Well, Actually… Separating Women's Health Facts from Fiction

Health advice is everywhere, and unfortunately, so are half-truths.

Every week it seems there's a new headline, social media post, or wellness trend telling us what we should (or shouldn't) be doing with our bodies. It can be hard to know what's backed by good evidence and what's simply been repeated so many times that it sounds true.

That's what Well, Actually... is for.

In each edition, we'll take one common health myth, look at what the science actually says, and explore how that idea became so popular in the first place.

Because understanding why something isn't true is often just as helpful as knowing what is.

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The Myths

• “Drinking water during meals dilutes your stomach acid and reduces the digestive enzymes in your saliva, so you should avoid it.”

  Well, Actually…

  Health advice gets repeated so often that it can start to sound like established science—even when the evidence behind it is surprisingly thin.

  In this series, we’ll take one common health claim, look at what the research actually shows, and explore how the idea may have become so convincing in the first place.

  The myth

  “Drinking water during meals dilutes your stomach acid and reduces the digestive enzymes in your saliva, so you should avoid it.”

  Well, actually…

  Water does mix with the contents of your stomach, so technically it can make the stomach temporarily less acidic.

  In one small study, drinking 200 mL—just under one cup—of water raised stomach pH in healthy adults. However, the effect lasted only a few minutes before the stomach became acidic again. The study didn’t show that water impaired digestion, reduced nutrient absorption, or caused digestive symptoms.

  Your stomach isn’t a fixed container of acid that can be permanently watered down. It’s a responsive organ. When food arrives, nerves and hormones signal the stomach to release more hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes. Food itself—especially protein—also raises stomach pH at first because it buffers, or temporarily neutralizes, some acid. The stomach then adjusts its secretions as digestion continues.

  The saliva part of the claim is also misleading.

  Salivary amylase is an enzyme that begins breaking down starch while you chew. Drinking water may help you swallow, but I couldn’t find human evidence showing that having water with a meal reduces the amount of enzyme your salivary glands produce or interferes with digestion in a meaningful way.

  In fact, salivary amylase can continue working after food reaches the stomach until the environment becomes acidic enough to deactivate it. Most digestion and absorption then continue in the small intestine with enzymes released by the pancreas.

  How did this myth spread?

  The idea probably comes from a simple analogy: if you add water to something acidic, you dilute it.

  That’s true in a glass. But your stomach isn’t a glass—it continually senses what has entered and adjusts its acid and enzyme production accordingly.

  A brief change in stomach pH is real. The leap from that change to “water disrupts digestion” is the part the research doesn’t currently support.

  What to remember

  For most people, there’s no good evidence that sipping water with meals harms digestion.

  You don’t need to force yourself to drink large amounts, especially if doing so makes you feel overly full, bloated or worsens reflux. But you also don’t need to sit through a meal feeling thirsty because you’re afraid water will switch off your digestion.

  As always, comfort matters. Sip according to your thirst and pay attention to how your own body responds.