The power of water!

I was in the Dr's office today reading an old Prevention magazine and this is what I learned.  (August 2006 issue, page 157).

"Water is not just a thirst quencher, it actually speeds the body's metabolism.  Researchers in Germany found that drinking two 8 oz. glasses of cold water increased their subjects' metabolic rate by 30%, and the effect persisted for 90 minutes.  One-third of the boost came from the body's efforts to warm the water, but the rest was due to the work the body did to absorb it.  "When drinking water, no calories are ingested but calories are used..."  explains the lead researcher Michael Boschmann, MD, of University Medicine Berlin."

I plan to drink more cold water from now on.  Pretty cool huh?

I had been drinking  an average 3lt everyday since I start my "diet" and not only do I feel healthier but it also helps me feeling full and not crave for food. Still due teeth sensitive I cannot drink it as cold as I would like it.

I'll tell you what, it SURE makes a difference in MY body. If I don't drink all my water I can FEEL it in my body -- I find that I want to eat more and I just feel crappy in general. 

You definitely need the water and yes cold will burn more calories. Problem is it also shocks your organs before it gets warmed up and can cause spasms.  If you have any cramping go back to room temperature and watch how it helps.  Also room temperature water is much easier to drink and therefore you drink more of it.

I wish I had an easier time drinking cold water... I always feel like my teeth are freezing out of my skull if the water is too cold.

I have also heard that really cold water is more quickly absorbed by your body. I've never heard of cold water causing spasms though... spasms of what organ(s)?

i know it can send a horse into shock...

i love cold water though. i have felt a pain kinda like a punch in my stomach if i chug it. like for a nano second i feel like i am going toss my cookies.

i pee so much with all this water!  I should start drinking it cold tho huh?

I heard that extreme weather can also speed up the metabolism by 20%, so if its really hot or really cold, your body works harder or something. Heh. That means I should be droppin the pounds this summer!

That makes sence. Ive been chugging water and upped my cals a bit and I havent noticed any gain. I used to drink very little ammounts of water, but Now I found a water bottle that I like and I just sit here and drink tonnes of it!

I'm finding it easier to maintain with lots of water. Plus I think my skin has cleared up a bit too!

P/S

Yes Im peeing like every half hour or so. Oh well, its nice to get up and walk around for a bit every so often...

Ok, ok, so go to the snow and get nekked and then drink lots of ice cold water, and then head to the dessert and starting popping chili peppers.  LOL  Just kidding ;) 

Can someone tell me how much of the water I drink in tea actually counts towards my daily intake?  0? 

hmmm...I had heard that cold water is better, but I didn't realize by that much.  I've been drinking slightly chilled water as I don't like cold water, but I'll definitely give it a try.

I like the fact that I pee more too.....gets me moving and away from my desk!

Only 1/3 of the higher metabolism benefit is because the water is cold -- so even drinking lots of water at any tempature will boost your metabolism. 

Sumisan - I am not sure but I have always heard tea is a diuretic and so speeds the passage of liquid through the body.  In high amounts it might dehydrate you.  Don't know if this is completely true, could be true for some types of tea and not others, could be completely false.  We could probably google it.

Cold water is good, but if you are doing heavy activity (dancing, biking, running, whatever), you are supposed to drink room temperature because cold slows down your organs.

Also, if you have sensitive teeth, I would recommend regular temperature.

But water is definitely great, because you tend to not notice the amount of calories in other drinks, especially juice.

Cold water also slows down digestion. Not a good thing when you are eating 5-6 meals a day.

Sumisan, what kind of tea are you drinking? Herbal yes; I'm thinking black no because of the caffeine/diuretic affect. Tea has it's benefits too though!

So, how does water shock organs and slow down digestion? I'm skeptical of that one. The human body is pretty darn efficient.

Did anyone see that episode of Wife Swap where that one family was convinced that the human body needs only raw meat to survive and NO water?? The family did not drink ANY water because they said that our bodies have natural water in them and that by drinking additional water (aside from the natural water found in the raw meat) we are doing more damage to our bodies!  Yes, they raised their own animals and then killed them and ate the raw meat.  No water.  Ridiculous.  But I pretty much love that show....  :)  guilty pleasure. 

Antonio~ wouldn't it be good to slow digestion... wouldn't that keep you feeling full longer? But I don't understand how it actually could slow digestion...? Please explain. Thank you!

Years ago when I was on a doctor supervised diet... I was told to take my current weight and multiply by .55  to determine the amount of water needed daily to properly hydrate my body.

Believe me, it was WAY over 64 ounces a day.  He also suggested that for each ounce of a caffeinated beverage you ADD another ounce of water.

Sugar free beverages withOUT caffeine can be counted toward this goal.  Just keep in mind that aspartame is an appetite enhancer in some people... Not a wise choice for those of us wanting to LOSE weight.

 Too much water taken with the meals will dilute the digestive acids, and slow digestion. Food should not be washed down.  Taken with meals, water diminishes the flow of saliva when taken with meals, and the colder the water, the greater the injury to the stomach. The more liquid there is taken into the stomach with the meals, the more difficult it is for the food to digest; for the liquid must first be absorbed. 

If the water is cold, it solidifies fats and oils and then the stomach is drawn upon in order to warm both the liquids and the foods before digestion can take place. 

Antonio - I think all of those things you listed are kind of the point.  Water provides no calories but requires energy to absorb.  The body uses energy to warm the water if it is cold. 

All of these things translate into more energy (calories) used than ingested.  I fail to see the problem and I don't believe slower digestion harms the body at all, rather it gives more time to absorb all the body can from the food eaten.

The problem isn't so much in drinking water at meals as the reason for drinking it.

Water shouldn't be used to "wash down" the food or in other words replace chewing your food till it is the consistency of mashed potatoes. 

Water should be used to "clean the palate" or rinse the mouth between chewing/swallowing.  And of course, swallowing the "rinse" in this case.

So, yes you should limit your liquid consumption during the meal, but you don't have to eliminate it.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=food spice&dbid=148

http://drbenkim.com/articles-chew.html