The health-supporting marvels of simple drinking water have never been more powerfully exemplified than by the experience of a physician who was one of thousands of political prisoners thrown into a crowded and squalid Iranian prison during the 1979 revolution. When other prisoners got word that the doctor, Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, M.D. (Dr. B, for short), was among them, he was besieged with pleas for help from inmates suffering the crippling pain of severe peptic (stomach) ulcers, a stress-induced condition rampant in the prison. Having no tools or drugs at his disposal but not wanting to convey hopelessness, Dr. B recommended the only option available. He told these ailing prisoners to drink water — simple tap water — and lots of it, usually about two glasses every three hours. Remarkably, within minutes of drinking the first water the pain diminished and, with repeated water drinking, it disappeared altogether!
During his thirty-one months as a political prisoner, Dr. B, a native Iranian who received his conventional medical training at London University’s St. Mary’s Medical School, treated more than three thousand peptic ulcer sufferers with water alone. In addition, he prescribed water and got the same amazing results for other prisoners afflicted with hypertension, epilepsy, anxiety disorders, depression, and a host of other maladies.
"Drink water, lots of it, always" has become Dr. B’s mantra ever since that miraculous discovery in Iran’s Evin Prison. Upon release, he escaped Iran and fled to America where he’s continued his research on the role of water in the human body and the damaging effects of dehydration on human health. He’s set out to prove that the human body can produce pain when it is thirsty. Dr. B tells me, "I’ve introduced an entirely new understanding of disease...by proposing that chronic dehydration can manifest itself in many ways we in medicine have labeled disease conditions."
In his twenty years of research, Dr. B says he has seen water alone "completely reverse conditions" from asthma, allergies, angina, and arthritis to diabetes, migraine headaches, and high cholesterol (and that’s just a short list). In other words, he believes that ingestion of water may render a cure without resorting to standard medications. This is a bold statement coming from a researcher/scientist who hails from conventional medical training.
Interestingly, it appears that this "water therapy" is the great equalizer among the conventional and alternative medical communities; many practitioners from both arenas speak highly of Dr. B’s work. For instance, his 1995 book, Your Body’s Many Cries for Water, has received accolades from the ultra alternative Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients to the buttoned-down pages of the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology whose book reviewer called it a "masterpiece." Your Body’s Many Cries for Water gives thorough and technically scholarly explanations for why dehydration can precipitate these bodily malfunctions.
Yet Dr. B believes his work, overall, has gotten short shrift from science journals and mainstream entities like the National Institutes of Health and the American Medical Association. He says such groups have the ear of the American public and will not deliver the message to consumers that water alone may cure many common ailments. And the reason is simple in his estimation: "...they can’t make money from water."
His sentiments are akin to those of many other medical practitioners who espouse notions that are at odds with the conventional medical world. Generally, these healers suspect that decision makers at prestigious science journals disregard their research because it doesn’t fit into the drugs and surgery mold that are economic mainstays in allopathic medicine. Moreover, effective, noninvasive, drug-free approaches in America often are denied research money and are left to languish in obscurity. In Dr. B’s instance, since drinking water is a cheap and plentiful commodity, he’s probably correct that there’s no way to turn a big buck — so the spotlight misses his water therapy. Oh sure, there are always new unconventional "magic water" gimmicks popping up but these are a far cry from the doctor’s prescription of drinking lots of clean water.
Ironically, Dr. B, perhaps the country’s foremost expert on the physiological implications of water, doesn’t make much off his recommendations either, nor does he appear to be inclined to do so. Dr. B calls his work a public service. Check his Web site (www.watercure.com) where you’ll find his advice and explanations. He offers only his books and videotapes and avoids selling or endorsing products associated with water usage such as water filters. In fact, in a time when most complementary practitioners are encouraging the use of filters for drinking water, Dr. B is more concerned that everyone drink water — filtered or not. "If you make it a pronouncement that everyone should have a filter, then a lot of people who can’t afford one will not drink water. And not [drinking water] is infinitely more damaging than if they drink [unfiltered] tap water."
Nonetheless, I personally am not comfortable categorically recommending straight tap water. Although many municipalities may have acceptable tap water I’m all too well aware of various studies and reports that correlate, for example, gastrointestinal illnesses with drinking water supplies and lifetime consumption of chlorination with higher risks of bladder and rectal cancers. Well water, with its potential of contamination, can be chancy, too. I believe that Dr. Joseph Mercola, an osteopathic physician who is an integrative practitioner, strikes a better balance given the realities of today’s environment. With consumers’ pocketbooks in mind, Dr. Mercola (via his Web site www.mercola.com) suggests the Consumer Reports pick, the Pur Ultimate filter ($40-50) which screws directly into your current faucet. Dr. Mercola says Brita filters are acceptable but not as effective as standard filters. I appreciate Dr. B’s perspective that not everyone can afford a water filter but, for those of us who can and already use one, perhaps we should begin thinking in terms of water filters for gift giving, whether it’s for Aunt Minnie’s birthday, the office grab-bag, or a charity basket!
So assume that we’ve accepted the idea that we need to drink lots of water and that we’re using a filter on our water faucet. There are other questions about drinking water that commonly arise.
(1) How much water should I drink? Dr. B says figure about half your body weight in ounces per day. So a 150-pound man would be expected to drink about 75 ounces of water (about nine eight-ounce cups). You need more if you vigorously exercise, do physical work, or are out in hot weather. If you have a cup of coffee, tea, soda, or other caffeinated drink, you need to drink an extra cup of water, since these beverages contain dehydrating agents. He says juices can count toward water intake as long as they’re limited to one or two glasses.
(2) Is it okay to drink water during meals? This is interesting as a lot of complementary practitioners recommend against drinking water with meals, believing it dilutes the stomach acid and, hence, interferes with proper digestion. Technically this is not true, Dr. B says, as the water probably doesn’t significantly mix with digestive juices. So for the record it’s only people who are having problems making enough stomach (hydrochloric) acid who need to worry about this. However, too little hydrochloric acid, known as hypochlorhydria, is said to occur in up to 47 percent of the general population, the highest incidence being found in older people.
(3) How about carbonated bottled water? Excessive use of carbonated water will strip the body of phosphorous, a mineral that is vital to the integrity of bones and teeth, metabolism of nutrients, and the formation of genetic material, cell membranes, and many enzymes. Hence, carbonated water, he says, should be considered a luxury and used sparingly. Distilled water, by the way, should not be used regularly either. It is devoid of all mineral content and, although the science is scanty, many long-term users have encountered health problems such as hair thinning or falling out.
(4) Is it okay for me to drink ice-cold water? Dr. B says no problem. "The body warms up water very easily and then it’s absorbed." He adds that it’s good during hot weather as it cools down the blood and, hence, the body.
So as summer embraces us, start now to systematically rehydrate, keep a journal of your progress, and discover how the healing power of water can be key to achieving optimal health.
Disclaimer: This column is for information only and no part of its contents should be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, recommendation or endorsement by Ms. Ephraim.
Rebecca Ephraim is a registered dietitian, certified clinical nutritionist and a nutrition reporter specializing in integrative medicine issues.
© Rebecca Ephraim. All rights reserved.