Drinking liquids with meals dilutes …

(1) saliva

(2) stomach acid

(3) digestive enzymes

(4) bile

The same goes for “juicing.”

Juicing is supposed to be better than eating whole fruits and vegetables because nutrients are absorbed more efficiently and the digestive system can rest from working on fiber.

Roll up your pants! It’s too late to save your shoes!

The ancient Ayurvedic tradition (it’s not a science) got it right by saying, drinking liquids with meals puts out our “digestive fire.”

The stomach works best when it’s heated to at least 101 degrees Fahrenheit.

William Beaumont, M.D., had access to Alexis St. Martin’s stomach through a musket wound that never healed from 1822-1833.

The Father of Gastric Physiology (Dr. Beaumont) wrote in 1838 …

“Solid food is sooner disposed of by the stomach than fluid, and it’s nutritive principles are sooner carried into the circulation.”

The exception to the rule is debilitation.

Dr. Beaumont continued …

“It has been observed, however, that the exhaustion from abstinence is quicker removed by liquid than solid aliment.”

Of course, if you don’t chew your food, your highest choice IS juicing your fruits and vegetables (but not together).

Meat swallowed whole breaks down completely in the stomach.

Fruits and vegetables swallowed whole don’t break down at all.

Michael F. Pico, M.D., on the Mayo Clinic Website, wrote …

“There’s no concern that water will dilute the digestive juices or interfere with digestion. In fact, drinking water during or after a meal actually aids digestion. Water and other liquids help break down food so that your body can absorb the nutrients. Water also softens stools, which helps prevent constipation.”

Instead of passing on Old Doctors’ Tales, Dr. Pico, why don’t you check out what the stomach is actually doing while you’re busy pontificating?

Dr. Beaumont went so far as to regularly taste Mr. St. Martin’s stomach contents.

Returning to “digestive fire,” Dr. Beaumont wrote …

“Gentle exercise increases the circulation of the system, and the temperature of the stomach. This increase of temperature is generally about one and a half degrees.”

However, he continued …

“Severe and fatiguing exercise, on the contrary, retards digestion. Two reasons present themselves for this – the debility which accompanies hard labor, of which the stomach partakes; and the depressed temperature of the system, consequent upon perspiration, and evaporation from the surface.”

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