{"id":30807,"date":"2022-08-27T05:33:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-27T05:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=30807"},"modified":"2022-08-29T06:43:00","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T06:43:00","slug":"two-surprising-reasons-behind-the-obesity-epidemic-too-much-salt-not-enough-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/two-surprising-reasons-behind-the-obesity-epidemic-too-much-salt-not-enough-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Two surprising reasons behind the obesity epidemic: Too much salt, not enough water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Richard Johnson<\/a>, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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

Throughout my many years of studying obesity and related health conditions, I\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lessons learned from a desert sand rat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nature provides a clue to the role these factors play with the desert sand rat Psammomys obesus<\/em>, 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<\/em> \u2013 the glasswort \u2013 a plant that looks a bit like asparagus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although low in nutrients, the glasswort\u2019s fleshy, succulent sap is filled with water that\u2019s rich in salt, at concentrations as high as what\u2019s found in seawater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent studies have provided new insights<\/a> 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\u2019s ingesting into fructose, a type of sugar that occurs naturally in fruits, honey and some vegetables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This helps the animal survive<\/a> when food and fresh water are sparse. This is because fructose activates a \u201csurvival switch\u201d that stimulates foraging, food intake and the storage of fat and carbohydrates that protect the animal from starvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

\"A<\/a>
The desert sand rat, also known as the fat sand rat, is actually a gerbil. It\u2019s found in Asia as well as Africa. Kristian Bell\/Moment via Getty Images<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My research<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fructose and our diets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned, fructose, a simple sugar, appears to have a key role in activating this survival switch that leads to fat production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small amounts of fructose, like that found in an individual fruit, are not the problem \u2013 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<\/a> in the average American diet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These sugars encourage people to eat more, which can lead to weight gain, fat accumulation and prediabetes<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our bodies also make fructose on their own \u2013 and experimental studies suggest it may be enough to trigger the development of obesity<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a>
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<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And notably, fructose production can also be stimulated by dehydration<\/a>, which drives fat production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fat provides water<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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

The other major but lesser-known function of fat is to provide water<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s so significant that some animals rely on fat to provide water<\/a> during times when it\u2019s not available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hold the fries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s more, studies show most people who are overweight or obese don\u2019t drink enough water<\/a>. They are far more likely to be dehydrated than those who are lean. Their salt intake is also very high compared with lean people\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

But recent studies suggest vasopressin has another purpose, which is to stimulate fat production<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drinking more water<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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

There is also increasing evidence that most people drink too little water<\/a> in general, and increasing water intake may help people who are obese lose weight<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why I encourage drinking eight tall glasses of water a day. And eight is likely enough; don\u2019t assume more is better. There have been cases of people drinking so much that \u201cwater intoxication\u201d 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<\/a>. It\u2019s always good to first check with your doctor about water intake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u2013 drinking more water and reducing salt intake \u2013 offer cheap, easy and healthy strategies that may prevent or treat obesity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard Johnson<\/a>, Professor of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Richard Johnson, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus 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, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":30808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[42],"tags":[11066,9800,976,2770,8058,11126,12391,11128,9214,935,12392,4476,9716,3797],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30807"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30807"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30807\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30822,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30807\/revisions\/30822"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}