nutritional

Sparkling water has a “secret” to losing weight. And it has nothing to do with its nutritional properties.

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Sparkling water is one of those ‘rare’ options on the drinks menu that few people consume in our environment, but little by little it is gaining popularity. prominence in the dietary field. All thanks to a recent scientific publication that pointed to its benefits in order to lose weight with its consumption, although there is quite a bit of fine print under this premise. The study. The epicenter of this new wave of enthusiasm is placed in a study published in BMJ Nutrition where a fascinating hypothesis is raised: carbon dioxide dissolved in water could increase the glycolysis in the organism. A process that basically does is ‘break’ the sugar we have in our cells to obtain energy. In this way, we would be reducing one of the components that gives rise to the ‘hated’ fat that we want to avoid. As? Drinking sparkling water and having this happen is not something very ‘normal’ a priori. Science suggests that, when consuming carbonated water, the CO₂ that gives rise to those bubbles that we see on its surface passes into the bloodstream, where it could stimulate our red blood cells so that they use more glucose and therefore, it does not accumulate as fat. On paper, it sounds like music to the ears of anyone looking to lose weight: drinking water to burn off sugar. There is small print. The study itself is a brief report and the scientific community she has been quick to qualify it: Even if the mechanism exists, the isolated effect is too small to produce “miraculous” weight loss just by drinking water. In this way, we are not facing a great ‘fat burner’, but rather a metabolic curiosity that will hardly be noticed on the scale if it is not accompanied by other changes. The real trick. If sparkling water doesn’t magically “burn” calories, why do many nutritionists insist that it helps with weight control? The answer lies not in metabolism, but in fluid mechanics and satiety. This is not something new, but studies from 2008 already showed that carbonated drinks had a direct impact on the stomach. The first effect focuses on the distention of the stomach, since the gas takes up volume. Thus, when drinking sparkling water, there is greater distension of the ‘upper’ part of the stomach compared to normal water. This makes we get full faster and we don’t want to continue eating. There is more. But beyond filling us up faster, this distension sends satiety signals to the brain through the vagus nerve. That is why the bubbles “trick” the stomach, making it believe that it is fuller than it really is. In this way, the brain interprets that it is full and inhibits our desire to continue eating. thanks to chemical inhibition. Japanese investigations on oral stimulation with CO₂ suggest that this feeling of fullness can reduce subsequent food intake, although the effect is modest and short-term. The substitution factor. The strongest argument for sparkling water has nothing to do with CO₂ or gastric motility, but rather behavior. This is precisely what I was aiming for. a meta-analysis by McGlynn which reviewed what happens when we replace sugary drinks with calorie-free options. The results in this case are quite clear: replacing cola or packaged juice with water (with or without carbonation) reduces weight, BMI and body fat. And this is where sparkling water shines as a replacement tool, since for many people accustomed to the sensory “aggressiveness” of a carbonated soft drink, flat water is boring. And its impact. Sparkling water offers that oral stimulation, with the beloved sting of bubbles, without the “toll” of empty calories. If carbonated water helps you quit sugary sodas, that is the relevant clinical impact, not the fact that carbonated water speeds up the burning of sugars we have previously consumed. It’s not for everyone. Although hydration guides indicate that sparkling water hydrates exactly the same as regular water, it is not for everyone. That same mechanism that helps satiety (gastric distension) is the number one enemy for certain clinical profiles, such as for those who have gastroesophageal reflux or irritable bowel syndrome. Here, increasing the pressure of the digestive system can aggravate these diseases. Images | Anja Michal Jarmoluk In Xataka | The myth of “two liters of water a day” collapses: a mistake from 1945 that science is now trying to correct

More and more athletes are drinking pickle juice to avoid cramps. This is what nutritional science says

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For a few days now, there has been no other topic of conversation in the world of elite sports: athletes like Carlos Alcaraz or Tadej Pogačar have exchanged the most advanced isotonic drinks in the world for something much simpler and pedestrian: pickle brine. When we talk about elite sport, the line that separates brilliant ideas, absurd fashions and the most delusional superstitions is very finite. So we’ve asked ourselves… Does all this make sense? But let’s explain it well. In endurance and high-performance sports, the idea of ​​always carrying “pickle juice” (the brine from pickles) or other products inspired by it has become popular to “cut off cramps when they have already started.” And it makes sense that it has caught on. To begin with, because cramps associated with exercise are one of the most frustrating things there is. Furthermore, for years, we have missed the mark: we thought they were a product of dehydration and lack of salts, but everything seems to indicate that They are something much more multifactorial than it seemed. In fact, everything seems to indicate that the main problem has more to do with altered neuromuscular control than anything else. And in this context pickles arrive. Because yes we have evidence (somewhat limited, it’s true) which shows that brining works. Although not because of what we usually believe: researchers realized that the mechanism works too quickly for it to be a matter of electrolyte replacement. There is simply no time for physiology to do its job. So? The truth is that the mechanism in question is still mysterious. It seems that the hypothesis stronger right now is that these liquids play with the oropharyngeal reflex: a very acidic/irritant/aggressive taste could stimulate certain receptors and, as a consequence, trigger a neurological reaction that resets and adjusts neuromuscular control. And this is important because, if so, they do not replace (strictly speaking) to isotonic drinks if they are necessary. At least, not in the short term. Does it make sense? On a purely scientific level, I think the most reasonable thing to do is to think that we have some evidence to suggest that it works in some people. However, let’s not fool ourselves: to date we have no evidence that it is more effective than the traditional approach (mechanical measures such as stretching or load change). In this sense, it is worth remembering that superstition plays a key role in elite sport. Superstition? What superstition? Thanks to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Kinesio tapes became popular. Some brightly colored ribbons that say they can be used for almost everything but whose effects are not proven at all. At the 2016 Rio games, the boom was taken by cupping. As I argued then, athletes are tremendously superstitious beings. A lot. And they are because it works for them.. From the eightieswe know that sports rituals have a positive impact on their execution. And, curiously, increasing ‘perceived self-efficacy’ It is usually related to increasing effectiveness in actual execution. Ultimately, what studies tell us is that these rituals “helped strengthen feelings of control and confidence that were otherwise lacking” in times of great stress. It doesn’t matter if they are lucky underwear or a lump of brine: they are things that function beyond their physiological plausibility. The problem, as always, is another. Whether we like it or not, athletes are role models for the general public. With these fads, they are spreading pseudoscience beliefs in society and generating business in companies with few scruples. Something, in itself, much more dangerous than drinking pickle juice. Image | Ketut Subiyanto In Xataka | Why are the best athletes in the world getting bruises on their skin?

The Mercadona Crusade against Home Kitchen is working. The question is what nutritional cost we are accepting it

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In the last eight months, Mercadona has won seven more tenths in market share and already reaches 27.3%. It is a real barbarity that reaffirms it in the lead and moves it away from its closest competition: Carrefour. But the most striking is not that. The most striking thing is that, According to the dataeverything is because The crusade against the future of the kitchen at home Juan Roig is paying off. We knew that the world has been quitting for decades, what we didn’t know is that this was going to go so fast. What we do not know, in fact, is what consequences all this has in the medium term. Are we putting the foxes to monitor the chicken coop? A future, but now. Because, although Media Spain threw himself on Roig when he assured “in the middle of the 21st century there will be no kitchens”, the truth is that right now more than eight million Spaniards resort to the prepared dishes of the supermarket. In fact, Statistics tell us data That, in the last decades, home cuisine had been in clear decline. Millennials “ate 30% more often in restaurants than any other generation; when they cooked, they spent less time (one hour less than the X generation) and, when they bought, they opted more by prepared meals, pasta and sweets than the rest.” They are USAs, but We can find similar trends in all western countries. There was a small change with pandemic, but things They seem to be returning to their channel. 17 kilos per head. That is The amount of prepared dishes they consumedon average, the Spaniards in 2024. 6.6% more compared to the previous year. And in these data we do not take into account that The tendency not only “translates In a greater offer of prepared dishes, but also in a simplification of fresh products, destined to reduce the time we dedicate to the kitchen. “ The reasons are clear and understandable: According to Kantar consultancy“comfort, lack of time and the increasingly elaborate and healthy proposals by supermarkets” are the factors behind this change. But this is true? I refer, specifically, to “healthy proposals.” And not with respect to traditional precooked dishes, which that (a priori) is evident. But, with respect to the general diet of consumers. That is: this movement is improving our diet or not? The question is pertinent. Above all, because we have the problem of ultra -processed. It is increasingly evident (Ylgreat studies confirm this) that there is a “positive correlation between the consumption of these foods and A list of up to 32 health problems ranging from cardiovascular mortality to depression. “ We talk about an increase of about 50% in the risk of death related to cardiovascular problems, a similar increase in the risk of anxiety and “common” mental health problems, and a 12% increase in the probability of developing type 2 diabetes. Even more The data show An increase of 21% in the risk of death for any cause and one between 40 and 66% of the risk of death by heart attack. The invasion of the defendants. In 2010, ultraprocessed food represented 31.7% of the Spanish diet and 80.4% of all added sugars. That is, the weight of the processed food in our diet tripled between 1990 and 2010 (from 11% to 31.7%). In parallel, the weight of added sugars has gone from 8.4% of our daily energy intake at 13%. It is a serious problem and becoming aware of it has made, as we said, the products are healthier than before. But the emergence of these pre -cooked dishes much more attractive, convenient and accessible raises doubts. Are we facing a new phase of that trend? Will our diet worse? Answers are missing. It is soon to see how all this is affecting (and will affect) the food of citizens. Do not forget that, as we often repeat, not all processed foods They suppose a health risk. But what the historical experience tells us is that we cannot leave everything in the hands of the companies in the sector: without an ambitious regulation and a committed public opinion, the situation can become against us. It is, it seems, the ideal moment to use this boom in favor of public health. Then it will be much more difficult. Image | JJ Melero In Xataka | Juan Roig believes that cooking at home has no future. There are eight million Spaniards who are already giving the right

How to use artificial intelligence to know the calories and nutritional values of what you eat

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Life is not made to count calories, but if you want to have greater control of what you eat the artificial intelligence It can help you. For that, let’s tell you How to look at the calories other data of what you eat Using artificial intelligence, so that you can have more information and consciousness. We are going to start with a series of prior tips to be able to do this, so that you can also understand The limitations of AI To count calories. Then we will tell you two ways to proceed, using conventional artificial intelligence chatbots or specific applications. Before starting, some notes Both the generals and the specialists in the task of giving you the nutritional value of an element will use the photo of what you have sent, they will recognize the food or the dish that appears, and will make an estimate of their calories or the information you ask. Here, you should know that The information will not be accurate when you teach something cookedsomething that is not a commercial product. In these cases it will recognize what it is, and will tell you an estimate of its nutritional data and calories based on the ingredients that it usually has or in which he recognizes inside the photo. But there may always be variations, and cannot calculate how much of each thing you have thrown, that is, it is not something precise. The simpler the dish you teach more precision. For example, it is not the same to teach you a paella as a loin and cheese snack, because in the second case the approximate ingredients and proportions of each are clearer, so they will adjust the level more. A trained for this will always have more precision than the generals. Therefore, it may be interesting to lower an app created for this function or Use accessories for general AIsuch as Chatgpt GPT or the Gemini Gemstrained versions for concrete functions of these AI. Accuracy will improve a lot When asked about commercial productsby a product with supermarket with brand and label that the AI can recognize, and from which it can extract the official nutritional information of the Internet. Finally, In all cases you can ask about specific ingredients At an informative level, or to know if it contains something that may affect some disease or intolerance you have. You will only have to ask him next to the photo or after asking him the first question about that product. Food information with generative We are going to start telling you how you can look at the calories and information of what you eat using a generative AI such as Chatgpt, COPILOT, Gemini or similar ones. Using these apps that have already entered our day to day, you will save and register in others, but The information will be less accurate And there may be more mistakes, since they have not been specifically trained for this. We will use chatgpt in the example, but you can use another. All you have to do is Send a photo of the food asking you to tell you the calories and nutritional information in a Prompt. Something like “Tell me how many calories this also has its nutritional value”. You can also ask for other data that you consider. If you do it with a handmade food, The AI will identify what the typical ingredients will be and consider that the recipe usually has. And when you do, you will tell you the information of this dish that you have taught. Of course, it will not be the information of what you have taught exactly, but of a portion of what this dish usually has. It will also notify you of the factors that may vary. When asked about simpler things, like a snack where all ingredients are clearly seen, then precision will increase. You can even ask for several things at once that appear in a photo, and will give you a nutritional value of the complete ration. Of course, then you can reject you to tell you that of one of the concrete elements. When they are products Packaged, out -of -processed and/or with a visible brandthen the AI is easier to identify what is exactly, and search the Internet what are the ingredients and the complete nutritional value of that. And as we have told you, you can also search GPTS of ChatgPT or Gemini Gems specialized in detecting food composition and value in order to have more reliable information. Use nutritional apps with AI There are nutritional applications that use artificial intelligence, such as Healthify, Snapcalorie or the Chilean Otter. These applications seek to help you make weekly planning or diet, analyzing and adding the calories of what you eat throughout the day. Its operation is simple, and first you have to configure your data as age, sex, height and weight, and say what your goals are. Depending on your goals, you will make a plan of the calories that you must eat during the day, and for each meal you will upload photos of what you eat. When you do, the calories of what you have ever eating will be added And it helps you visualize what you eat more. In each of the meals, you can add what you eat drawing a photo or adding one that you have In your gallery. Some apps will ask you to describe what it is to have a better idea. Then, the internal AI of these apps will analyze what it is and will tell you how many calories it has, adding it to what you have eaten that day. In Xataka Basics | 22 useful and not so well -known free artificial intelligence tools

The importance of maturation point at nutritional level

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Banana is a one of the favorites of consumers and in this factors such as taste and nutritional contribution have some weight. It is evident for consumers that the taste of bananas, such as their texture, changes as fruit is maturing. It may not be so obvious, but the Nutritional characteristics From this fruit they also change in a similar measure with the maturation of the fruit. What exactly is what is happening? The banana is usually recognized as a great source of potassium (a banana can contribute about 10% of the potassium that we require throughout the day), but of course it is much more than that. This fruit It gives us diverse nutrients as magnesium or phosphorus, as well as vitamin B6. It also gives us macronutrients such as proteins, fats and hydrates. And of course, banana is a great fiber source. However, the proportion of nutrients that one of these fruits can give us depends on a factor that sometimes we do not take into account, its maturation. All fruit, when maturing, changes its chemical composition. This is what makes properties change such as texture and flavor. But this chemical change also implies something that we do not obviously perceive, a change in your nutritional contribution. The banana It is one Of the best examples of this. The key to change is in carbohydrates of this fruit. In immature bananas, green, starches predominate. With the passage of time and maturation, banana starch is transformed, through chemical changes that They give rise to transformation Of these starches in simple sugars such as fructose and glucose, as well as the disaccharide resulting from the union of both, sucrose. This change has as a consequence that ripe bananas have a softer texture and a Sweetest tastewhich makes them a sweetener for desserts and other recipes in which their sweetness is required. On the other hand, if what interests us is its fiber contribution, a greener banana will be our best option. In bananas predominates The call “Resistant starch”, Which we can consider a type of food fiber. Our small intestine does not break these compounds, but can be collected and consumed by the bacteria that reside in our digestive tract. That is why green bananas can be seen as a better fiber and fiber source Prebiotics. These “ferment” this starch, releasing fatty acid acids as the butyrate, which could have a positive impact on our health. Bananas are also a pectin sourcea soluble fiber in water. The glycemic index The changes given during the banana maturation process have another consequence, and it is that The glycemic index (IG) of this fruit It also changes. Thus, the IG of a more mature banana can be around the value of 51, while one without maturing could be around 24. A value above 55 is usually considered low, which implies that this fruit does not generate a considerable glucose peak. Of course, the glycemic load (CG) of this fruit can be considered moderate, with indices above 10 for both green and ripe fruit. The CG of this fruit would be around 13 in the case of the most mature specimens, being 11 in the case of the least mature. Our preference for more or less mature bananas surely focuses on its flavor and texture, but taking into account the specific properties of each degree of maturation can help us choose bananas depending on what we want to achieve. Green bananas: Fiber and prebiotic source Lower glycemic index Less sweet taste and firmer texture Mature bananas: Sugars replace fiber Greater glycemic index, but still low Sweet taste and soft texture (convenient for some recipes) All measures that tell us about the proportion of nutrients in fruits are estimates or averages. It is not possible to give a generic and universal value to the presence of a nutrient in a fruit since there are very different factors that affect its chemical composition. The degree of maturation is one of the most important. It is also one that can change even while the fruit rests in our pantries. But it is not the only one. The variety of the plant that has given the fruit, the climate of the place where it has been cultivated and the meteorology of the year in which the fruit has grown are factors that affect the taste and the nutritional characteristics of a fruit. What makes it special to degree of maturation It allows us to have some control over the nutrients that the fruit unit gives us to be able to adjust them to what our body or our palate requires on each occasion. In Xataka | The banana has the days counted as we know it. A tiny Australian variety wants to save it Image | Xataka with chatgpt

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