# Stomach acid dissolved by drinking water after a meal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 13, 2003, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stomach-acid-dissolved-by-drinking-water-after-a-meal/181477 "2003-06-13T00:39:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kkwoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@kkwoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kkwoo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stomach-acid-dissolved-by-drinking-water-after-a-meal/181477/1 "2003-06-13T00:39:30Z")
Hi all, ``` A colleague at work has decided to abstain from drinking water after meals, in the belief that drinking water after meals will dissolve the stomach acids, rendering the stomach acids less effective. I think this idea sounds silly, but I've been unsuccessful in finding anything on the WWW about this idea. Any medical students here who could set me straight please? ``` Kevin ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stomach-acid-dissolved-by-drinking-water-after-a-meal/181477/2 "2003-06-13T01:09:26Z")
Dilute might be the word you’re looking for instead of disolve. Unless there’s some reason that you’re short on stomach acids to start, I’d guess that you’d just secrete more if needed. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stomach-acid-dissolved-by-drinking-water-after-a-meal/181477/3 "2003-06-13T01:14:54Z")
Water is good for you. It will dilute your stomach acids, but, then, so will the food. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@Stan\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stomach-acid-dissolved-by-drinking-water-after-a-meal/181477/4 "2003-06-13T01:15:44Z")
One would certainly dilute the stomach acid, but unless the water being drunk is used to chase antacid tablets, the pH of the stomach would be \< 7.0, and therefore acidic. I doubt that even large quantities of very hard drinking water could neutralize stomach acid. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stomach-acid-dissolved-by-drinking-water-after-a-meal/181477/5 "2003-06-13T02:11:35Z")
Isn’t stomach acid capable of eating through almost anything(except for linings of your stomach and digestive track) or am I confusing this with some other kinda of acid? ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stomach-acid-dissolved-by-drinking-water-after-a-meal/181477/6 "2003-06-13T02:17:08Z")
IIRC its HCl, hydrochloric acid, of a rather strong molarity. It has the same limitations as other acids, it doesn’t do much with fats, glass etc. Fats, IIRC, are digested by bases in our small intestine. ---
**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stomach-acid-dissolved-by-drinking-water-after-a-meal/181477/7 "2003-06-13T02:17:57Z")
Actually, stomach acid (hydrochloric acid) does eat its way through your stomach lining. Your stomach continually secretes a mucus coating to protect it. When this doesn’t happen, you get an ulcer. ---
**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stomach-acid-dissolved-by-drinking-water-after-a-meal/181477/8 "2003-06-13T02:22:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SimonX \* > \*\* > Fats, IIRC, are digested by bases in our small intestine. \*\* Fats are mechanically digested. Bile salts emulsify the fats (think of putting soap in oily water) so your small intestine can absorb it. The salts don’t alter the fat structure, rather, they make the size of the fat globules smaller. Damnit, I suffered through AP Biology, and I’m going to put it to some use! ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stomach-acid-dissolved-by-drinking-water-after-a-meal/181477/9 "2003-06-13T02:22:20Z")
Actually, most peptic ulcers are caused by [bacteria](http://www.mercola.com/1997/archive/peptic_ulcer.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stomach-acid-dissolved-by-drinking-water-after-a-meal/181477/10 "2003-06-13T02:24:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Otto \* > \*\*Actually, most peptic ulcers are caused by [bacteria](http://www.mercola.com/1997/archive/peptic_ulcer.htm). \*\* Ah, thanks for the link. ---
**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stomach-acid-dissolved-by-drinking-water-after-a-meal/181477/11 "2003-06-13T02:35:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cleophus \* > \*\*Bile salts emulsify the fats (think of putting soap in oily water) so your small intestine can absorb it. \*\* I’d like to add that lipase acts on the fat before it gets absorbed. So, we have a dual mechanical and chemical action. ---
**Author:** ![kkwoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@kkwoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kkwoo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stomach-acid-dissolved-by-drinking-water-after-a-meal/181477/12 "2003-06-13T04:55:07Z")
Yes, “dilute” is the more accurate word. Thanks to everyone for contributing to this thread and answering my question. Kevin ---
**Author:** ![cantara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6f9a4e/32.png) [@cantara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cantara)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stomach-acid-dissolved-by-drinking-water-after-a-meal/181477/13 "2003-06-13T12:36:03Z")
I had recently heard on a radio show about drinking lots of liquid with meals. The host pretends to be a doctor and had a real doctor as a guest on the show (I don’t know what his specialty is). The idea expressed was that if you drink a lot of fluids then you can dilute the acid and it will take a little longer to digest the food. Since the stomach would try to compensate by creating more acid, then you may get heartburn when it ‘splashes’ around your stomach and makes its way up the digestive tract. Hmm…that doesn’t read properly…when he described it, I pictured the liquids overfilling the stomach and occupying part of the tube above the stomach… IANAD (can you tell?) ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stomach-acid-dissolved-by-drinking-water-after-a-meal/181477/14 "2003-06-13T13:53:31Z")
Maybe he has read Diamond’s “Fit for Life.” That was one of his pillars, but I think it included not drinking during a meal, too. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stomach-acid-dissolved-by-drinking-water-after-a-meal/181477/15 "2003-06-13T13:57:10Z")
Hm… says something about our society. When I read the “friend,” I immediately assumed that they had started drinking water so their body would absorb fewer calories or something! ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stomach-acid-dissolved-by-drinking-water-after-a-meal/181477/16 "2003-06-13T15:27:57Z")
**kkwoo** , just ignore my medically clueless mother-in-law. She falls for everything she hears. She still swears up and down that gum stays in your stomach for 7 years, and that red M&Ms should be thrown away. you _do_ work with my MIL, right? Right? There can’t be \*that \*many soon-to-be-chronically-constipated people out there that buy this tripe, can there be? ---
**Author:** ![j.c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@j.c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j.c)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stomach-acid-dissolved-by-drinking-water-after-a-meal/181477/17 "2003-06-17T07:01:17Z")
> [@](#): > > Actually, most peptic ulcers are caused by bacteria. Actually actually, the bacteria is neccessary for most peptic ulcers. It’s very possible, even likely, to have the bacteria thriving in your innards without ever having an ulcer or stomach cancer.