Finally, Solid Evidence that Water is Good for Weight Loss

Water has always been Dr. Joseph Mercola’s beverage of choice as it is the best way to rehydrate. It’s a no-brainer because a big part of our bodies are composed of water, including bodily fluids like blood, digestive juices, lymph, sweat, and urine.

Water was also long believed to help aid weight loss, which many consider as an old wives’ tale. But now this often dismissed dieting tip has the science to back it up.

A research team led by Virginia Tech nutritionist Brenda Davy conducted the first randomized controlled trial looking at the link between water consumption and weight loss. Davy’s year-long trial was a follow-up to a 12-week trial published in early 2010 suggesting that drinking water before meals leads to weight loss.

The researchers divided 48 inactive people, aged 55 to 75, into two groups. The first group was told to drink half a liter of water shortly before eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, while the second did not receive any instructions on what to drink.

The participants had been consuming between 1,800 and 2,200 calories daily before the trial. When the study began, men were limited to 1,500 calories while women were allowed 1,200 calories.

After three months, the group that drank water before the three meals lost an average of 7kg (15.4 lbs) each – about a 44-percent increase in weight loss – while those in the second group only lost 5kg (11 lbs).

The weight loss effect appears to be long-lasting because the participants were allowed to eat and drink what they wanted in the succeeding 12 months. But those who drank water before meals during the trial stuck with the habit and continued to lose weight – about 2 lbs over the year – while the others put the weight back on.

Davy attributed the weight loss to the fact that water makes you feel full without giving you any calories.

Water consumption is a vital component of Dr. Mercola’s No-Grain Diet. When you’re dehydrated, your body prompts you to eat food when you should be consuming water, and this triggers weight gain, Dr. Mercola explains. The No-Grain Diet will also help you avoid soda and other sweet, calorie-loaded beverages.

Drink a quart of water for every 50lb of body weight, gradually increasing the amount to give your bladder and excretory system time to adjust. Sip on water continuously throughout the day since your body can only process a glass per hour.

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