Fizzy, bubbles, carbonated or seltzer — no matter what you call it, nose-tickling water is fun and refreshing and, for some, a welcome change from its still cousin.
On social media, the sparkling water gained fame for its impact on body mass. Some believe that sparkling water can increase weight, pointing to a February 2017 study who discovered that carbonated drinks stimulate appetite by increasing ghrelin, the hunger hormone. However, this research was done on male rats and just 20 people and has never been replicated.
The most popular theory is that sparkling water can lead to weight loss. The fizzy bubbles can increase feelings of fullness, and the water itself helps the body burn fat by boosting metabolism — in fact, water is a critical part of lipolysis, which is how the body turns stored fat into energy.
A new study explores a third explanation: Sparkling water may also lower blood glucose levels. This is beneficial for weight loss, experts say, because if blood sugar is kept balanced, with few spikes or crashes, the body’s cells can burn fat more effectively between meals for energy.
“When sparkling water is consumed, CO2 is absorbed by the blood vessels in the stomach,” study author Dr. Akira Takahashi, a physician at the dialysis center at Tesseikai Neurosurgical Hospital in Shijonawate, Japan, said in an email.
While it is possible to have natural sparkling water, created when volcanic gases infuse water in natural springs with bubbles and minerals, most sparkling water consumed is made by forcing carbon dioxide, or CO2, into the water under intense pressure.
Once in the blood, CO2 is quickly converted into bicarbonate ions as part of a process that maintains pH balance. This conversion then causes red blood cells to become more alkaline, Takahashi said.
This increased alkalinity accelerates the process of glucose consumption in red blood cells, thereby reducing glucose levels.
There is no significant weight loss
The study, published on Tuesday in the journal BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Healthwas built on a 2004 survey by Takahashi and his team about hemodialysis, a process that occurs during kidney dialysis when the blood is filtered to remove waste and excess water.
During hemodialysis, CO2 enters the blood, just as it does when sparkling water is consumed. Although the November 2004 study showed that blood sugar levels decrease when CO2 is added to the blood, the new study concluded that the amount of glucose burned during this process would not be enough for any significant weight loss.
“Red blood cells cannot completely ‘burn’ the glucose, and it will be recycled by the liver,” said Keith Frayn, professor emeritus of human metabolism at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, who was not involved in the study.
“If carbonated beverages were shown to lead to weight loss, it would be much more likely to be through effects on feelings of satiety,” Frayn said in a statement. “In the meantime, however, sugary carbonated drinks (sodas) are recognized as a source of excess calories and probably do exactly the opposite.”
Additionally, blood sugar levels were only temporarily lowered, Takahashi said, and sparkling water would have a slight effect on calorie consumption. “Therefore, sparkling water alone is unlikely to contribute significantly to weight loss,” he said. “A balanced diet and regular exercise remain essential for effective weight management.”
I use it to maintain satiety, without overdoing it
Studies showed that people who drank two glasses of water before meals lost more weight than those who didn’t. Another study found that people who replaced diet drinks with water also benefited from losing weight.
“Some of the patients I see for weight loss never feel satisfied,” said Welstead, who was not involved in the new study. “These are the people who tell me, ‘I’m always hungry and always hoping for a snack,’ and I think this can really help some of these people.”
Still, filling your stomach with sparkling water can increase satiety and may be especially helpful for people who struggle with nagging feelings of hunger, said registered dietitian Lori Welstead, who specializes in gastrointestinal nutrition at the University of Chicago Medicine, a non-profit academic medical health system.
“But be aware of excess or added sugars, including some of the artificial sugars, because these can be metabolically negative,” she said. Other patients say they benefit from sparkling water because the bubbles help clear the esophagus and stomach and move food through the digestive system, he explained.
“Some people with a ‘sluggish’ stomach, so to speak, find that carbonation helps with intestinal motility,” said Welstead. “So we have some people for whom these sparkling waters or tonics can create satiety, and others for whom it helps with digestion.”
But don’t overdo it, she warns—more than one or two sparkling waters a day can actually exacerbate gas and abdominal pain due to carbonation.
“If someone is coming in and saying, ‘Oh my God, I’m gassy, I’m bloated, I’m burping, I’ve been feeling sick all day,’ it could be due to drinking five cans of sparkling water a day,” he added.
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This content was originally published in Does sparkling water help you lose weight? Doctors explain on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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