(NaturalPath) According to a study out of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, the majority of people who increased their consumption of plain water by one percent reduced their total calorie intake as well as their consumption of saturated fat, sugar, sodium and cholesterol. They study included 18,300 U.S. adults.
The health benefits of drinking one, two or three more cups of water daily decreased their total energy intake by 68 to 205 calories daily, sodium intake by 78 to 235 milligrams, 5 to 18 grams less of sugar as well as reducing their cholesterol consumption by 7 to 21 milligrams daily.
“The impact of plain water intake on diet was similar across race/ethnicity, education and income levels and body weight status,” one researcher said. “This finding indicates that it might be sufficient to design and deliver universal nutrition interventions and education campaigns that promote plain water consumption in replacement of beverages with calories in diverse population subgroups without profound concerns about message and strategy customization.”
So to lose weight and get healthier, you can just drink a few more cups of water each day.
Razi Berry, Founder and Publisher of Naturopathic Doctor News & Review (ndnr.com) and NaturalPath (thenatpath.com), has spent the last decade as a natural medicine advocate and marketing whiz. She has galvanized and supported the naturopathic community, bringing a higher quality of healthcare to millions of North Americans through her publications. A self-proclaimed health-food junkie and mother of two; she loves all things nature, is obsessed with organic gardening, growing fruit trees (not easy in Phoenix), laughing until she snorts, and homeschooling. She is a little bit crunchy and yes, that is her real name.
