EU bans claim that water can prevent dehydration

[GG]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/8897662/EU-bans-claim-that-water-can-prevent-dehydration.html

Brussels bureaucrats were ridiculed yesterday after banning drink manufacturers from claiming that water can prevent dehydration.

EU officials concluded that, following a three-year investigation, there was no evidence to prove the previously undisputed fact.

Producers of bottled water are now forbidden by law from making the claim and will face a two-year jail sentence if they defy the edict, which comes into force in the UK next month.

Last night, critics claimed the EU was at odds with both science and common sense. Conservative MEP Roger Helmer said: "This is stupidity writ large.

"The euro is burning, the EU is falling apart and yet here they are: highly-paid, highly-pensioned officials worrying about the obvious qualities of water and trying to deny us the right to say what is patently true.

"If ever there were an episode which demonstrates the folly of the great European project then this is it."

[Conan71]

Yep, same chaps who are in love with anthropomorphic global warming no doubt.

Not sure about you, but water has prevented me from being dehydrated my entire life.  Well there's been times the water in beer did the deed, but you get my point

[custosnox]

At least it's not that horrible dihydrogen monoxide crap

[Ed W]

Meanwhile...in the United States Congress...pizza becomes a vegetable:

http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2011/nov/20/wsmain01-healthier-school-lunches-coming-pizza-or--ar-1628619/


...and Herman Cain - who should probably know something about pizzas, at least - says real men don't want no veggies on their pizza.  "The more toppings a man has on his pizza, I believe the more manly he is.":

http://thehill.com/capital-living/in-the-know/193543-herman-cain-calls-veggie-pizzas-sissy-

So there you have it.  Real men eat meat.  Vegetarians are sissies!

[nathanm]

BS claim is BS. One bottle of water will (usually) not prevent dehydration. Drinking enough fluids for present conditions prevents dehydration.

I'll let the British Soft Drinks Association do the rest of the talking:

    The European Food Safety Authority has been asked to rule on several ways of wording the statement that drinking water is good for hydration and therefore good for health. It rejected some wordings on technicalities, but it has supported claims that drinking water is good for normal physical and cognitive functions and normal thermoregulation.

[Red Arrow]

One bottle of water will (usually) not prevent dehydration.

I guess I'll have to skip the first bottle and go right to the second bottle. Maybe it will do some good.

[Red Arrow]

This guy needs to spend a couple of afternoons working in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona or several other areas in the US during the summer when it's 100 deg F or higher.  Maybe he doesn't recognize that things like fruit juice have water in them. 


Prof Brian Ratcliffe, spokesman for the Nutrition Society, said dehydration was usually caused by a clinical condition and that one could remain adequately hydrated without drinking water.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/8897662/EU-bans-claim-that-water-can-prevent-dehydration.html

[TheArtist]

  Doctor friend of mine did say that no, drinking water can not always prevent dehydration.  If someone is sick and vomiting, has diarreah, and there were some other situations he mentioned, drinking water won't help rehydrate them, they will need to have an I V drip.  And if someone tried to rehydrate the person by having them just drink water, they could end up dying.  Also, rehydration should be considered in the context of a balance of nutrients/salts/electrolytes.  Certain salts are involved in regulating the water balance within the body. Water alone, whether through drinking or I V, may not adequately rehydrate the person and again, if done improperly could harm the person or even kill them.  Add that to what the article was mentioning as the reasoning.  I can see where they are coming from in saying that you can't put a claim on a bottle as a "medical fact/claim".  Absurd in a general, daily context,  but that probably was not the context they were looking at it in.   

[heironymouspasparagus]

They are idiots.  21 so-called scientists came up with this crap.

This is the same people (some bureaucratic functionary in the EU) who, in 2008, banned bent bananas and curved cucumbers.  Apparently that one didn't last long...


(Wait a minute...are Cheney and Condoleeza free lancing???)

[Gaspar]

  Doctor friend of mine did say that no, drinking water can not always prevent dehydration.  If someone is sick and vomiting, has diarreah, and there were some other situations he mentioned, drinking water won't help rehydrate them, they will need to have an I V drip.  And if someone tried to rehydrate the person by having them just drink water, they could end up dying.  Also, rehydration should be considered in the context of a balance of nutrients/salts/electrolytes.  Certain salts are involved in regulating the water balance within the body. Water alone, whether through drinking or I V, may not adequately rehydrate the person and again, if done improperly could harm the person or even kill them.  Add that to what the article was mentioning as the reasoning.  I can see where they are coming from in saying that you can't put a claim on a bottle as a "medical fact/claim".  Absurd in a general, daily context,  but that probably was not the context they were looking at it in.   

Correct!
Once dehydration sets in, your body washes out necessary salts and electrolytes necessary for re-hydration.  If you drink just water, you will simply wash away more electrolytes.  You will also become quite delirious, as your brain loses the necessary elements for synaptic function.

If you are thirsty, drink water!. . . but dehydration cannot be effectively treated with water (sounds crazy but it's true).  If you read the recommendation that they are de-bunking here (drinking 1.2L of water a day to avoid dehydration) the premise is true.  Simply drinking 1.2L of water a day will not prevent dehydration, in fact, it could make things worse.  For instance; if you eat/drink alcohol, caffeine beverages or foods, or various vegetarian diets with low levels of mineral/salt/potassium, water consumption alone may not prevent dehydration, in fact it could exacerbate it. 

I am doing some research of my own on this subject, and seeking grant money, if anyone would like to make a donation.  The subject of my study is "Marshall's in The Prevention of Dehydration."  I may need some test subjects too. . .

[heironymouspasparagus]

I am doing some research of my own on this subject, and seeking grant money, if anyone would like to make a donation.  The subject of my study is "Marshall's in The Prevention of Dehydration."  I may need some test subjects too. . .

How about expanding the tests to include Wild Turkey and a selection of citrus, such as lemon and lime, perhaps a little sodium chloride around the rim of the test glass?  Will help you with that....

[TheArtist]

   I suppose part of the issue is where do you draw the line.  Common/layman wordage for something, or "covering your arse/legal/scientific accuracy" wordage.  People are always trying to sneak in claims that they can put on something in order to trick or convince you to purchase something.  If your in that world of trying to figure out if this or that claim can be legally used, I can imagine that the line might be quite tricky on occasion.  Common/layman understanding or usage of a term or claim, is that what you want to put on products?  Or, especially if its a medical/health claim, do you want to use a stricter, more accurate, clinical understanding or definition?  

Protein is good for your hair, your hair needs protein in order for it to look healthy and have that silky feel.  Our shampoo has silk protein in it, use our shampoo.  

May not be the best example, but you see whats implied there.  Nothing they said is really untrue, but the implication is false.  You have to ingest proteins and amino acids that your body than then can use to create hair protein.  Slathering protein on top of dead hair, whether its silk protein or the protein found in cow manure isn't going to change that.

I had run across another example the other day, that for the life of me I cant remember at the moment, but, in a sense it was "trueish" in layman terms, but not at all in a scientific or medical context.  

Again, what type of claims will we want to be allowed on products, "trueish" in common laymans understanding/usage of something, or true via scientific/medical understanding/usage of something?  Which would you prefer?  If you let one, "kinda sorta" true be on one product, are you opening the door to a slippery slope, drawing the line at all kinds of misleading claims? Lots of cases its gonna be easy to figure out, but in some, especially when those companies are trying to be sneaky with their wordage, you might find it difficult.  

I was with a group of optometrists the other day and they were going on about how aggrivating it was when people would come in and say "I have pink eye."  They railed about, "there is no such thing as "pink eye", there is no clinical definition or disease like that. Its like saying I have pink elbow.  Pink eye? what is that?  And on and on they went.  You and I may have a general idea what it means to us, but in their world, with their training and having to make clinical descisions and prescriptions, it sounds absurd, is innacurate, etc.  

What do we allow to be legally claimed on products?  And where do you draw the line on how accurate?

If the FDA or the European equivalent says something is true and that you can use that as a true statement on a food product, and then a company places that statement on their product as an FDA approved fact, and then the claim is false or worse someone dies.... well you get the point.  Lawsuits.  

[Red Arrow]

I understand the legaleze concerns.  If someone is otherwise healthy, has good electrolyte balance...., then drinking water should be a good step to preventing dehydration.  It has worked for me.  In my case, the interval has been a busy afternoon in the sun.  It has not involved being lost at sea with no fresh water or trying to cross the desert without supplies, etc.

Do any of the doctors mentioned believe that one can stay hydrated while not consuming any water?  Not just plain water but water in any form in any food or drink.  Seems like a long shot to me.

[Ed W]

If you are thirsty, drink water!. . . but dehydration cannot be effectively treated with water (sounds crazy but it's true).  If you read the recommendation that they are de-bunking here (drinking 1.2L of water a day to avoid dehydration) the premise is true.  Simply drinking 1.2L of water a day will not prevent dehydration, in fact, it could make things worse.  For instance; if you eat/drink alcohol, caffeine beverages or foods, or various vegetarian diets with low levels of mineral/salt/potassium, water consumption alone may not prevent dehydration, in fact it could exacerbate it. 

It probably sounds better in Italian, but there's an old racer's adage: Eat before you're hungry. Drink before you're thirsty, and rest before you're tired.  Thirst alone isn't a good indication of the need to drink because by the time you feel thirst, you're already dehydrated.  Riding the bike on a hot summer day, I drink about 1.5 liters per hour.

[guido911]

On a side note, EU leaders have it's @ss handed to them by Farage: