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FACT BRIEF

Does drinking water while standing damage the body's organs?

By Alexis Tereszcuk
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NO

Contrary to a social media post labeled as a "healthy tip," drinking water while standing does not damage the body, a UCLA medical expert told Lead Stories.

The opposite is true in many cases: fundamental treatments for common ailments call for patients to remain standing after eating and drinking and refrain from eating or drinking within 1-2 hours of bedtime, as lying down with a full stomach can lead to digestive problems.

Dr. Daniel V. Vigil, Health Sciences Clinical Professor at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, illustrated this point by citing the treatment protocol for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder (GERD):

"One of the fundamental treatment concepts for GERD is to remain upright (standing) for 30-60 minutes after eating and drinking."

Vigil added, "Drinking water while standing in no way damages the stomach or surrounding organs."

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Mayo Clinic Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
UCLA Health Daniel V. Vigil, MD
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.