Turns out, sparkling water, a healthy alternative to sugary drinks or booze, is not as diet-friendly as it appears.
A recent research suggested that carbonated water can trigger a hunger hormone, prompting you to scoff more food as a result, Daily Mail reported. This finding from the Birzeit University is based on a study of rats' behaviour, with researchers giving rodents different drinks and monitoring their relative weight gain.
The study on the effects of carbonated drinks on human weight by researcher Johnny Stiban indicated that carbonated beverages lead to increased food consumption in mammals, resulting in excessive weight gain in comparison to flat drinks.
The research looked at the effects of carbon dioxide on the secretion of the hormone ghrelin in male rats and humans. Male rats were fed different categories of drinks and evaluated for over a year. Experiments were undertaken to evaluate the amount of ghrelin secreted with different beverage treatments.
The study showed an increase in liver lipid accumulation among rats treated with carbonated drinks as opposed to control group treated with flat beverages or tap water. "The result of the study implicates carbon dioxide gas in soft drinks as playing a major role in inducing weight gain and the onset of obesity via ghrelin release and stimulation of the hunger response in male mammals," found the research.
The study appears in Obesity Research and Clinical Practice Journal.
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