What is it with Complementary & Alternative Medicine communities and their crazed fixation on only ever coming into to contact with absolutely, scrupulously and perfectly pure water? And why does no-one ever point out that the minute they pour it into a glass, kettle or pot of dried lentils, all the effort to purify it has gone out the window?
The company I'd like to introduce you to is PureH20. Alas, the interweb has ensured that '2' rarely gets to be subscript.
The website has a myriad of bullshit, fear-mongering, pseudoscience and amazing state-the-bleedin-obvious facts like
Water is absolutely vital for healthI would honestly like to know if there is anyone to whom that comes as a revelation. And I mean anyone in the whole world.
Did you know that
most of us have lost our proper thirst reflex by the end of our childhood?
or that
Bottled and tap waters contain many impurities like heavy metals and inorganic minerals that are likely to have an adverse effect on your healthSo no shortage of bullshit to keep you entertained. Their purification system is definately a first in chemical synthesis though:
Water filtered using our patented system removes all the chemicals and impurities, both organics and inorganics, to provide you with one hydrogen atom and two oxygen atoms(my bold)
Oh. I assumed they were selling water rather than HO2, who'd have thunk? As if all the sillyness wasn't enough we get:
The fifth function [of water] - that of an electronegative enhancer (something which increases the negativity of red blood cells thereby maintaining the optimum distance between each cell and could therefore reduce the risk of clotting) - was first documented by renowned chemist Thomas Riddick over 100 years ago. Subsequent studies confirm that when water was consumed in its purest form, i.e. Pure H2O, it has remarkable and unique health benefits.
Needless to say there's no pointer to the studies (and I reckon no point in discussing further).
We all know there are dangers with drinking too much water - Nutritional Therapist Barbara Nash settled out of court with the family of Dawn Page who had suffered brain damage following Nash's "Amazing Hydration Diet". (Of course the media ran this story, seemingly blissfully unaware of how their own repeated pumping of uncritical fawning towards similar 'miracle cures' had in some part lead to the situation arising). Nash was an Alumnus of the College of Natural Nutrition - avid TiD readers will remember Nash's teacher, Barbara Wren happily telling people that a urine press placed on the neck will combat thyoid cancer. She also had plenty to say about her own fetish for pure water.
So how can a company like PureH20 (or is it HO2?) manage to write such drivel without a challenge? Well, some rebuff came today in the form of an Advertising Standards Authority ruling from a magazine advert.
Here are a few of the claims which were 'questioned':
Clinically proven to reduce LDL cholesterol and blood pressure...Help prevent cancer by acting as an antioxidant...reduce stress levels...Reduce your body pollutants and can help reduce urinary infections ... Help prevent, ulcers, IBS and constipation
Now of course, not *all* water does this, that would be silly, only PureH2O's special water does this. (Although it's not the first time the ASA slapped down a company for claiming water could lower cholesterol)
So, let me just reiterate what they saying: Water - good against cancer, cholesterol, blood pressure, stress, and others. I'll put it to you there isn't a person with any of these problems who *isn't* taking water. And if they aren't, their disease profile is irrelevant, as they'll die of thirst.
What about if I want to drink mineral water - have you any advice or fear for me?
Water can be bad for you ... Every time you drink mineral water, a high level of minerals, such as calcium, are deposited in your body. Every time you drink a glass of tap water, you're digesting contaminants such as salts, minerals, metals, pesticides, microbes, hormones and parasites ... Your body becomes toxically overloaded ... Over time, this build up can contribute to chronic kidney disease, heart failure or skeletal fluorosis...a toxic cocktail
Toxic cocktail, eh? Mineral water? They're really spreading the stupid on thick.
The Pure H2O Co. said the claims were supported by a thesis on Pure H2O for the British Institute of Homeopathy and Westbrook University, USA, carried out as a PhD by Dr Purkait from the University of Surrey. I suppose if anyone knows about pure uncontaminated water, a homeopath would. Sensibly, the ASA noted:
[the claims were] from a manufacturer of a water purification system whose promotional literature also appeared in the thesis, and considered it was therefore not sufficiently impartialCheap hucksterism and nothing more.
As usual the ASA has done a sterling job of smacking down the quacks. As always, my irk is that they have no power and little influence but to continue playing whack-a-mole (whack-a-quack?) with the snakeoil sellers. Not quite selling snow to eskimos, but water to idiots.
BPSDB
