestion constant.”

Not a totally authoritative source, perhaps, but there are others. According to these sources, if you don’t provide the necessary water, your body adjusts the fluid level to that necessary by withdrawing it from other body tissues.

I suspect this is an area where physiologists have made assumptions rather than performing controlled experiments. But happy to be corrected if you know of any.

BTW, I understand that normal stomach pH can vary from 1.5 to 3.5. Suggests to me that there may beconsiderable individual variation in whether water consumption with food is desirable.[/quote]

I think you are missing some key words in this article, it says “sufficient amounts” of water. How do you feel after 6-8 hrs. sleep without water? What about after an intense workout? And how good do you think the body breaks down all these protein supps and other things we crazy asses take? Water is the first “supplement” you should even begin to take!

Also, look into this study a bit deeper and they plainly state what havoc is played on the digestive system is not adequately hydrated. Look further into A+P and basic biology and look for things like osmosis and sodium-potassium pump, and the role water plays!

You take fibre? Ever seen a cat piss in a litter box? Dries up FAST! See the analogy there? Holy shit, I can’t believe in 2007 we’re not educated on the importance of water while on supps, juice, etc.!

12

[quote]shamus wrote:
Also, look into this study a bit deeper and they plainly state what havoc is played on the digestive system is not adequately hydrated. Look further into A+P and basic biology and look for things like osmosis and sodium-potassium pump, and the role water plays!

You take fibre? Ever seen a cat piss in a litter box? Dries up FAST! See the analogy there? Holy shit, I can’t believe in 2007 we’re not educated on the importance of water while on supps, juice, etc.! [/quote]

Oh yeah bro, I’m in total agreement with you on the water issue, I think everyone on this board (save a few total morons) would agree that water intake is paramount. The problem is the concept of water WHILE eating… I drink water like a goddam camel, all day every day, but I am just trying to assess the facts regarding water and digestion overall, during that small timeframe of actual mastication ( i know you like that word) and subsequent consumption.

15

[quote]bushidobadboy wrote:

All this article reinforces, is the importance of staying fully hydrated at all times. It does NOT mention intake of water WITH food.[/quote]

OK, point taken. My take on water with food is that, as you say, you should drink plenty when not eating. But if that hasn’t worked out, for whatever reason, and you are thirsty while eating a meal, you should probably have a drink rather than robbing your body of needed fluid to aid your digestion. As you said above, water is the most important nutrient. Anyone who doesn’t believe this should try doing a training session while dehydrated.

BTW, I don’t think you’ve fully made the case that dilution of digestive enzymes, HCl etc by water is a bad thing. I can see that it MIGHT be, but the connection between the optimum concentration of these things, water you consume with food, and fluid drawn into the stomach from elsewhere in the body has not been fully explained. (For example, if you consume water with food, do the excretory organs “know” this and compensate by excreting more concentrated digestive juices? Or, on the converse, if you don’t drink water, do they compensate by excreting more diluted juices?) Do we even know the answer to this question?

16

Let’s just use some common sense here. Where in the hell does Sharetrader stand? Your posts contradict each other every time… One thing we must remember, this is a steroid post, by mainly steroid users, so i think we should all be taking extra enzymes to begin with. Also, look at the back of each and every supplement we take, it normally says, “Take with water!”. Now, the newest proteins on the market will have thins like aminogen (a patented product) and protease, and other items to help digest the proteins.

And if you really get into the importance of oral steroids and how they use up enzymes, and for those pro-hormone users, our enzymes are being severely depleted! Now, as far as H’s origional question, I don’t know of any actual studies as far as drinking while eating for the general public, but I GUARANTEE there is NO STUDY DONE ON GUYS WHO INTENSLY WEIGHT TRAIN, EAT A SHITLOAD OF PROTEINS, AND INJECT STEROIDS.

Oh wait, GATORADE! University of Florida may have a study! But anyway, like i said, if you look at it from a common sense point of view, I think H2O is vital for the enzymes to function properly, and to flush the shit (no pun intended) out of our bodies! The body will shut down if not properly hydrated at all times, even while eating… And i wont even begin to talk about how water helps with nutrient absorption, i.e. B-vitamins, ALL MINERALS, and macro and micro nutrients!

17

Shit, one more thing… Someone mentioned red wine can be taken instead of water. Pour salt on a snail, you will witness reverse osmosis in action! This is what alcohol does to the body’s cells. Resveratrol is the “active” antioxidant present in red wine, and it’s also in 100% Not From Concentrate Grape Juice. Now, red wine sounds like something Oprah’s trainer may recommend, and i go back to my common sense approach…

18

I drink shitloads of water, with or without meals. Well we’re going through a very hot summer here in Australia.

I notice I feel much better if I drink water with a meal instead of Coke. Coke may be very refreshing but I keep it occasional. I’ve found that I feel like shit if I eat a meal with Coke, but feel an energy burst if I eat a meal with water.

I usually eat first, then drink the fluid afterwards.

I don’t give a rat’s ass what anyone might say, I like to wash down every meal with a big, cool drink afterwards.

19

I say def. drink water during meals, just don’t over do it…drink a shitload during the day…and just enouph during meals…anytime I have drank alot during a meal…I felt like shit, as well, if I drank something other than water…same damn thing.
we need water more than anything, and “US” well…we need it even more than the general population