Q: I am a 25 years old female wanting to know if water can be taken along with a meal. I have heard that water should be taken 30 minutes or an hour after meals? Is it true?

A:Total intake of water should ideally be between 10-12 glasses per day - a glass must be 250 ml. At meal times, it is best to take water 30 minutes before the meal - one glass. During the meal, one must not take beyond 1/4 to half a glass of water as otherwise the digestive juices would get too diluted to aid in digestion and absorption. It is good to take some water during meals to help in ingestion of food. After a meal, the next glass of water may be taken an hour to one and a half hours after the meal.