Can drinking plain water help you lose fat?

Q: I was reading Woman's World in my doctor's office and read that drinking plain water can help you burn fat. I figured that if any knew if this was true or not it would be you. So is that true?

A: Yes, it is true to some degree that just drinking plain cold water can actually help you lose more body fat. German researchers discovered this when they had subjects drink 0.5 liters (about 2 cups) of cold water and noticed that it boosted their metabolic rate by about 30%. The researchers estimated that if you drank about 2 cups of cold water before breakfast, lunch and dinner every day for a year, you’d burn 17,400 extra calories, which translates into a little more than 5 pounds of body fat. The same researchers repeated the study a couple years later and found similar results. The effect appears to be mainly due to an increase in norepinephrine release. Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter/hormone that revs up your body’s metabolism and fat burning. So go ahead and try it for yourself by quickly drinking 2 cups of cold water between meals. Many report that after guzzling down the 2 cups they notice a slight rush similar to what they experience after consuming caffeine.

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