Age-Proofing Your Brain - Water, 2

Some people rarely drink water, per se. Instead they have developed the habit of drinking fruit juices, punch, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, soda drinks, alcohol, or any number of other types of beverages when thirsty. Perhaps even worse, many choose diet drinks on a regular basis because they believe it will help them to lose weight—or at least prevent them from gaining. Wrong! Diet drinks can sabotage your high-level-healthiness lifestyle. This is because diet drinks tend to stimulate the release of insulin, which typically results in a blood sugar low. The upshot from the blood sugar low is that the individuals are prompted to increase the number of calories ingested the next time they eat, which increases their risk for obesity. Avoid diet drinks like the proverbial plague. Drinking a glass of water twenty or thirty minutes before each meal. This not only helps to prevent dehydration but also helps the body learn to distinguish between thirst and hunger. This is important for those who are trying to maintain optimum weight since the average person tends to eat slightly less at a meal when they drink a glass of water first. This means that drinking water before a meal not only helps with hydration but may also reduce one’s caloric intake at the next meal. More tomorrow.