New Pinterest Hit: Fat-Flush Water!

This picture was taken from Pinterest.com – unsure of original source 

Pinterest is awesome. Awesome for fun ideas, cute crafts, new recipes, and also for some humor. I love stories of ideas from Pinterest that didn’t quite pan out. I have some myself, so its funny to hear the stories of others!

Right now there is a hot new “Pin” going around about Fat-Flush Water. Have you seen this?

I believe it originated from Dr Oz. I haven’t seen the original source, so he may not have made big claims himself…but he may have. I just don’t know.

What I am seeing, is big claims like “Effortless Weight-Loss” and “Get in Shape Fast with Fat-Flush Water!”

BIG rule of thumb with nutrition: always be cautious of big time claims.

Just like if it was a “Get Rich Quick!” type of statement, we should all feel a little hesitant. Cautious. Red flag altered.

If there was really something that was effortless weight-loss, wouldn’t we know it by now???

However! This recipe for a great flavoring of water is not a bad idea. Not at all! Grapefruit, mint, cucumbers and tangerines? It sounds like an awesomely refreshing summer drink!

And honestly, there is some truth to fat-burning behind water. But not a specially flavored water…just water in general. Water is the cheapest appetite suppressant out there. The center in our brains for detecting hunger and thirst are right next to each other. This is why Oprah telling us to drink a glass of water before we eat is accurate. We may be experiencing feelings of thirst and not hunger.

It’s not the ingredients in the water. It’s the water itself. The ingredients have benefits, for sure. But you can’t get enough of anything substantial by having remnants of it in your water. Also, fruit contains natural sugar which in some cases can slow down weight-loss. So too many tangerines or grapefruits may have an opposite effect of what you’re going for.

But that being said drinking a grapefruit, mint, cucumber, tangerine water is a great idea! Sounds delicious and suppresses your desire to eat something. But don’t eat the fruit. Just enjoy the water and keep hydrated.

Will it make you lose weight overnight without effort? I mean, not considerably. But getting in your daily allotment (64 ounces for sure) of hydrating fluids can absolutely make a positive impact on your weight control.

So to this, Pinterest…I say No. AND also Yes!