| Dr. Jai Maharaj 2004-12-20, 7:17 pm |
| SAVE YOUR LIFE WITH WATER
Forwarded message from fidyl@yahoo.com
[ Subject: Save Your Life With Water
[ From: fidyl@yahoo.com
[ Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004
Save Your Life With Water
New research reveals that water may prevent heart attacks.
http://www.adventistreview.org/2002-1542/story3.html
NOT DRINKING ENOUGH WATER HAS been previously linked with several
physical ailments, such as constipation, kidney stones, overeating,
and dry eyes, mouth, and skin, but never before has it been linked to
coronary heart disease. However, in a press conference held April 25
researchers at Loma Linda university (LLU) revealed that drinking
high levels of water can significantly reduce the risk of coronary
heart disease.
The results of the researchers' study, published in the American
Journal of Epidemiology (vol. 155, no. 9), show that drinking high
amounts of plain water is as important as exercise, diet, and not
smoking in preventing coronary heart disease.
"Basically, not drinking enough water can be as harmful to your heart
as smoking," warns Jacqueline Chan, Dr.P.H., principal investigator
and lead author of the article.
Chan and Synnove Knutsen, M.D., Ph.D., second author, department
chair of epidemiology and biostatistics, School of Public Health,
found that California Seventh-day Adventists who drink five or more
glasses of plain water a day have a much lower risk of fatal coronary
heart disease compared to those who drink less than two glasses per
day.
The study, "Water, Other Fluids, and Fatal Coronary Heart Disease,"
indicates that whole-blood viscosity (thickness), plasma viscosity,
hematocrit, and fibrinogen-which are considered independent risk
factors for coronary heart disease-can be elevated by dehydration.
Neither total fluid intake nor intake of other fluids combined showed
this reduced risk. Instead, for women, high intake (five or more
glasses a day) of other fluids showed a greatly increased risk of
coronary heart disease.
Coffee, soda, milk, and caffeinated soda did not show any
statistically significant heart benefits. Most other fluids are
considered high-energy drinks. The initial effect of these types of
fluids is actually to draw water from the blood, because they cannot
be digested until their concentration is reduced to be similar to
that of blood. This causes at least a temporary increase in blood
viscosity, thus increasing the risk of blood clots.
Water, however, is absorbed immediately, thus hydrating the blood
system. Drinking high amounts of water, then, thins the blood,
reducing the risk of blood clotting, which could lead to heart
attacks.
"People need to be made aware that there is a difference, at least
for heart health, whether they get their fluids from plain water or
from sodas," says Chan.
Though more research is needed to confirm the findings, Chan and
Knutsen have already adjusted the figures to account for other
potential factors in heart disease fatalities, such as age, smoking,
calorie intake, exercise, blood pressure, and socioeconomic status.
"When we tested to see if these protective effects from water might
really have come from some other factor, we tested more than 11 risk
factors, but the benefit of water remained," shares Chan.
Other risk factors included education, nuts, meat, whole-wheat bread,
and hormone replacement therapy in women.
The water study is part of the original Adventist Health Study, which
began in 1973. Both researchers are also coinvestigators for the new
Adventist Health Study. The study was done on more than 20,000
non-Hispanic Whites living in Seventh-day Adventist households.
According to Knutsen, there is no reason to believe a similar study
of different populations wouldn't reveal similar results.
"Thinking logically, we would expect the general population to show
the same results," responds Knutsen. "They all have a similar
physiology." Other risk factors for coronary heart disease discovered
in the Adventist Health Study have also been found to be risk factors
in the general population-namely meat intake, and not eating enough
nuts, whole grains, and legumes.
While it is true, according to 1976 data, that Seventh-day Adventists
drink more plain water than the general public (average intake of
four and a half glasses per day compared to more than two and a half
glasses), this indicates that increases in water intake would
actually benefit the non-Adventist population as a whole even more.
The results from this study demonstrate that by drinking more plain
water, healthy people-without any history of heart disease, stroke,
or diabetes-reduced their risk of dying from a heart attack by half
or more. This is as much as or more than if they had adopted any
other well-known preventive measure, including stopping smoking,
lowering cholesterol levels, increasing exercise, and maintaining
ideal weight.
In fact, the degree of benefit from drinking plain water surpasses
that of drinking a moderate amount of alcohol and taking aspirin,
with none of the adverse side effects (social or physiological).
Drinking moderate doses of alcohol or taking aspirin have each
previously been identified with helping to reduce the risks of
coronary heart disease.
Because drinking more plain water is a simple lifestyle change that
anybody can do, this simple practice has the potential to save tens
of thousands of lives each year with minimal cost.
According to Chan, this is the first study to record the association
between high water intake and reduced risk of coronary heart disease.
The study is significant news in the battle against coronary heart
disease. Nearly 530,000 people died from coronary heart disease in
1999. More than half of those people had no previous symptoms of
heart disease.
"This study needs to be replicated, and if similar results are found,
then this would be the cheapest and simplest method of preventing
coronary heart disease that could be imagined," adds Gary Fraser,
M.D., Ph.D., cardiologist at the LLU International Heart Institute
and principal investigator for the new Adventist Health Study.
The water study is supported by a grant from the National Institutes
of Health and is part of the Adventist Health Study, which was
designed to test the effects of lifestyle on the risk of coronary
heart disease and cancer.
In 1976 more than 34,000 White non-Hispanic California Seventh-day
Adventists completed a detailed lifestyle questionnaire. Then
research-ers studied from that sample more than 8,000 men and 12,000
women who reported no history of heart disease, stroke, or diabetes
and were at least 38 years old. For six years beverages consumed by
individuals were documented per day, week, and month. Water intake
was reported by the glass, per day (eight-ounce serving).
During that time 246 coronary heart-related deaths were reported
among the participants.
The study showed that men who drank three or four glasses of water
per day had a 40 percent reduction in risk of coronary heart disease,
while women who drank the same number had a 43 percent risk
reduction, after taking into account the risk factors as previously
mentioned.
Male participants who drank five or more glasses of water a day
showed a 62 percent reduction in risk, while women who drank the same
amount of water had a 39 percent risk reduction, after taking into
account the risk factors as previously mentioned.
News coverage of this study has been widespread. Articles have been
written in the Riverside Press Enterprise, the San Bernardino Sun,
brief mentions in The Wall Street Journal and Investor's Business
Daily, and several Web sites, including ABC News. The story was
picked up by both Reuters and the Associated Press. Radio and
television interviews on this subject have been numerous, with radio
health programs demonstrating a great interest in the effects of
water on the well-being of their listeners.
At the time this issue of Scope went to press, Newsweek and Allure
magazines were working on articles relating to the water research as
well. Not surprisingly, interest among the bottled water community
has been widespread. The International Bottled Water Association made
a presentation to a group of physicians including representatives
from the American Medical Association and the American Heart
Association. At the time of the original study, however, bottled
water had not reached the proportions of popularity that it currently
enjoys and was not factored into the study.
"Our study could not show if one type of water was better than
another," details Chan.
Currently Chan is researching whether drinking large amounts of water
has an effect on fatal strokes. Preliminary data suggest that
patients who have a physician-diagnosed stroke or heart disease have
a reduced risk of fatal stroke if they drink more water.
"If you don't have heart problems, water can help reduce your risk of
a fatal heart attack, and if you do have heart problems, or have had
a stroke, preliminary results indicate that water can reduce your
risk of fatal stroke," says Chan. "Either way, everyone benefits."
End of forwarded message from fidyl@yahoo.com
Jai Maharaj
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peace, but a sword.
"For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the
daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in
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"And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
- Matthew 10:34-36.
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