You've probably heard you should be drinking plenty of water each day for optimum health. German researchers from the Franz-Volhard Clinical Research Center in Berlin have also found that drinking water increases metabolism. This can be beneficial if you're trying to lose weight because the effect causes burning of more calories.
Effects
Lead authors Michael Boschmann and Jochen Steiniger, along with their colleagues, published their findings in the "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism" in December 2003 and August 2007. During the 2003 study, they evaluated the effect of drinking 500 ml, or about 2 cups, of water on metabolism in 14 healthy participants of normal weight. Drinking this amount of water increased the metabolic rate by 30 percent in both men and women, as determined by microdialysis. The effect occurred within 10 minutes and reached its maximum within 30 to 40 minutes. The effect lasted over an hour. The 2007 study repeated the process with overweight and obese participants. The same amount of water increased metabolism 24 percent within 60 minutes. Drinking 50 ml of water had no effect.
Types
A subgroup of study participants drank warm water so the researchers could see whether metabolism increase is due to the body heating up cold water. They found that most of the effect is not associated with cold water, because drinking warm water also produced a significant response.
Effects by Gender
One noteworthy difference was observed between men and women in regard to metabolic effects. In men, drinking water increased lipid oxidation, or fat burning, while carbohydrate oxidation did not change. In women, however, carbohydrate oxidation was the main effect.
Potential
The German researchers estimate that drinking 1.5 liters, or 6 to 7 cups, of water per day would increase calorie burning over one year by 17,400 calories, about 47 per day. This could decrease fat tissue by 2.4 kg, or about 5 lbs. over one year.
Further Research
A study conducted by the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute and published in the November 2008 issue of "Obesity" noted that short-term experiments indicate drinking water may alter metabolism and lead to weight loss. These researchers found that overweight premenopausal women who increased their water intake experienced significant weight loss and body fat loss over one year, independent of diet and exercise.
Member Comments