Weight-Loss Is Only 140 Million Miles Away:
So science usually has set ideas about the way things work. And every once in awhile, those assumptions will be proved wrong.
Most of the time it happens out of a very weird discovery or coincidence. -And this time is no different.
This diet-revelation started with the “Oh crap, we have to rescue Matt Damon again,”-level idea of actually sending people to Mars.
And on that mission, one of the strangest things the rocket-scientists had to do was manage Water…
Space Missions Go On Diets, Too:
You see, it’s an awful long way and everything they send has to be as light as possible.
-Right down to the crew and everything they consume.
Which is where the scientists started with an old assumption: Salty food makes people thirsty.
So: if we give the astronauts food with less salt, we can save water-weight; right?…
And That’s Where Things Got Weird, The Experiment:
Because like all serious missions with thousands of contingencies, the scientists of-course, did an experiment.
And luckily, the guys involved are rocket-scientists and Astronauts, which gave the researchers a very rare luxury:
Getting data from the most strictly-controlled diets in history.
So, over the course of 310 days, the scientists ran 4 experiments all with varying amounts of salt in the flyboys’ chow.
And That’s Where They Discovered The Trick:
It can impact all your diet & weight-loss plans; and possibly your drinking career.
When the diets changed, a funny thing happened.
-As the amount of salt in the food went up, the amount of Water the astronauts drank did not increase.
Consumption of something else went up instead.
The astronauts ate more food!
-BOOM!
Geeky Note On How:
The way the researchers think it works is that the body uses more energy to create all the different compounds & processes to get the extra salt out of you.
And this actually creates a calorie-deficit.
What This Means For You:
So, thanks to rocket-science, we all get an easy diet-hack.
Similar to the one that says the signals of Thirst & Hunger are easily confused.
To lower your appetite, and thus make weight-loss easier:
Get As Much Salt Out Of Your Diet As You Can!
Another Weird Note & 2 Bonus Benefits For You:
Nutritionists everywhere will generally tell their weight-loss clients 4 things:
1) If it comes out of a box, don’t eat it.
2) Cooking at-home is healthier.
3) Processed-foods generally have more salt than any other foods.
-This is also one of the reasons nutrition-researchers speculate that people eating a lot of them end-up heavier. They just didn’t know exactly why until the Mars study came out.
4) Salt and Fat are a Chef’s best friend!
-The more you eat out at restaurants, the more of those 2 you get. Even if you are staying away from the frozen dinners section of the supermarket.
So there you go, 2 more reasons cooking at home is healthier that weren’t really clear until now.
Weird Note 2 + Weight-Loss Bonus #3: DRINKING!:
Ok, so what are 2 common things associated with drinking?
(besides hangovers, throwing up, and The Walk Of Shame)
-Bar Snacks and After-Drink Munchies!
Now this part is just speculation, and not science; but it may be a good guess.
Most bars seem to keep snacks around that have ::drumroll please:: SALT on them!
-Now we have a better guess why.
The salt in the snacks stimulates your hunger & gets you to “eat” more; -just in liquid form, because most drinks are a source of calories!
And when you’re finally sick of liquid carbs, maybe the actual salt-balance in your organs is high, because the alcohol has really dehydrated you (major component of a hangover, btw).
-Pair that with the fast-carbs increasing your hunger-hormones and,
BOOM! After-Drink Munchies/”Drunchies”!
So just keep that in-mind the next time you go out. Maybe it’ll help, or maybe you’ll just keep drinking anyway…
Either way, thank !SCIENCE! for giving you a new & interesting way to lose weight!
Check out all the nerdy details at the Links:
Photo Credits: Publicity poster for the movie, “The Martian” by, Ridley Scott, Simon Kinberg, Aditya Sood, Michael Schaefer, Mark Huffam, Drew Goddard, Scott Free Productions, Kinberg Genre, TSG Entertainment, and 20th Century Fox
Links:
• Source: DLR, German Aerospace Center
• via: PopSci
• Source Study: JCI-Increased salt consumption induces body water conservation and decreases fluid intake
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