Drinking While Standing Can Damage Your Kidneys, Doctors Explain
Jakarta -
A viral video on social media suggests that drinking while standing is harmful to the kidneys. However, doctors have revealed the facts behind this popular belief.
A video circulating on Instagram discusses the habit of drinking while standing, which has long been considered dangerous to health.
In the video, a claim appears that drinking water while standing does not go through the proper digestion process, so it can trigger gas and burden the kidneys.
However, Dr. Dion Haryadi immediately debunked the claim. He stated that the notion that drinking while standing is dangerous is a long-standing myth with no solid scientific basis.
He explained that physiologically, the processes that occur in the body are the same whether drinking while sitting or standing.
Water that enters will first be stored in the stomach, then absorbed in the intestines, then distributed through the bloodstream to the body's cells and organs, before finally being filtered by the kidneys and excreted through the urinary tract.
"Drinking while standing doesn't mean the water will pass through your digestive tract and damage your kidneys. Not at all, it's the same thing," said Dr. Dion, as quoted in a video uploaded on Instagram by @dionharyadi (19/9).
He added that, from a medical perspective, drinking while standing does not harm kidney health.
However, drinking while sitting is considered more comfortable and more in accordance with etiquette, especially in public places.
In certain conditions, for example when participating in running activities, drinking while standing is said to not be a problem.
This explanation is in line with the views of a number of doctors who have been interviewed by detikHealth.
Internal medicine specialist Dr. Tunggul Situmorang, SpPD-KGH, for example, called the notion that drinking while standing damages the kidneys a hoax, as there is no connection between body position when drinking and the kidneys' workload.
Urologist Dr. Ponco Birowo, SpU, PhD from RSCM also explained that drinking water still takes hours to be absorbed by the body until it reaches the kidneys, regardless of the body position when drinking it.
So, the habit of drinking while standing is not a medical concern, although drinking while sitting is still the recommended choice.
(dfl/adr)
