Drinking Water Burns Calories
Besides water being necessary for survival, drinking water cuts hunger and creates a feeling of fullness. Furthermore, consuming water also has the benefit of increasing metabolic rate and burning more calories.
Researchers have found that consuming 500mL of water increased the subjects’ resting metabolic rate by 25 percent and that means an extra 20 calories for 60 minutes. Water increases calorie burning by diluting the blood going to the liver and by turning on the SNS (sympathetic nervous system). The cells in the body have very sensitive methods for regulating fluids in the blood and intra- and inter- cellular fluid. Intake of water activated this system and this increases the expenditure of energy.
It is important to note however, that drinking too much water can cause hyponatremia (sodium concentration falling below a required amount) and this can be dangerous. The study, though interesting, is not an indication that consuming excessive amounts of water is either recommended or effective in weight control. That’s not to say, however, that water consumption isn’t important in a healthy lifestyle as we all know.
SOURCE: Journal Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism, 92: 3334-3337, 2007.
Post by: StudiesAndResearch
May 19, 2008 - 1:47 pm MDT at 1:47 pm
Water=life!
It is amazing how much your body relies on, depends on, and just flat out needs water. There’s a reason it makes up most of your body weight. (2/3 of body water is in the intracellular fluid)
There are two types of thirst:
Osmometric thirst–occurs when the tonicity of the fluid between cells increases. This makes your cells shrink in volume. When you eat a salty meal, you have pure osmometric thirst.
Volumetric thrist–occurs when the volume of the blood plasma decreases. The most common way you lose water is through evaporation (breathing, sweating) which actually induces thirst both ways. Loss of blood or vomiting are what induce purely volumetric thirst.
May 19, 2008 - 1:57 pm MDT at 1:57 pm
Hi CloudStrifebbg,
Could you provide the reference for this study?
Thanks a lot.
-CJ
May 19, 2008 - 2:04 pm MDT at 2:04 pm
Yes of course! I forgot to provide it in the initial post : )
May 19, 2008 - 2:25 pm MDT at 2:25 pm
I heard that it aids in increasing your metabolism.
May 25, 2008 - 2:22 pm MDT at 2:22 pm
With all this talk about ‘drinking too much water’, it has frightened many people to not drink water.