How does the body process a liquid diet?
January 12, 2010 6:42 PM Subscribe
How does the body process a liquid diet?
Numerous times I have been on liquid diets to lose weight, to detox or for other reasons. Usually, the drinks contain a lot of vitamins, protein, etc.
What I am wondering is how does the body physiologically process the liquids? Are all the calories retained or is the liquid expelled from the body before the calories have a chance to be absorbed?
For examples when fasting sometimes I've drank milkshakes that were full of calories and still lost weight that day.
If the liquid you are drinking has all the nutrients needed why do their directions discourage you from solely surviving on them?
On the other hand, people with intestinal diseases, etc. often live on Ensure and other drinks,with no solid food, for months at a time. Why is it ok for them and yet not supposed to be ok for healthy people?
Numerous times I have been on liquid diets to lose weight, to detox or for other reasons. Usually, the drinks contain a lot of vitamins, protein, etc.
What I am wondering is how does the body physiologically process the liquids? Are all the calories retained or is the liquid expelled from the body before the calories have a chance to be absorbed?
For examples when fasting sometimes I've drank milkshakes that were full of calories and still lost weight that day.
If the liquid you are drinking has all the nutrients needed why do their directions discourage you from solely surviving on them?
On the other hand, people with intestinal diseases, etc. often live on Ensure and other drinks,with no solid food, for months at a time. Why is it ok for them and yet not supposed to be ok for healthy people?
I've been on a protein-sparing modified fast (four months), and I was required to have flax seed (fiber), bouillon (electrolytes), and skim milk or low-fat yogurt. Several supplements are required as well, including a multi-vitamin, potassium, and vitamin D. Plus stool softeners!
posted by jgirl at 6:59 PM on January 12, 2010
posted by jgirl at 6:59 PM on January 12, 2010
Food gets turned into a slurry by chewing and the motion of your stomach. It's all pretty much liquid (aside from things that you can't digest, eg corn kernel shell) in the small intestine. Your body has no problems whatsoever with absorbing liquid nutrients. Many alcoholics get most (or all) of their calories from alcoholic drinks, which is part of why they get vitamin deficiencies.
Day to day weight fluctuations are almost totally about water balance.
People get the special shakes because they have to not because they get to; it gets unbearably monotonous.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 6:59 PM on January 12, 2010
Day to day weight fluctuations are almost totally about water balance.
People get the special shakes because they have to not because they get to; it gets unbearably monotonous.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 6:59 PM on January 12, 2010
My point was that the things mentioned are what you need to be able to survive while on a PSMF.
posted by jgirl at 7:00 PM on January 12, 2010
posted by jgirl at 7:00 PM on January 12, 2010
The reason people live off Ensure is because that's their only option outside of getting nutrition directly into the stomach/digestive tract or through IV. They would starve otherwise. It's not as good as getting to eat food, but it's better than not eating at all. If you're able to eat solid food, that's preferred, because that's what your body was made to eat, not shakes full of dairy solids, vegetable oil, and vitamins.
posted by ishotjr at 7:06 PM on January 12, 2010
posted by ishotjr at 7:06 PM on January 12, 2010
Look, by the time food gets into your intestines, it's mostly liquid anyway. Your body is happy to absorb nutrients from any source it can get.
That said, dietary fiber is one thing that a liquid diet won't give you. It's important for keeping you "regular", and too little increases your risk of colon cancer.
Lastly, if you're going liquid-only to lose weight or "detox", you're doing it wrong. In order to lose weight and keep it off, you need to alter your habits, not forgo food.
As for "detox", it's a catch-all phrase for many different programs, all of which are synonymous with "utter bullshit". Unless you have mercury poisoning and are undergoing chelation therapy, there is never any reason to detox. Your liver handles that just fine.
posted by chrisamiller at 7:31 PM on January 12, 2010 [6 favorites]
That said, dietary fiber is one thing that a liquid diet won't give you. It's important for keeping you "regular", and too little increases your risk of colon cancer.
Lastly, if you're going liquid-only to lose weight or "detox", you're doing it wrong. In order to lose weight and keep it off, you need to alter your habits, not forgo food.
As for "detox", it's a catch-all phrase for many different programs, all of which are synonymous with "utter bullshit". Unless you have mercury poisoning and are undergoing chelation therapy, there is never any reason to detox. Your liver handles that just fine.
posted by chrisamiller at 7:31 PM on January 12, 2010 [6 favorites]
By the way, "detoxxing" is quackery.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 7:42 PM on January 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 7:42 PM on January 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
Also, checking weight day-to-day is ridiculous. Week-to-week is best, month-to-month if you can stand it.
Sorry to burst your bubble.
posted by InsanePenguin at 7:51 PM on January 12, 2010
Sorry to burst your bubble.
posted by InsanePenguin at 7:51 PM on January 12, 2010
Response by poster: No bubbles burst. Thanks for the honest answers.
posted by srbrunson at 8:30 PM on January 12, 2010
posted by srbrunson at 8:30 PM on January 12, 2010
Also, checking weight day-to-day is ridiculous. Week-to-week is best, month-to-month if you can stand it.
Checking it everyday isn't necessarily bad (there can be value in the routine and it makes it easier to remember to do something everyday not once every x days). The real badness of weighing yourself is worrying about the day to day gains and losses. What you should be worried about is trends or rolling averages.
posted by mmascolino at 8:38 PM on January 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
Checking it everyday isn't necessarily bad (there can be value in the routine and it makes it easier to remember to do something everyday not once every x days). The real badness of weighing yourself is worrying about the day to day gains and losses. What you should be worried about is trends or rolling averages.
posted by mmascolino at 8:38 PM on January 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
If you are going to check your weight every day, do it at the same time every day.
posted by cali59 at 4:39 AM on January 13, 2010
posted by cali59 at 4:39 AM on January 13, 2010
You do not get all the nutrients from liquids that you do from comparable foods. There was a study that compared nutrient absorption from eating an apple, eating applesauce, and drinking apple juice, and the apple was best and the juice was worst. Sorry I don't have the cite.
posted by daisyace at 5:07 AM on January 13, 2010
posted by daisyace at 5:07 AM on January 13, 2010
Daisyace, that's because the apple juice doesn't include the whole nutrition of the apple. It doesn't have anything to do with the digestive tract.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:11 AM on January 13, 2010
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:11 AM on January 13, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Even when you're eating solid food, the process of chewing, adding saliva, drinking water while you eat, and adding digestive juices in your stomach means it's a liquid by the time it hits the small intestine anyway.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:56 PM on January 12, 2010 [5 favorites]