• Home
  • Health & Wellness
  • Disclaimer
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • DMCA Notice
Podcast
  • Home
  • Health & Wellness
  • Disclaimer
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • DMCA Notice
24/7 Health News
No Result
View All Result
Home Article

Two surprising reasons behind the obesity epidemic: Too much salt, not enough water

August 22, 2022
in Article
0
Two surprising reasons behind the obesity epidemic: Too much salt, not enough water
file 20220629 12 h11vd4
Salty french fries may taste good, but they just contribute to dehydration and obesity. William Voon/EyeEm via Getty Images

Scientific studies and media coverage are rife with warnings on how sugar, carbohydrates, saturated fat and lack of exercise contribute to obesity. And tens of millions of Americans are still overweight or obese in large part because of the classic Western diet and lifestyle.

As an educator, researcher and professor of medicine, I have spent more than 20 years investigating the causes of obesity, as well as related conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease.

Throughout my many years of studying obesity and related health conditions, I’ve observed that relatively little is said about two significant pieces of this very complex puzzle: lack of hydration and excessive salt intake. Both are known to contribute to obesity.

Table of Contents

  • Lessons learned from a desert sand rat
  • Fructose and our diets
  • Fat provides water
  • Hold the fries
  • Drinking more water

Lessons learned from a desert sand rat

Nature provides a clue to the role these factors play with the desert sand rat Psammomys obesus, a half-pound rodent with a high-pitched squeak that lives in the salty marshes and deserts of Northern Africa. It survives, barely, by eating the stems of Salicornia – the glasswort – a plant that looks a bit like asparagus.

Although low in nutrients, the glasswort’s fleshy, succulent sap is filled with water that’s rich in salt, at concentrations as high as what’s found in seawater.

Recent studies have provided new insights into why the desert sand rat might crave the salty sap of glasswort. Although this has not yet been proven specifically in the sand rat, it is likely that a high-salt diet helps the sand rat convert the relatively low amount of carbohydrates it’s ingesting into fructose, a type of sugar that occurs naturally in fruits, honey and some vegetables.

This helps the animal survive when food and fresh water are sparse. This is because fructose activates a “survival switch” that stimulates foraging, food intake and the storage of fat and carbohydrates that protect the animal from starvation.

However, when the rat is brought into captivity and given the common rodent diet of about 50% carbohydrates, it rapidly develops obesity and diabetes. But if given fresh vegetables low in starchy carbohydrates, the rodent remains lean.

A desert sand rat, with prominent whiskers and a brown and white coat, takes a look outside its burrow.
The desert sand rat, also known as the fat sand rat, is actually a gerbil. It’s found in Asia as well as Africa.
Kristian Bell/Moment via Getty Images

My research, and the research of many other scientists over the decades, shows that many Americans unwittingly behave much like a captive desert sand rat, although few are in settings where food and water are limited. They are constantly activating the survival switch.

Fructose and our diets

As mentioned, fructose, a simple sugar, appears to have a key role in activating this survival switch that leads to fat production.

Small amounts of fructose, like that found in an individual fruit, are not the problem – rather it is excessive amounts of fructose that are problematic for human health. Most of us get our fructose from table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. Intake of these two sugars totals approximately 15% of calories in the average American diet.

These sugars encourage people to eat more, which can lead to weight gain, fat accumulation and prediabetes.

Our bodies also make fructose on their own – and experimental studies suggest it may be enough to trigger the development of obesity.

A spoonful of sugar, surrounded by sugar cubes, on a wooden table.
Table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup are two of the culprits that can cause weight gain and obesity.
ATU Images/The Image Bank via Getty Images

Since fructose is made from glucose, production of fructose increases when blood glucose levels are high. This process happens when we eat a lot of rice, cereal, potatoes and white bread; those are carbs that rapidly release glucose into the blood rapidly.

And notably, fructose production can also be stimulated by dehydration, which drives fat production.

Fat provides water

Fat has two major functions. The first one, which is well known, is to store calories for a later time when food is unavailable.

The other major but lesser-known function of fat is to provide water.

To be clear, fat does not contain water. But when fat breaks down, it generates water in the body. The amount produced is substantial, and roughly equivalent to the amount of fat burned. It’s so significant that some animals rely on fat to provide water during times when it’s not available.

Whales are but one example. While they drink some seawater, they get most of their water from the foods they eat. And when they go for extended periods without food, they get their water primarily by metabolizing fat.

Hold the fries

The role of dehydration as a contributor to obesity should not be underestimated. It commonly occurs after eating salty foods. Both dehydration and salt consumption lead to the production of fructose and fat.

This is why salty french fries are especially fattening. The salt causes a dehydration-like state that encourages the conversion of the starch in the french fry to fructose.

What’s more, studies show most people who are overweight or obese don’t drink enough water. They are far more likely to be dehydrated than those who are lean. Their salt intake is also very high compared with lean people’s.

Research shows that people with obesity frequently have high levels of vasopressin, a hormone that helps the kidneys hold water to regulate urine volume.

But recent studies suggest vasopressin has another purpose, which is to stimulate fat production.

For someone at risk of dehydration or starvation, vasopressin may have a real survival benefit. But for those not at risk, vasopressin could drive most of the metabolic effects of excess fructose, like weight gain, fat accumulation, fatty liver and prediabetes.

Drinking more water

So does this mean drinking more water can help us lose weight? The medical community has often scoffed at the assertion. However, our research team found that giving mice more water slowed weight gain and the development of prediabetes, even when the mice had diets rich in sugar and fat.

There is also increasing evidence that most people drink too little water in general, and increasing water intake may help people who are obese lose weight.

That’s why I encourage drinking eight tall glasses of water a day. And eight is likely enough; don’t assume more is better. There have been cases of people drinking so much that “water intoxication” occurs. This is particularly a problem with people who have heart, kidney or liver conditions, as well as those who have had recent surgery or are long-distance runners. It’s always good to first check with your doctor about water intake.

For the desert sand rat, and for our ancestors who scavenged for food, a high-salt and limited-water diet made sense. But human beings no longer live that way. These simple measures – drinking more water and reducing salt intake – offer cheap, easy and healthy strategies that may prevent or treat obesity.

The Conversation

Richard Johnson is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus who has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, Veteran’s Health Administration, and Department of Defense to understand the role of fructose metabolism in a variety of metabolic disorders. He also has equity with Colorado Research Partners LLC that is developing inhibitors of fructose metabolism. He is also author of Nature Wants Us to Be Fat (Benbella books, 2022) that discusses the science of fructose and its role in obesity and metabolic disorders.

ShareTweetSharePin
Previous Post

Serena Williams: why many female athletes feel pressure to retire after becoming mothers

Next Post

There is an urgent need to prevent the lifelong damage caused by adverse childhood experiences

Next Post
There is an urgent need to prevent the lifelong damage caused by adverse childhood experiences

There is an urgent need to prevent the lifelong damage caused by adverse childhood experiences

Most Read

What causes stuttering? A speech pathology researcher explains the science and the misconceptions around this speech disorder

What causes stuttering? A speech pathology researcher explains the science and the misconceptions around this speech disorder

December 15, 2022
morning back pain

Morning Again Ache Trigger Is Not the Mattress

October 11, 2021
lower back pain relief exercises

5 decrease again ache aid workouts

October 11, 2021
3 years after legalization, we have shockingly little information about how it changed cannabis use and health harms

3 years after legalization, we have shockingly little information about how it changed cannabis use and health harms

October 15, 2021
Nasal vaccines promise to stop the COVID-19 virus before it gets to the lungs – an immunologist explains how they work

Nasal vaccines promise to stop the COVID-19 virus before it gets to the lungs – an immunologist explains how they work

December 14, 2022
bleeding in gum

When The Bleeding in gum Is Severe ?

October 11, 2021
Good Night Sleep

6 Causes of Good Evening Sleep

October 11, 2021

COVID vaccines: how one can pace up rollout in poorer international locations

October 5, 2021
Ten small changes you can make today to prevent weight gain

Ten small changes you can make today to prevent weight gain

October 12, 2021
Support and collaboration with health-care providers can help people make health decisions

Support and collaboration with health-care providers can help people make health decisions

December 16, 2021
Greece to make COVID vaccines mandatory for over-60s, but do vaccine mandates work?

Greece to make COVID vaccines mandatory for over-60s, but do vaccine mandates work?

December 1, 2021

Multiple sclerosis: the link with earlier infection just got stronger – new study

October 12, 2021
News of war can impact your mental health — here’s how to cope

Binge-eating disorder is more common than many realise, yet it’s rarely discussed – here’s what you need to know

December 2, 2022
Nurses’ attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination for their children are highly influenced by partisanship, a new study finds

Nurses’ attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination for their children are highly influenced by partisanship, a new study finds

December 2, 2022
Kick up your heels – ballroom dancing offers benefits to the aging brain and could help stave off dementia

Kick up your heels – ballroom dancing offers benefits to the aging brain and could help stave off dementia

January 3, 2023
How hot is too hot for the human body? Our lab found heat + humidity gets dangerous faster than many people realize

How hot is too hot for the human body? Our lab found heat + humidity gets dangerous faster than many people realize

July 6, 2022
The promise of repairing bones and tendons with human-made materials

The promise of repairing bones and tendons with human-made materials

January 4, 2022
As viral infections skyrocket, masks are still a tried-and-true way to help keep yourself and others safe

As viral infections skyrocket, masks are still a tried-and-true way to help keep yourself and others safe

December 14, 2022
How regulatory agencies, not the courts, are imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates

How regulatory agencies, not the courts, are imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates

October 24, 2021
Heart disease risk from saturated fats may depend on what foods they come from – new research

Heart disease risk from saturated fats may depend on what foods they come from – new research

November 29, 2021
Late night eating may cause greater weight gain – new research points to why

Late night eating may cause greater weight gain – new research points to why

October 12, 2022

10 Things I Learned During My Body Transformation

October 12, 2021

7 Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes

October 12, 2021
Nobel prize: how chilli peppers helped researchers uncover how humans feel pain

Nobel prize: how chilli peppers helped researchers uncover how humans feel pain

October 12, 2021
How air filters can make COVID wards safer for patients and staff

How air filters can make COVID wards safer for patients and staff

December 1, 2021
GPs don’t give useful weight-loss advice – new study

GPs don’t give useful weight-loss advice – new study

December 16, 2022
Four ways to avoid gaining weight over the festive period – but also why you shouldn’t fret about it too much

Four ways to avoid gaining weight over the festive period – but also why you shouldn’t fret about it too much

December 22, 2022
Five ways to avoid pain and injury when starting a new exercise regime

Five ways to avoid pain and injury when starting a new exercise regime

December 30, 2022
Why suicide prevention support is crucial for people with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

Why suicide prevention support is crucial for people with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

September 28, 2022
Too hot to handle: Climate considerations for youth sport during the hottest years on record

Too hot to handle: Climate considerations for youth sport during the hottest years on record

July 19, 2022
  • Home
  • Health & Wellness
  • Disclaimer

© 2020 DAILY HEALTH NEWS

  • Home
  • Health & Wellness
  • Disclaimer
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • DMCA Notice

© 2020 DAILY HEALTH NEWS