Importance of Water
Not drinking enough water could be as harmful to a person’s heart as smoking,
according to a study released last month by Loma Linda University and Medical Center.
Researchers at the California-based institution said that drinking a sufficient amount of
water every day significantly lowers the risk of coronary heart disease.
Jacqueline Chan, chief researcher on the project, told reporters at an April 25 news
conference that sufficient water is as important to heart health as other factors such as
diet, exercise, and abstinence from smoking. The study is the first to show a
connection between levels of water intake and heart health.
Statistics gathered from a study in California showed that healthy men who drank five or
more glasses of water every day had a 54 percent decrease in the risk of fatal coronary
heart disease, compared with those who drank only two glasses of water. Women who drank
five glasses of water each day lowered their fatal heart attack risk by 41 percent.
The data for these findings comes out of a massive research project begun in 1973 that
tracked the health of more than 20,000 health-conscious Californians.
"This study needs to be replicated, and if similar results are found, then this would
be the cheapest and simplest method of
preventing heart disease that could be imagined," says Gary Fraser, who heads up the
Health Study.
Researchers believe that drinking a high volume of plain water works to thin the blood,
thus lowering the risk of blood clots. People who replaced some of the water with other
fluids, such as fruit juice, milk, or soda, did not receive the same protection,
researchers found.
Loma Linda University and Medical Center, established in 1905, is internationally renowned
for its medical research and treatments in areas such as heart transplant surgery and
non-invasive proton beam therapy for prostate and breast cancer. In its mission statement,
LLUMC affirms that its purpose is to continue the "healing ministry of Jesus
Christ" within "a setting of advancing medical science."