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Never had I heard of something so stupid. Drink water only when thirsty? I don't buy it, never will!
LONDON, Ont. -- Drinking water when you're not thirsty could be harmful to your health, according to a surprise finding of medical researchers studying the health fallout from Walkerton's tainted water tragedy.
"We think we have the rare opportunity to identify a problem that will have a huge impact on the general population," Bill Clark, a kidney specialist and chair of the Walkerton Health Study, said yesterday.
The research might have particular implications for people following popular low- carbohydrate diets that stipulate they should consume eight 236-millilitre glasses of water a day.
"We suspect people on the Atkins diet and all these other groups that are encouraged to drink large volumes of fluid every day, that it may actually be deleterious," Clark said.
"We think you should actually drink water when you are thirsty," Clark said.
The Walkerton research group, which draws scientists from the Lawson Health Research Institute, London Health Sciences Centre, University of Western Ontario and McMaster University, discovered 107 of the town's 5,000 residents produced an abnormally high volume of urine that contained protein.
Researchers expect to find that condition in one in a million people.
It was originally suspected that the condition was due to kidney damage from the E. coli contamination of the town's water system in May 2000 which killed seven people and sickened more than 2,600.
But Clark said it now appears that the high urine volumes are brought on by the residents drinking excessively large volumes of water.
"It looks like people who are taking large volumes of fluid develop protein in the urine. We know that that, over an extended period of time, will cause kidney damage."
Clark said the researchers suspect the problem probably exists in the general population but has not been identified. Among other findings reported to residents last night:
- Eighty-four per cent of participants in the study reported being in good to excellent health.
- Among those in fair to poor health, 82 per cent reported their health had remained stable or improved since last year.
- The majority of children who had kidney problems do not have persisting abnor- malities.
Clark said some Walkerton residents are suffering serious health problems because of the E. coli contamination and it has had a significant effect on the quality of life of the community. But he is optimistic researchers will be able to identify any long-term progressive diseases and largely prevent "major negative outcomes."
Walkerton residents have a higher than expected incidence of diabetes, Clark said.
Work is still continuing to see if that is a result of the tainted water or due to other factors.
LONDON, Ont. -- Drinking water when you're not thirsty could be harmful to your health, according to a surprise finding of medical researchers studying the health fallout from Walkerton's tainted water tragedy.
"We think we have the rare opportunity to identify a problem that will have a huge impact on the general population," Bill Clark, a kidney specialist and chair of the Walkerton Health Study, said yesterday.
The research might have particular implications for people following popular low- carbohydrate diets that stipulate they should consume eight 236-millilitre glasses of water a day.
"We suspect people on the Atkins diet and all these other groups that are encouraged to drink large volumes of fluid every day, that it may actually be deleterious," Clark said.
"We think you should actually drink water when you are thirsty," Clark said.
The Walkerton research group, which draws scientists from the Lawson Health Research Institute, London Health Sciences Centre, University of Western Ontario and McMaster University, discovered 107 of the town's 5,000 residents produced an abnormally high volume of urine that contained protein.
Researchers expect to find that condition in one in a million people.
It was originally suspected that the condition was due to kidney damage from the E. coli contamination of the town's water system in May 2000 which killed seven people and sickened more than 2,600.
But Clark said it now appears that the high urine volumes are brought on by the residents drinking excessively large volumes of water.
"It looks like people who are taking large volumes of fluid develop protein in the urine. We know that that, over an extended period of time, will cause kidney damage."
Clark said the researchers suspect the problem probably exists in the general population but has not been identified. Among other findings reported to residents last night:
- Eighty-four per cent of participants in the study reported being in good to excellent health.
- Among those in fair to poor health, 82 per cent reported their health had remained stable or improved since last year.
- The majority of children who had kidney problems do not have persisting abnor- malities.
Clark said some Walkerton residents are suffering serious health problems because of the E. coli contamination and it has had a significant effect on the quality of life of the community. But he is optimistic researchers will be able to identify any long-term progressive diseases and largely prevent "major negative outcomes."
Walkerton residents have a higher than expected incidence of diabetes, Clark said.
Work is still continuing to see if that is a result of the tainted water or due to other factors.
