Water for weight loss

I suppose it was only a matter of time before a study was conducted to measure the effectiveness of water as a diet aid - and guess what? It’s effective. The miracle weight loss supplement of the new century is water.

“We are presenting results of the first randomized controlled intervention trial demonstrating that increased water consumption is an effective weight loss strategy,” said Brenda Davy, Ph.D., senior author on the study. “We found in earlier studies that middle aged and older people who drank two cups of water right before eating a meal ate between 75 and 90 fewer calories during that meal. In this recent study, we found that over the course of 12 weeks, dieters who drank water before meals, three times per day, lost about 5 pounds more than dieters who did not increase their water intake.” That’s weight that adds up.

Davy pointed out the obvious: folklore and experience have long suggested that water added to the diet assisted in weight loss. Oddly, or maybe for the very fact that it seems so obvious, there is little research on the topic. Thanks to Davy’s team, there is now evidence of something we thought we knew all along: water fills up the stomach and has zero calories.

Even with the study though, no one knows exactly how much water is the best amount for weight loss or appetite suppression generally. And don’t forget, you can overdose on water, a condition called water intoxication which can cause injury and even death.

“People should drink more water… it’s a simple way to facilitate weight loss,” continued Davy. It’s hardly controversial; it costs next to nothing, and water has no side effects. Could it get any easier?

Source: American Chemical Society, Science Daily