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July/August 2002 Alternative Health
Drinking Water Reduces Coronary Risk

by Miriam Knight

As the hot weather comes upon us, and we lose fluid through perspiration, it is a good time to remind ourselves of the importance of drinking WATER. And for those of you who think juice, tea and coffee count as water—think again. According to researchers at Loma Linda University¹ drinking high amounts of plain water is as important as exercise, diet, or not smoking in preventing coronary heart disease.

The results of this 6-year study on the associations between fatal coronary heart disease and intake of water and fluids other than water were recently reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology. A group of 20,000 healthy men and women were followed for six years and their whole blood viscosity, plasma viscosity, hematocrit, and fibrinogen were monitored. These are considered independent risk factors for coronary heart disease and can be elevated by dehydration.

The researchers found that people who drank more than five glasses of water each day were about half as likely to die from a heart attack as those who drank fewer than two glasses of water a day. This is as much or more than if they had adopted any other well-known preventive measure, including stopping smoking and lowering cholesterol levels, increasing exercise or maintaining ideal weight. The benefit from drinking plain water surpasses that of drinking a moderate amount of alcohol or taking aspirin, and with no adverse side effects.

Drinking large quantities (5 or more glasses a day) of fluids other than water, such as coffee, tea, milk, juice, etc., actually increases the risk of coronary heart disease by 147% for women and 46% for men.

"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 lead researcher Dr. Jacqueline Chan.

The reason for this increase is that these liquids require digestion, which may require fluids to move from the blood into the gut -- creating a blood-thickening effect. Plain water, on the other hand, is absorbed quickly and easily into the bloodstream and thins the blood, helping to prevent clots that may clog the arteries.

Remember Dr. Batmanghelidj’s (http://www.newconnexion.net/article/09-01/drb2.html) formula for good hydration: drink half your body weight in ounces of water each day. That means someone weighing 130 lbs should drink 65 ounces, or 8 cups of water a day. And, you need two additional cups of water for every cup of coffee you drink to offset its dehydrating effect. Bottoms up!