Water Therapy Scam?

My friend, Joko felt like vomiting after drinking 1.5 litres of water every morning. He complained to me, the one who had suggested him on doing water therapy.

I asked him, Since when did you do this therapy?.

Since I suffered from rheumatic and excess uric acid disease, about 3 months ago, answered Joko.

You are doing the water therapy for 3 months? How do you feel now?, I said to him.

I'm feeling much better now, the rheumatic that I'd suffered before, I've never experinced anymore, said Joko. But, everytime I finished drinking 1.5 litres of water, I felt like vomiting, added Joko.

You should not continue on doing the water therapy, if you had felt much better. You only keep drinking a glass of water after waking up, and drink when you are thirsty, I answered. What you should keep in mind, is the amount of water that you must consume in a day, beside other liquids you get from your foods, to avoid your body of getting dehydration, I added.

I never thought that Joko was actually doing exactly as I had told him 3 months ago, because lots of people had been considered water therapy as just hoax, and nothing but a scam.

People who considered water therapy was just a scam, are those who have not actually make a practice of doing the therapy, or they might have used the wrong steps.

The Laughing Cons

I arrived to this health article on Ask A Raffles Doctor, titled Is water therapy harmful to the body?, which answered by Dr. Stanley Liew Choon Fong, Specialist in Endocrinology, Raffles Hospital. Here is what I quoted from the article:

The concept that a large amount of water consumed in the morning can cleanse the bowel may be over simplistic. Most of the water we drink is absorbed in the gut, and then used by the cells in our body. The kidneys would excrete the excess water. So, very little water is left behind in the gut to clean the bowel. Otherwise, we would all be having diarrhoea after drinking a large amount of water.

There is no scientific evidence that water therapy has any specific benefits to people with hypertension or diabetes. In fact, healthy diet, regular exercise and keeping body weight in the healthy range are the best lifestyle modifications for people with hypertension and diabetes.

The one that made me laugh was the statement ...having diarrhoea after drinking a large amount of water. The statement was contrary with my previous blog post, based on my own experience to overcome diarrhea without any medicines.

Diarrhea occurs as a result of bacteria or foreign substances (toxic) that attacks the immune system in the gastrointestinal tract. Antibodies in the body reacts to the process of secretion.

Excessive secretion process will lead to dehydration. Acute dehydration can lead to death if not promptly addressed.

How much exactly the water intake in a day?

Here's what I quoted from American Cancer Society, within the article Hydrotherapy, which the page is now no longer existed or indexed by web archive:

The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academies of Science reports that Adequate Intake (AI) of water is around 3.7 liters per day for adult men (over 18 years), and about 2.7 liters for adult women. For pregnant women, daily intake is about 3 liters, and 3.8 for nursing women. A liter is a little more than a quart, so for men, this translates to nearly 4 quarts a day. But this amount of water includes all the liquid in your food and drinks, not just plain water intake.

But.., at the bottom of the article..

Drinking very large amounts of water over short periods of time can lead to serious mineral imbalances in the blood, and death from water intoxication.

The statement above had made Usha Paana Chikitsa, the dawn water treatment, as hoax, or just a scam.

Usha Paana Chikitsa

Usha paana chikitsa, the dawn water treatment, is not good if continued for long. The chikitsa (treatment) is used only in particular diseases and conditions, in which not all people should start drinking 1.5 litres of water early in the morning.

So, water therapy is just for alternative medication, and not for daily habits. Your water intake should only be to fulfil your thirst. Drink only when you are thirsty! All things that are taken excessively might even turn out to be negative, and getting unbalanced nutritions to our body. Notice on your pee! If it's clear, means your body is well hydrate.

Humans are more than 50% water and die in a few days without it. Space scientists eagerly search dry planets for traces of water. Nephrologists spend most of their time thinking and worrying about urine, which is mostly water.

When the heart fails, we drown from too much water. Now we are confronted by the bizarre prospect that water is the cure for hereditary diseases that grotesquely bloat the kidneys with … water.

Dr. Jared J. Grantham, The Kidney Institute, University of Kansas Medical Center

Water Cures: Drugs Kill: How Water Cured Incurable Diseases by Fereydoon Batmanghelidj	Water the Ultimate Cure by Steve Meyerowitz

References:

Journal of the American Society of Nephrology
Therapy for Polycystic Kidney Disease? It's Water, Stupid!

Water and Sea Salt Therapy
Water Cure
Cancer Testimonials (archive)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_therapy

Update: July 17, 2024