Being well hydrated matters to our health, but the way you drink water can have a harmful impact on digestion in the long term and exacerbate symptoms of acid reflux, a leading dietician has warned.
Whilst drinking water is undeniably better for you than sipping on cans of Coca-Cola, experts have warned that this simple switch alone is not guaranteed to banish symptoms.
Molly Pelletier, a registered dietician and acid reflux specialist, took to Instagram to discuss how water could be triggering painful symptoms from heartburn to bloating.
In the caption, Ms Pelletier—who has over 64,000 followers—pondered what her life would have been like if she realised years earlier that the way she was drinking water was actually making her symptoms worse.
Acid reflux occurs when acid from inside the stomach flows backwards, up into the oesophagus causing a burning sensation, known as heartburn.
She explained: ‘It’s not just what you drink but how and when that matters.
‘If you’re chugging large amounts of water with meals or guzzling cold water on an empty stomach, you might unknowingly be triggering symptoms like heartburn, throat clearing, bloating or regurgitation.’
Normally, a valve called the lower esophageal sphincter prevents stomach acid from escaping back up the throat, but if t weakens or relaxes at the wrong time, acid can escape and irritate the esophagus.
According to Ms Pelletier, a registered dietician and acid reflux specialist, how and when you drink water could be making your acid reflux worse
Acid reflux happens when stomach acid flows back into the oesophagus (file photo)
Common triggers include stress, eating too quickly, or consuming alcohol, caffeine and chocolate. But according to the acid reflux dietician, drinking too much water too quickly, especially at meal times can also exacerbate symptoms.
‘Sip slowly—especially during meals. Think gentle hydration, not flooding your stomach,’ she advised her followers.
‘Aim to hydrate between meals instead of right before or right after eating,’ she added.
Whilst drinking a glass of water with a meal is unlikely to have a negative impact for most people, it can make acid reflux symptoms worse because it increases the overall volume of the stomach’s contents—putting pressure on the valve that stops stomach acid from flowing back up the oesophagus.
According to Kitty Broihier, a registered dietician and mindful eating instructor, drinking water with a big meal can add to stomach distension and a bloated feeling.
Research shows that gastric distension—often referred to as bloating—increases the amount of stomach acid reaching the esophageal sphincter, and forces acidic stomach juices to come back up, causing a burning sensation.
Writing in the online publication Food Guides, she warned: ‘As good as water is for you, it’s apparent that drinking a lot of water at once will make the distention worse.
‘The same goes for drinking water during a meal,’ she added. ‘Don’t wait until the evening to compensate for not drinking enough water during the day.’
It always best to drink room temperature water, Ms Pelletier added, because water at this temperature can be absorbed more easily by the body, and is comfortably consumed without causing thermal shock.
‘If you’re still dealing with reflux despite doing “everything right”, hydration habits might be one of the missing pieces,’ she said.
Doctors may be able to advise on lifestyle changes or prescribe medication and investigations to combat the problem.
But left untreated acid reflux can lead to a condition called Barrett’s oesophagus.
This is a condition which triggers some of the cells in the oesophagus to grow abnormally—increasing the risk of oesophageal cancer.
It comes as doctors warned earlier this year that millions may be hooked on proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which reduce the amount of acid in the stomach, limiting the distressing symptoms of heartburn.
But when patients stop taking the tablets, which include omeprazole and lansoprazole, the reflux returns even worse than before, experts have said.
Cancer charity Cancer Research UK (CRUK) estimates between 3 and 13 per cent of Barrett’s oesophagus will go on to develop oesophageal cancer.
This translate to someone with the condition having an 11-times greater risk of being diagnosed with oesophageal cancer than someone without Barrett’s oesophagus.
Overall, CRUK estimates about three in five of the near 9,500 cases of oesophageal cancer diagnosed in Britain each year are preventable. By 2040, experts predict there will be 147,000 cases of oesophageal cancer in England.
