King Grub
2017-05-19, 15:49
BACKGROUND:
The dangerous health risks associated with obesity makes it a very serious public health issue. Numerous studies verified a correlation between the increase in obesity and the parallel increase in soft drink consumption among world populations. The effects of one main component in soft drinks namely the carbon dioxide gas has not been studied thoroughly in any previous research.
METHODS:
Male rats were subjected to different categories of drinks and evaluated for over a year. Stomach ex vivo experiments were undertaken to evaluate the amount of ghrelin upon different beverage treatments. Moreover, 20 male students were tested for their ghrelin levels after ingestion of different beverages.
RESULTS:
Here, we show that rats consuming gaseous beverages over a period of around 1 year gain weight at a faster rate than controls on regular degassed carbonated beverage or tap water. This is due to elevated levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin and thus greater food intake in rats drinking carbonated drinks compared to control rats. Moreover, an increase in liver lipid accumulation of rats treated with gaseous drinks is shown opposed to control rats treated with degassed beverage or tap water. In a parallel study, the levels of ghrelin hormone were increased in 20 healthy human males upon drinking carbonated beverages compared to controls.
CONCLUSIONS:
These results implicate a major role for carbon dioxide gas in soft drinks in inducing weight gain and the onset of obesity via ghrelin release and stimulation of the hunger response in male mammals.
The results of the rodent studies were then confirmed in human subjects. Twenty male students volunteered to undergo blood tests following ingestion of beverages. In agreement with previous results obtained for ghrelin concentration in rats, we found that the ghrelin concentration in human males consuming CBs was significantly greater than the ghrelin concentration in those drinking non-CBs. This result is remarkable since the same group of people was tested on different days after consumption of different drinks 5 min after ingestion of the drinks. Endogenous clocks of the circadian system allow for the alternation of certain metabolic, physiological and behavioural functions [49]. Taking into consideration that the secretion of ghrelin is governed by this clock, we collected samples from all human subjects at 9 a.m. In addition to the standard beverages we have been using throughout our experiments we added CW as a further control. Indeed, consumption of CBs induced a signifi- cant ghrelin release in human volunteers compared to the same group drinking non-CBs. This is the first report that assigns new effects of carbon dioxide in CBs inducing ghrelin release and weight gain in mammals. We therefore recommend the regulation of CBs consumption by the general public to limit their damaging effects on consumers.
Eweis, D. S., Abed, F., & Stiban, J. (2016). Carbon dioxide in carbonated beverages induces ghrelin release and increased food consumption in male rats: Implications on the onset of obesity. Obesity Research and Clinical Practice, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orcp.2017.02.001
http://www.obesityresearchclinicalpractice.com/article/S1871-403X(17)30006-6/pdf
The dangerous health risks associated with obesity makes it a very serious public health issue. Numerous studies verified a correlation between the increase in obesity and the parallel increase in soft drink consumption among world populations. The effects of one main component in soft drinks namely the carbon dioxide gas has not been studied thoroughly in any previous research.
METHODS:
Male rats were subjected to different categories of drinks and evaluated for over a year. Stomach ex vivo experiments were undertaken to evaluate the amount of ghrelin upon different beverage treatments. Moreover, 20 male students were tested for their ghrelin levels after ingestion of different beverages.
RESULTS:
Here, we show that rats consuming gaseous beverages over a period of around 1 year gain weight at a faster rate than controls on regular degassed carbonated beverage or tap water. This is due to elevated levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin and thus greater food intake in rats drinking carbonated drinks compared to control rats. Moreover, an increase in liver lipid accumulation of rats treated with gaseous drinks is shown opposed to control rats treated with degassed beverage or tap water. In a parallel study, the levels of ghrelin hormone were increased in 20 healthy human males upon drinking carbonated beverages compared to controls.
CONCLUSIONS:
These results implicate a major role for carbon dioxide gas in soft drinks in inducing weight gain and the onset of obesity via ghrelin release and stimulation of the hunger response in male mammals.
The results of the rodent studies were then confirmed in human subjects. Twenty male students volunteered to undergo blood tests following ingestion of beverages. In agreement with previous results obtained for ghrelin concentration in rats, we found that the ghrelin concentration in human males consuming CBs was significantly greater than the ghrelin concentration in those drinking non-CBs. This result is remarkable since the same group of people was tested on different days after consumption of different drinks 5 min after ingestion of the drinks. Endogenous clocks of the circadian system allow for the alternation of certain metabolic, physiological and behavioural functions [49]. Taking into consideration that the secretion of ghrelin is governed by this clock, we collected samples from all human subjects at 9 a.m. In addition to the standard beverages we have been using throughout our experiments we added CW as a further control. Indeed, consumption of CBs induced a signifi- cant ghrelin release in human volunteers compared to the same group drinking non-CBs. This is the first report that assigns new effects of carbon dioxide in CBs inducing ghrelin release and weight gain in mammals. We therefore recommend the regulation of CBs consumption by the general public to limit their damaging effects on consumers.
Eweis, D. S., Abed, F., & Stiban, J. (2016). Carbon dioxide in carbonated beverages induces ghrelin release and increased food consumption in male rats: Implications on the onset of obesity. Obesity Research and Clinical Practice, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orcp.2017.02.001
http://www.obesityresearchclinicalpractice.com/article/S1871-403X(17)30006-6/pdf