The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1906-07-11
DRINK DRINK WHEN W HEN YOU EAT
TAKE AS MUCH WATER AS YOU
WANT WIZ YOUR MEALS.

1t Ys Excellent For the DIgestson, 1T
In CzniHaed. aa Neither Gaat-ie Insce
Nor Pepsin Work Properly Unlesn
largely Diluted With Water.
How much water should we drink
and when should we drink 1t are ques-
tions so simple that at first sight their
discussion seems superfuous. One
would naturally answer, Drink nll the
water you ~.ish when you are thirsty"
but authorities say, Drink more than
you wish when you are not thirsty"
Tor they recommend that gallon or 80
| be drunk between meals, which Is
more water than we need and the very
time the system lcnst denands it. U.s.
ually we experience thirst during or
| directly after eating.
1nasmuch as 81 per cent Of the whole
body Is water. which Is, of course, be-
ing used UP every moment, there Is no
question that we should drink of this
element copiously, but it Is a serious
| question whether we should refrain
from water ut mealc-the time VIC par
ticularly desire 1t.
| There Is q class OF persons, ever
growing more numerous, that believes
that whatever is is wrong. For the
natural and simple they would substi-
,ute tho artificial and complicated. To
drink water while or directly after eat-
Ing 10 @ natural instinct. Give q dog
his dinner. putting q bowl Of water
near 1t, and observe that he Will first
cat all he can and, then Immediately
drink. Wild animals look for stream
AFTER feeding. Cage birds will stop
pecklng Mt seed to peck at water. Chill
dren have perpetual thirst, and I
have seen babies that, unlike young
Oliver. have refused to eat moro when
denied water after every few mouth.
fuls.
1t IS especially important that babies
be given what water they wish and at
the time they wish it. which Is usually
at table.
The thinner food Is the more easily
and thoroughly !s It d.sesteti; il facts
1t cannot be digested until it has been
made liquid BY the gastric and intesti.
nal juices. Indigestion Is caused often
by food that has not been sufficiently
mo1stened by the digestive secre1ions.
There are sound physiological rea-
sons for our craving water with meals.
Water is the solvent that constitutes
95 per cent Of the gastric Juice. Now,
when one eats hearty meal and does
not drink, the amount Of water In the
stomach y not sufficient thoroughly to
moisten the great quantity Of food,
and this makes digestion difficult. On
the other hand. when enough water is
1ngested with the food the latter is
well moistened and broken up. the d..
gestible particles being then readily
acted on by the gastric Juice anI afffEa-
ward absorbed. Agaia, when the 1T
TALLY digested food (chyme) passes into
the tntestinea It ig nest important that
tt be very moist, particularly as water
ta constantly absorbed from the chyle
in the large intestine. Bad cases Of
constipation are caused by dry chyle
remaining In tho intestines, where it
sets up an Inflammation that some
times proves fatal, dry faces, Of
course, resisting peristaltic action. The
excrement Of persons suffering from
constipation is always dry and hard
ssa Is = potent cause os appendicitis.
The idea that wate: drinking at
meals unduly dilutes tho gastric juice
ia nonsenslcnl, water helng not 90, pal
Gtable that one is nnt to drink more
than mis- digestive functions require.
AS matter Of fact water generally
facilitates the digestion OF albuminous
substances. In this connection DR.. A.
Jacobi in his work on Infant Diet"
page 81, says: ..'...... -.
"In experiments unon iigestlnn ne
albumen with gastric juice obtained.
from the stomach of animals It was no.
ticed that after certain time the proc
ess began to slacken, but was renewed
merely by tho addition Of water. Tho
gastric Juice became eaturated with
tho substance. 1t rad dissolved and
ceased to net upon what remained un-
til 1t had been diluted. In the living
stomach this dilution Ia Of even greater
Importance. for st permits Of the I'M
mediate absorption OF the substances
soluble In water and which do not re-
qulre the specific action Of tho gastric
juice; Neither the gastric Juice nor
pepsin has any true digestive action
ter. ,...,. -.
It goes without saying that it is not
the food that, is ingested, but that
which is digested, that does god, and
this principle holds good with water,
which Is practically food. Now,
when one reslsts the perfectly natural
desire to drink while eating he may be
not thirsty several hours afterward,
but he ts advised nevertheless to force
himself to drink at that tina. But il
he drinks then. the water, having no
food to mix with 1t, will 60 through
him, as it were-.that is. it will do no
| good.
The importance of water to the hu-
man economy may be- inferred from
the various purposes 1t subserves.
First, 1t softens and dissolvas solid
foods, thus facilitating their mastIca-
tion~ and digestion; second. It main
tains q due bulk Of blood and the
| structures Of tho body: third, It keeps