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[King DZA]

Well I drink milk pretty often, and coffee is made with water, so I figure it's close enough.

[Flying Dice]

Now see I got the impression that the scientists think a whole damn bunch of stuff can prevent dehydration.

Thus water isn't unique.

Actually, yes, it is. Water is the only thing that can reliably and safely lower the level of dehydration in the human body. Everything you consume that lowers dehydration contains water.

Saying that water isn't unique in lowering dehydration because other things with water in them do so also is like saying that eating a pure glucose solution isn't the only way to fuel human metabolism because there are foods which contain glucose.

[palsch]

OK, let's try to clear some of this up.

1) This isn't a law. It's a narrow test ruling on a hypothetical proposed wording for a piece of technically wrong health advice, struck down on (appropriately) a hypothetical.

2) The two people who submitted this are also the ones promoting the story, suggesting that was the purpose.

Strangely, the British Soft Drinks Association managed to sum things up rationally;

The stories in some of the newspapers this morning (18 November) do not quite capture the whole picture regarding the approval of health claims relating to water and hydration.

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.  These recommended claims are awaiting formal confirmation from the European Commission.

EFSA recommends that, to benefit from the effects of drinking water, one should consume at least 2 litres of water a day, or 2.5 litres for a man.  Water is the major component of all soft drinks.

[Roboboy33]

This is them just being assholes.

[DJ]

Saying that water isn't unique in lowering dehydration because other things with water in them do so also is like saying that eating a pure glucose solution isn't the only way to fuel human metabolism because there are foods which contain glucose.

But I thought you can use fatty acids in place of glucose. No such replacement exists for water.

[Sensei]

It's like saying, this food cures hunger.

To be fair, I think that if someone put a label on their food product that says "Cures hunger!" or "Prevents hunger!" nobody would have problem with it. In fact they would probably just get a chuckle out of it.

[Phmcw]

I think some of you don't get the problem. Europe has ruled that our advertising should be sane, and that health claim had to be verified.
Therefore, companies that sell bottled water asked if they could use "prevent dehydration" as a selling point.
The agency charged with that task proceeded to check if that fact was truly a selling point of bottled water.

For a reason unknown, they found out that, in fact, no. For one it doesn't prevent dehydration, but probably more to the point, because a glass of orange juice or a cup of tea does the exact same job. Which mean that if you buy a bottle of Evian or whatever specifically because you fear dehydration (and it may be a concern) , then you have been scammed.

This ruling is therefore sound and a sign that there may be agencies of the EU that are still working well.

[jasonwill2]

This is them just being assholes.

sigged

[Jackrabbit]

I really think that unless this took up a lot of time and money that could have been spent on something important, which it doesn't seem like it did, it's not worth getting worked up about.

[Flying Dice]

Saying that water isn't unique in lowering dehydration because other things with water in them do so also is like saying that eating a pure glucose solution isn't the only way to fuel human metabolism because there are foods which contain glucose.

But I thought you can use fatty acids in place of glucose. No such replacement exists for water.

Fair enough. Hm.


...is like saying that death isn't the only way to get rid of life, because people can die of things other than natural causes. That probably has a flaw in it as well.

[scriver]

If they mean dehydration as the process of losing water from your body, then drinking water - or anything - sure won't prevent it. It'll refill yout water reserves, sure, but your body will continue to use up/loose water (dehydrate) all the same.

It's like saying filling up your car with new gas prevents gas being used up by the combustion process.

[Derekristow]

Now see I got the impression that the scientists think a whole damn bunch of stuff can prevent dehydration.

Thus water isn't unique.

Actually, yes, it is. Water is the only thing that can reliably and safely lower the level of dehydration in the human body. Everything you consume that lowers dehydration contains water.

Saying that water isn't unique in lowering dehydration because other things with water in them do so also is like saying that eating a pure glucose solution isn't the only way to fuel human metabolism because there are foods which contain glucose.

I think he was referring specifically to bottled water, rather than the chemical itself.  I see the problem being in either the semantics of the word 'prevent', or the implication that bottled water and bottled water alone can cure dehydration.

But I thought you can use fatty acids in place of glucose. No such replacement exists for water.

The body uses different fuel sources for different reasons.  Glucose is generally needed for short periods of intense activity, so you might be able to live without it, but it would be difficult.  Not to mention any chemicals the body may create from it.

[Bauglir]

Your body can convert other energy sources into glucose. So it's actually a really weird example. You don't actually need to eat any, but it is required for many metabolic processes. Vitamins might be a better example, since your body can't manufacture them (by definition).

More importantly, it's likely to be a reasonable ruling in the context it was made. It sounds like the equivalent of somebody saying, "Hitler was right that a vegetarian diet can be healthy" and everybody starts shouting that I said "Hitler was right". If the connotation of the phrasing of the claim in some language suggests something that isn't true, it was right to deny that use, in the same way it'd be right to deny that Vitamin A prevents scurvy.

Also, just a few comments. Spoilered for being tangents.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Genetically modified foods are fine, provided they are modified in a way that is provably safe. It's important to do things like make sure something genetically modified to produce insecticide hasn't become toxic to humans thereby, and to label foods that have been modified to produce a common allergen appropriately, so that you don't get people having an allergic reaction to something modified with (say) hazelnut genes. There's nothing inherently wrong with genetically modifying food; note that every domesticated plant or animal has been genetically modified, but selective breeding is a pretty limited and time-consuming way to do this.

You can do fine without drinking pure water, as long as you're consuming enough water that your body can maintain osmotic balance. Pure water is great for this, but weak electrolyte solutions (such as gatorade and other sports drinks) actually can be superior, depending on how you're losing water. If it's from sweating or urination, you'll do better with those. It's why whenever somebody I know goes out for drinks, I recommend a bottle of a sports drink over drinking water to prevent a hangover.

PM me or start a new thread if you'd like to continue the discussion. Always fun to go over nutrition.

[GlyphGryph]

Vitamins might be a better example, since your body can't manufacture them (by definition).

Hmm... that doesn't seem right. What about vitamin D?

[Bauglir]

>___> The definition is more guidelines than actual rules.

Okay really what I should say is that your body can't manufacture them in sufficient quantities no matter how much you provide in the way of raw materials.