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Sigh. This is utter nonsense according to both my ENT and
gastroenterologist. It may be conventional wisdom among the herbal/
acupuncture/"doctors-only-want-your-money-and-are-in-bed-with-drug-
companies" crowd, but it truly is "junk science" (as a liberal, I
ordinarily detest that term). The only water you need before a meal
is a few sips before the food comes--the glass of water that arrives
before the breadbasket will do just fine. You should be drinking
plenty throughout the day anyway. Personally, I find it is easier to
swallow my food--and keep from overeating--if I drink water &/or wine
along with my meal. Your food will liquefy as it is digested anyway.
And what is the horrible consequence of not digesting all your food?
It gets excreted. Big deal. In fact, the more thoroughly you digest
your food, the more likely it is that all the calories in it will be
available for your body to burn or store--and for those needing to
control their weight, having a few calories go to waste (instead of
to waist) is not a bad thing.
I also had an internist who is a passionate believer in alternative
medicine (and enthusiastic prescriber of herbs and supplements
instead of commercial pharmaceuticals whenever possible), and I once
asked him why he still kept me on Protonix when he suggests hydration
and deglycerrhized licorice for his other patients. He replied that
one size does not fit all, that I did have a hiatal hernia and
esophageal erosions, and that dietary considerations are only a part
of the picture when it comes to reflux--in more severe cases, it
doesn't occur only in response to ingestion and digestion. (Nighttime
reflux--even many hours after eating--can even cause vocal fogginess
and raspiness by bathing the vocal cords in stomach acid, irritating
them to the point where they do not close evenly along their entire
length).
Proper hygiene and common sense can go a long way toward improving
health and preventing some degree of disease. But "going natural" is
not a panacea. Those who will tell you that our ancestors, who did
not have our modern conveniences, foods and pharmaceuticals, did not
suffer the diseases we see today, are only giving you half the
picture. The missing info is that we live far longer today and thus
are subject to maladies our ancestors did not suffer because they
died (usually of infections, childbirth, violent occurrences of
nature) before they could contract them. One of the reasons obesity
is such a problem nowadays is that our bodies are designed to combat
the effects of famine and infant/childhood mortality, not abundance
and overpopulation; and that fertility (which requires a minimum
percentage of body fat) is now only a small portion of a woman's
life--most women today live on average twenty to thirty or more years
after menopause, whereas historically most women either died soon
after they were no longer fertile or even while they were still in
their childbearing years. And as recently as the 19th century, most
men died by their fifties. Biology lags several million years behind
sociology, alas.
Mind you, I am no fan of the pharmaceutical industry--they bring
drugs to market before they have all the necessary information, they
charge an arm and a leg because they can, and refuse to make and sell
effective treatments for diseases that are too rare to create a
lucrative enough market for them. I am willing to try alternative
remedies when conventional (and proven) ones don't work. I am aware
of the dangers of overprocessed foods that often create dependence
upon the artificial and refined substance they contain (I refuse to
use the overused term "addiction"). But to make sweeping
generalizations about the conventional medical establishment and
condemn all of it along with all of the commercial food industry is
as wrongheaded and dangerous as to believe everything the
"authorities" tell you.
On Jul 8, 2006, at 8:57 AM, Ken Mary wrote:
<Snip>
Sandy
www.sandyandina.com
--Apple-Mail-37-134636319
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Sigh. This is utter nonsense =
according to both my ENT and gastroenterologist. It may be conventional =
wisdom among the =
herbal/acupuncture/"doctors-only-want-your-money-and-are-in-bed-with-drug-=
companies" crowd, but it truly is "junk science" (as a liberal, I =
ordinarily detest that term). The only water you need before a meal is a =
few sips before the food comes--the glass of water that arrives before =
the breadbasket will do just fine. You should be drinking plenty =
throughout the day anyway. Personally, I find it is easier to swallow =
my food--and keep from overeating--if I drink water &/or wine along =
with my meal. Your food will liquefy as it is digested anyway. And what =
is the horrible consequence of not digesting all your food? It gets =
excreted. Big deal. In fact, the more thoroughly you digest your food, =
the more likely it is that all the calories in it will be available for =
your body to burn or store--and for those needing to control their =
weight, having a few calories go to waste (instead of to waist) is not a =
bad thing.
I =
also had an internist who is a passionate believer in alternative =
medicine (and enthusiastic prescriber of herbs and supplements instead =
of commercial pharmaceuticals whenever possible), and I once asked him =
why he still kept me on Protonix when he suggests hydration and =
deglycerrhized licorice for his other patients. He replied that one size =
does not fit all, that I did have a hiatal hernia and esophageal =
erosions, and that dietary considerations are only a part of the picture =
when it comes to reflux--in more severe cases, it doesn't occur only in =
response to ingestion and digestion. (Nighttime reflux--even many hours =
after eating--can even cause vocal fogginess and raspiness by bathing =
the vocal cords in stomach acid, irritating them to the point where they =
do not close evenly along their entire length).
Proper hygiene and common =
sense can go a long way toward improving health and preventing some =
degree of disease. But "going natural" is not a panacea. Those who will =
tell you that our ancestors, who did not have our modern conveniences, =
foods and pharmaceuticals, did not suffer the diseases we see today, are =
only giving you half the picture. The missing info is that we live far =
longer today and thus are subject to maladies our ancestors did not =
suffer because they died (usually of infections, childbirth, violent =
occurrences of nature) before they could contract them. One of the =
reasons obesity is such a problem nowadays is that our bodies are =
designed to combat the effects of famine and infant/childhood mortality, =
not abundance and overpopulation; and that fertility (which requires a =
minimum percentage of body fat) is now only a small portion of a woman's =
life--most women today live on average twenty to thirty or more years =
after menopause, whereas historically most women either died soon after =
they were no longer fertile or even while they were still in their =
childbearing years. And as recently as the 19th century, most men =
died by their fifties. Biology lags several million years behind =
sociology, alas.
Mind you, I am no fan of =
the pharmaceutical industry--they bring drugs to market before they have =
all the necessary information, they charge an arm and a leg because they =
can, and refuse to make and sell effective treatments for diseases that =
are too rare to create a lucrative enough market for them. I am =
willing to try alternative remedies when conventional (and proven) ones =
don't work. I am aware of the dangers of overprocessed foods that often =
create dependence upon the artificial and refined substance they contain =
(I refuse to use the overused term "addiction"). But to make sweeping =
generalizations about the conventional medical establishment and condemn =
all of it along with all of the commercial food industry is as =
wrongheaded and dangerous as to believe everything the "authorities" =
tell you.
On Jul 8, 2006, at 8:57 AM, Ken Mary =
wrote:
Water =
with a meal combined with no water before the meal is a major cause =
of heartburn =
and reflux. The dehydrated small intestine is not able to =
process the =
semi-digested stomach contents and there is a reflex reaction =
that pushes =
back into the stomach. Now this causes another reflex action by =
the stomach =
and forces the stomach contents into the esophagus. Now you =
have acid =
reflux and heartburn and will likely spend huge sums of money on =
purple pills or =
pink goo, when all you need is a glass of water BEFORE the =
meal.
=
=
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