[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28228348/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28228348/)
I bought a pack of Topo Chico thinking it would be a nice treat for myself during my fast. I noticed every time I drank it that I’d end up running to the fridge and breaking my fast shortly after. My sample size is small, I have done 24s and a 42 hour fast, but on days with soda water, I don’t get past 24.
Yes, the study was on rats and we are not rats but it did show increased ghrelin.
I’ve seen here and on YouTube that fasters swear by sparkling water. Has anyone else noticed this? Do you stay away from carbonated drinks to avoid added hunger?
Edited for clarity.
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Are you certain what is in what you are drinking? Somebody just posted some drink that had artificial sweetener in it that they didn’t realize. I’m not in the anti-sweetener camp, and I don’t find it causes me hunger. I’m trying to figure out what might actually be happening if it is just the carbonation making you break your fast. Here’s a couple options:
- The carbonation actually makes you hungry.
- You associate drinking carbonated beverages with eating, thereby consuming one triggers a mental desire to eat.
- It’s actually hunger that triggers you to reach for the drink, but doesn’t satisfy it so you go on to consume food.
- You are consuming the beverage at the point where you are most likely to break your fast, and it’s just coincidental.
Perhaps try a different brand, or try drinking a Topco earlier in your fast and get some additional data points. We are all different, and it’s certainly possible that carbonation affects you in some manner other than a lot of other people.
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What’s the big deal with being hungry (when you know you have food to eat), just ignore it for an hour and it will pass…I think some people are stuck in some conditioning where feeling hunger is some horrific sensation….🙂
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Only sweetened drinks risk kicking me into hunger. Carbonated plain water (our local water has lots of minerals and makes GREAT seltzer) actually picks me up and tamps down food cravings.
Not my Diet Faygos, tho — makes me want a stupid snack.