If you mention weight loss it seems a million “tips” or “pieces of advice” come flying out of the woodwork. There’s many of them out there like, “Don’t eat after such and such time,” “Stop eating bread and carbs,” or “Eat eight tiny meals a day.” Most of this can be overturned and found to be another empty promise of how to lose weight. One myth that seems to be pushed is about how water has the power to flush out fat from the body. Sadly, it seems this may be just another myth.
The myth is often stated that, “drinking eight glasses of water a day flushes out fat.” Truth is, that’s simply not true.
“…There’s no magic about drinking water,” says Sue Gebo, RD, MPH, an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine.
Gebo explains that water cannot flush away fat, that is just a hopeful myth. While water can not perform this trick, a Virginia Tech University study explains how this myth may have started.
The study found that people who drank 16 ounces of water prior to eating a meal actually consumed 75 to 95 fewer calories than the control group. Both groups in the study were on prescribed low-calorie diets and on average the water drinkers lost more weight, 4.5 pounds more than the non-water drinkers.
While water may aid in weight loss, it does not flush fat. And don’t let the myth give water a bad name, there are plenty of great reasons to keep drinking water. For instance, it’s one of the best ways to stay hydrated, it can improve skin texture, and it can help aid in digestion. These are just a few of the many great reasons to drink up.
Be leery of too-good-to-be-true diet tips, or diet myths. If it sounds too simple and doesn’t require a lifestyle and diet change, it’s probably a myth.