Summary
It's amazing to me how a prestigious health sciences association can
miss some of the most obvious facts when conducting research. In this
report, they state that most people consume plenty of water each day,
and they arrive at that conclusion by measuring their total intake of
all beverages
including soft drinks. In this way, the report
makes the erroneous assumption that the liquid content of soft drink
beverages has the same hydrating effect as pure water.
This
assumption is absurd, of course. Soft drinks, coffee and other
high-sugar beverages actually have a dehydrating effect in the body.
They cause the excretion of more water than they provide, resulting in a
net loss of water, not a net gain. This is due to the high sugar and
high phosphate content of soft drinks. In coffee, it's due to the
caffeine and added sugars. Long-term consumption of these beverages
leads to a state of chronic dehydration that is often misdiagnosed as
asthma or other diseases. The book to read on this is called Water: For
Health, For Healing, For Life.
The National Academies apparently
hasn't read this book, nor are they aware of the fundamentals of
hydration and nutrition. To categorize the water content of soft drinks
as quality hydration is the sort of oversight that might be acceptable
by a student in a high school science fair, but it's appalling to see it
from an organization that purports to be so well informed. In reality,
it's just bad science, plain and simple. Or just outright ignorance.
Original source:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/02/040212092439.htm
Details
The report set general recommendations for water intake based on
detailed national data, which showed that women who appear to be
adequately hydrated consume an average of approximately 2.7 liters (91
ounces) of total water -- from all beverages and foods -- each day, and
men average approximately 3.7 liters (125 ounces) daily.
Moreover, we concluded that on a daily basis, people get adequate
amounts of water from normal drinking behavior -- consumption of
beverages at meals and in other social situations -- and by letting
their thirst guide them."
Regarding salt, healthy 19- to 50-year-old adults should consume 1.5
grams of sodium and 2.3 grams of chloride each day -- or 3.8 grams of
salt -- to replace the amount lost daily on average through sweat and to
achieve a diet that provides sufficient amounts of other essential
nutrients.
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health researcher, author and award-winning journalist with a passion for teaching people how to improve their health He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, and he has published numerous courses on preparedness and survival, including financial preparedness, emergency food supplies, urban survival and tactical self-defense. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2010, Adams launched TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural health video site featuring videos on holistic health and green living. He's also the founder and CEO of a well known email mail merge software developer whose software, 'Email Marketing Director,' currently runs the NaturalNews email subscriptions. Adams is currently the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and martial arts training.
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Monday, March 22, 2004
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