Drinking sparkling water and fasting now and then could help regulate your metabolism and help you lose weight, according to doctors and scientists behind two recently released studies.
In a paper published in BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health, Dr Akira Takahashi of Tesseikai Neurosurgery Hospital in Japan argued that carbonated water can have a small effect on blood glucose uptake and metabolism and that it can help curb hunger pangs.
But fizzy water should not be regarded as some sort of elixir or magic weight loss potion.
Dr Takahashi said people should drink it as part of a “balanced diet” and to quench thirst after “regular physical activity,” both of which he said are “crucial components of sustainable weight management.”
Too much fizzy water is probably not suitable for people with stomach or bowel conditions, he warned.
The study follows the recent publication by the journal BMC Medicine of work by doctors at National Taiwan University, who found evidence that “intermittent fasting” has the potential “to improve metabolic health.”
The team’s meta-analysis of work covering around 9,000 patients showed fasting occasionally likely “significantly reduced body weight compared to usual diets.”
More work is needed, they said, to further ease out the effects of fasting from other potential contributors to reported weight loss and health gains.
Researchers at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, United States, last year published research results that suggested fasting can also lower a person’s “biological age.” – dpa
