{"id":50127,"date":"2025-07-31T13:33:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T13:33:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/50127\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T13:33:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T13:33:10","slug":"how-drinking-water-can-cause-acid-reflux","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/50127\/","title":{"rendered":"How Drinking Water Can Cause Acid Reflux"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s hard to go anywhere in the summer without being faced with another reminder to stay well hydrated. But while proper hydration is important for your health and avoiding heat-related illness, doctors say that going about it the wrong way could mess with your stomach. <\/p>\n

Issues specifically show up in the form of acid reflux, aka gastroesophageal reflux. It seems weird, but drinking too much water or having water at certain times of day raises the risk of uncomfortable reflux symptoms, said Dr. Ashkan Farhadi<\/a>, gastroenterologist at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California. <\/p>\n

The reason behind this is a little complicated and taps into body mechanics. But if you\u2019re prone to reflux, it\u2019s important to be aware that your summer hydration habits could be making things worse. With that in mind, we tapped four gastroenterologists to explain how water can exacerbate symptoms of reflux, plus how to stay well hydrated without raising the risk of symptoms. <\/p>\n

First, it\u2019s important to understand why reflux happens.<\/p>\n

Gastroesophageal reflux is a condition that happens when contents of your stomach come back up into your esophagus, the long tube that connects your throat to your stomach, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases<\/a> (NIDDK). Many people experience this once in a while, and you can even have reflux without noticing any symptoms. People who do have symptoms may experience heartburn, regurgitation, nausea, pain while swallowing, a chronic cough or hoarseness, per the NIDDK.<\/p>\n

Gastroesophageal reflux usually happens when the lower esophageal sphincter, which serves as a lid that keeps stomach acid and other contents from flowing back into the esophagus, becomes weak or relaxes when it shouldn\u2019t, Farhadi explained. <\/p>\n

Drinking too much water can exacerbate acid reflux symptoms.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to guzzle a bunch of water at once in the summer, but pacing yourself may be easier on your stomach.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrinking large amounts of water can increase the volume of the stomach,\u201d explained Dr. Rishi Naik<\/a>, gastroenterologist and assistant professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. \u201cWhen the volume of the stomach increases, it increases pressure, which then leads to upward pressure through your lower esophageal sphincter.\u201d That can increase reflux, causing uncomfortable symptoms in the process, he said.<\/p>\n

\"Pacing<\/p>\n

Guido Mieth via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Pacing your water intake can be easier on your stomach, experts say.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis esophageal sphincter acts like a valve to protect your esophagus from reflux but, when there is too much pressure, this can lead to backup through the valve into the esophagus which can worsen acid reflux symptoms,\u201d Naik said.<\/p>\n

Water isn\u2019t acidic, pointed out Dr. Subhankar Chakraborty<\/a>, a gastroenterologist at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. But \u201cthe way it stretches the stomach can lead to reflux,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Not everyone will experience this phenomenon, though. \u201cSome people can handle extra water with no problem. But those with acid reflux are in trouble,\u201d Farhadi said. <\/p>\n

Timing matters, too.<\/p>\n

While flooding your stomach with a lot of water at once raises the risk of reflux, so does drinking a lot of water after a meal, said Dr. Ellen Stein<\/a>, a gastroenterologist and associate professor at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou can easily overwhelm the stomach size and this can cause a rise in the fluid level that can produce more reflux symptoms,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s the same as over-eating or overfilling your stomach. It\u2019s always better to be satiated, but not overfilled.\u201d<\/p>\n

People with reflux tend to have more symptoms after meals, so drinking too much water at this point can add to the problem, Chakraborty said. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how to navigate summer hydration without acid reflux symptoms.<\/p>\n

There are a few things you can do to lower the risk of acid reflux symptoms, both in terms of drinking water and other health hacks. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo help prevent reflux, it\u2019s better to drink small amounts of water throughout the day instead of drinking a lot at once, especially during or right after meals,\u201d Chakraborty said. <\/p>\n

Naik also suggests walking after meals. \u201cThis increases motility \u2014 your ability for your stomach to squeeze \u2014 and moves [stomach contents] further down into your gastrointestinal tract to prevent esophageal reflux,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Stein recommends being realistic about your hydration needs, too. \u201cDrinking enough fluids in the day is not as hard as it sounds if you keep up from the start of the day to the end,\u201d she said. Her advice: Drink when you feel thirsty, and try to have a steady amount of water throughout the day vs. downing a lot at once. <\/p>\n

\u201cI usually remind people to drink a little when they wake up, have a little with breakfast, have a mid-morning sip, sip something with lunch, something in the afternoon, something with dinner, and something in the early evening,\u201d she said. (You can keep an eye on your urine color to see if you\u2019re well-hydrated: It should be clear to pale yellow.)<\/p>\n

20 Years OfFreeJournalism<\/p>\n

Your Support Fuels Our Mission<\/p>\n

Your Support Fuels Our Mission<\/p>\n

For two decades, HuffPost has been fearless, unflinching, and relentless in pursuit of the truth. Support our mission to keep us around for the next 20 \u2014 we can’t do this without you.<\/p>\n

We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.<\/p>\n

Thank you again for your support along the way. We\u2019re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.<\/p>\n

Thank you again for your support along the way. We\u2019re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Support HuffPost<\/a><\/p>\n

Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.<\/a><\/p>\n

It can also be helpful to avoid eating too close to bedtime or lying down after meals, Naik said. Limiting certain foods and drinks, including acidic foods, chocolate, alcoholic drinks, coffee, mint and spicy foods, may also help, per the NIDDK. <\/p>\n

But if you\u2019ve tried this and you\u2019re still struggling, Farhadi says it\u2019s time to see a health care provider for an evaluation. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s hard to go anywhere in the summer without being faced with another reminder to stay well hydrated.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50128,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[38778,4839,97,282],"class_list":{"0":"post-50127","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-acid-reflux","9":"tag-digestion","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-water"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}