EU bans claim that water can prevent dehydration

[Gustaf]

This actually makes more sense than it appears to on the surface. Medically, dehydration is the lack of sufficient water and/or electrolytes. Drinking water alone will actually worsen electrolyte loss; this is especially true when the dehydration the result of a disease that causes a lot of vomiting or diahrea, which is the only time most people ever get seriously dehydrated.

I think another factor in this ruling was that the labelling was sought only for bottled water, which doesn't keep you hydrated any more effectively than plenty of other beverages you can buy (or free water from a tap).

I'd also say that the controversy here really seems to be much ado about nothing- this doesn't restrict any company from selling a product, unlike the banana guidelines or whatever, and it's not like people actually need to see a label to know that water is good for them.     

But from the article it seems like it prohibits saying that water can stop the development of dehydration. That is surely true, right?

[Gustaf]

This actually makes more sense than it appears to on the surface. Medically, dehydration is the lack of sufficient water and/or electrolytes. Drinking water alone will actually worsen electrolyte loss; this is especially true when the dehydration the result of a disease that causes a lot of vomiting or diahrea, which is the only time most people ever get seriously dehydrated.

I think another factor in this ruling was that the labelling was sought only for bottled water, which doesn't keep you hydrated any more effectively than plenty of other beverages you can buy (or free water from a tap).

I'd also say that the controversy here really seems to be much ado about nothing- this doesn't restrict any company from selling a product, unlike the banana guidelines or whatever, and it's not like people actually need to see a label to know that water is good for them.     

But from the article it seems like it prohibits saying that water can stop the development of dehydration. That is surely true, right?

Try rereading the area I have bolded in Bacon King's text. In fact a few years ago, there was in Denmark a woman who killed herself by only drinking pure fresh water while rehydrate from a colon cleansing.

I fail to see how that contradicts what I said.

[Gustaf]

Drinking water can prevent mild cases of hypertonic dehydration (I.E., when your body lacks water but still has plenty of electrolytes). It's not going to prevent serious cases caused by an underlying medical problem, though, in such instances water intake is only the treatment of a symptom. It also does nothing to prevent, and in some situations can actually cause or worsen the other forms of dehydration that include electrolyte loss.

Considering that dehydration without electrolyte loss is pretty rare, and when it does happen it's often caused by an illness serious enough that water won't prevent anything, it does appear to me that the EU made the right call here. From what I know, the labelling was just too broad and vague to be considered medically accurate. If they had instead said, "water can prevent mild cases of dehydration when balanced with adequate electrolyte intake," I'm pretty sure that would be considered accurate and acceptable, or something like, "health officials reccomend that you should drink X liters of water every day" would probably work too and still get the point across.

That said, I'd like to see the EFSA's report so I know where they're coming from, rather than relying on my own knowledge of the subject, which may be not even be related to their decision at all. Does anybody know where I could find a link?           

I'm thinking that if one never takes in water one would certainly be dehydrated, no? Thus, it doesn't seem inaccurate to claim that taking in water may prevent dehydration.

I mean, I see your point which seems to be about applicable cases in the West. Obviously marketing water as anti-dehydration seems a bit silly. But it hardly seems ban-worthy to me.

[Gustaf]

Grateful if anyone could point me in the direction of the specific banning directive or regulation.
Also grateful if anyone can actually dispute the report of the EFSA's report other than declaring it to be self-evidently wrong.

Some links:
Why the EU's decision on bottled water was right, Daily Telegraph (Prof Brian Ratcliffe, Nutrition Society spokesman and Professor of Nutrition at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen)

Daft hysteria over the EU's ruling on water and dehydration, Guardian

So, this is what was my main point: "These losses must be replaced each day to avoid losing body water (dehydration) because water cannot be stored in the body."

On the other hand, I never said that this isn't true: "We don’t need to consume water in the form of mineral or tap water because it’s in all things that we consume such as fruits, vegetables, tea, and beer."

Still doesn't really seem to make the decision right to me, to be honest.