Water tightens you, keeps your cells fit – and has zero calories. But you’d better take still water: according to new research, carbon dioxide makes you hungry.

Drinking water works for your figure – it helps you lose weight. We should drink 1.5 to 2 litres of liquid every day – preferably still water. This gives our body the medium it needs for all metabolic and excretory processes.

Even a slight deficit in drinking water causes listlessness and a lack of concentration – and thirst is often misinterpreted as hunger. That means: unnecessary calories, although we actually only need a glass of water to drink.

For the figure prefer to drink still water

But as I have just said, for all those who want to lose weight with water, still water actually seems to be better than carbonated mineral water. This assumption is now supported by completely new research by the Palestinian University Bir Zait in the West Bank. There, a team of researchers tested for a year under identical conditions and with two teams of rats – but one group was given still water to drink and the other sparkling water. The exciting result was that the group of animals that drank the carbonated mineral water gained considerably more weight.

As a reason, the researchers found that the so-called hunger hormone ghrelin is increasingly released from animals drinking “carbonated water” – ghrelin increases appetite and thus food intake. In addition, the carbonic acid rats had also stored larger amounts of fat in the liver after the completion of the test series.

The research group then also checked the results of a group of 20 male students – the students of the “Sprudelwasser” (sparkling water) were up to six times higher on ghrelin.

Drink water – After coffee or tea

The following applies to the choice of drinks when drinking slim drinks: Anything that contains larger amounts of sugar or other nutrients (such as milk, pure juice, soda or alcohol) does not quench thirst and provides unwanted calories. It’s better to drink plenty of water – with or without carbon dioxide! Apple spritzers or other spritzers with a maximum of one third juice as well as unsweetened herbal teas are also ok. Black tea and coffee stimulate urination: Therefore, always drink one glass of water per cup afterwards.

We drink far too little!

One in two drinks too little. This is the result of a survey conducted by the Berlin Institute forsa on behalf of SodaStream, in which more than 1,000 German citizens were asked about their water consumption. Result: The water consumption of Germans is quickly neglected or simply forgotten in stressful everyday life and especially by older people.

• Only 48 percent of the respondents drink the recommended minimum quantity of 1.5 litres per day.
• Every fifth person even drinks barely more than one litre of water a day.
• An alarming 5 percent of respondents even drink only 0.5 liters of water per day.

The interviewees state that they have the best opportunities to get their fluid balance up to speed with their workplace, university and school. Closely followed by lunch and dinner in fourth place. Sports, too, are often a bottle-fed activity. Four out of ten water drinkers consider physical exercise a good opportunity to drink something. Among the 18- to 44-year-olds, it is even one in two. (Source: www.sodastream.de)

The best tips for drinking water

Half a litre of water on an empty stomach boosts energy turnover by 30 percent.

So if you drink half a litre of water before breakfast, lunch and dinner and before going to bed, you will burn an additional 100 calories a day – and you have already reached your target of two litres. And what else helps? We’ll tell you:

Drink water every now and then, every half hour if possible! Even if you are not thirsty. Once you have it, it’s too late – there’s already a lack of water!

Drink yourself slim with brains: The “water consumption” is an individual thing. But how to determine? For example, simply measure your body weight before and after exercise. The weight loss that occurs during training corresponds to the required amount of fluid supply.
Drink first, then train! Drinking one or two glasses of water before training prevents a loss of fluid. Especially when the training session is long and intensive.

Fill up reserves in time: Drink one to two glasses of water immediately after the workout. Don’t be too hasty, otherwise you will suffer from abdominal pain. The ideal drinking temperature is approx. 15 degrees Celsius. This is the fastest way for the body to absorb it, and slimming drinking works.