How 8 Glasses A Day Keeps Fat Away

Water suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize stored fat. Studies have shown

that a decrease in water intake will cause fat deposits to increase, while an increase in water intake can actually reduce fat deposits. Here is why:

The kidneys cannot function properly without enough water. When they do not work to capacity, some of their load is dumped onto the liver. One of the liver's primary functions is to metabolize stored fat into usable energy for the body. But, if the liver has to do some of the kidney's work, it cannot operate at full throttle. As a result, it metabolizes less fat, more fat remains stored in the body and weight loss stops.

Drinking enough water is the best treatment for fluid retention. When the body gets less water, it perceives this as a threat to survival and begins to hold onto every drop. Water is stored in extra cellular spaces outside the cells. This shows up as swollen feet, legs and hands.

The best way to overcome the problem of water retention is to give the body what it needs: plenty of water. Only then will stored water be released.

The overweight person needs more water than the thin one. Larger people have larger metabolic loads. Since we know that water is the key to fat metabolism, it follows that the overweight person needs more water.

Water helps to maintain proper muscle tone by giving muscles their natural ability to contract and by preventing dehydration. It also helps to prevent the sagging skin that usually follows weight loss. Shrinking cells are buoyed by water, which plumps the skin and leaves it clear, healthy and resilient.

Water helps rid the body of waste. During weight loss, the body has a lot more waste to get rid of. All that metabolized fat must be shed. Again, adequate water helps flush out waste.

Water can relieve constipation. When the body gets too little water, it siphons what it needs from internal forces. The colon is one primary source. Result? Constipation. But when a person drinks enough water, normal bowel function usually returns.

So how much water is enough? On the average, a person should drink eight glasses every day. That is about 2 litres. However, the overweight person needs one additional glass for every 25 pounds of excess weight. The amount you drink also should be increased if you exercise or if the weather is hot and dry.

Water should preferably be cold. It is absorbed into the system more quickly than warm water. And some evidence suggests that drinking cold water can actually help burn calories.

When the body gets the water it needs to function optimally, its fluids are in perfect balance. When this happens, you have reached the ‘breakthrough point’. This is when the endocrine gland function improves:

• Fluid retention is alleviated as stored water is lost
• More fat is used as fuel because the liver is free to metabolize stored fat
• Natural thirst is returned
• There is a loss of hunger almost overnight

If you stop drinking enough water, your body fluids will be thrown out of balance again, and you may experience fluid retention, unexplained weight gain and loss of thirst. To remedy the situation, you have to go back and force another ‘breakthrough’.

 (Donald S. Robertson, MD)

Source: Cohen's Weightloss Clinic