The Natural Hydration Council has issued the following statement:
The opinion of one GP in the UK seems to be dismissing the years of research by scientists in this country and across Europe.
This kind of article is misleading and unhelpful. The average Briton drinks just 200ml of water a day – the equivalent of less than one glass. Last year, the leading European authority of food safety advised that we should be drinking 1.5 – 2.0 litres of water per day.
A 1-2% reduction in body weight over the day can signal mild dehydration and reduce our ability to concentrate. Dehydration can leave us feeling tired, dizzy and suffering from headaches. This is particularly apparent with elderly people who have a higher risk of becoming dehydrated and should not be discouraged from drinking water. For older adults dehydration can often lead to a number of clinical problems including drug toxicity as a result of chronic kidney disease, confusion, urinary tract infections and in the worst case mortality.
Drinking water is one of the best ways to hydrate and contains zero sugar, calories, preservatives or additives. Children aged 4-10 get about one-fifth of their sugar intake from soft and sugar sweetened drinks and those aged 11-18 get about one-third of their sugar intake from soft and sugar sweetened drinks.
So when the country is facing an obesity crisis it’s not helpful to denigrate water.
Source: Natural Hydration Council
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