system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Human beings aside, how do mammals behave regarding eating and drinking: drink before, while, after eating? And is there a better option among these three for human beings?

I'm curious about when to drink regarding meals, and if it has any impact on digestion and nutrient absorption. I feel like drinking during the meal would reduce the impact of acids in the digestion process, but I don't know much about it. And by asking about how animals do, I feel like it would be a good indication of the most instinctive, natural way.
gpt
As you might imagine, for most mammals and other animals, the acts of eating and drinking are divorced out of necessity.  Grazers and other herbivores tend to continuously eat for long periods, while carnivores eat whenever they procure meat.  Meanwhile, drinking involves taking a separate trip to the stream/lake/watering hole.

In general, modeling your behavior after animals won't be the path to the "most instinctive, natural way" in any beneficial manner.  Animals don't eat and drink together because their food and water sources are typically in separate places, not because that provides some form of physiological or psychological benefit.