Sunday, December 19, 2004

No way to do science

Annoyed to read an editorial in the British Medical Journal yesterday on the health effects of drinking water, concluding that bottled water is no different healthwise from tap water, and costs 1000 times as much. The cost bit is true, but the "expert" who wrote the article in a respectable medical journal is clearly ignorant of the fact that tap water is of necessity chlorinated, that chlorine is an oxidant, and so drinking chlorinated water will create a relative paucity of the vital antioxidants in our system. High antioxidant levels are protective against heart disease, cancer arthritis and aging. So tap water is not good for you. You have to filter the chlorine out at the point of use.

I recommend the Fresh Water Filter Co Ltd because it is simple and straightforward and they once gave me a free filter when I sent a patient their way. But careful how you fit their junction. Of which more later.

The old BMJ is reacting against the non-scientific garbage that gets put about by water enthusiasts, but this Hegelian process is no way to do science. My profession reacted in the same way against manipulation. Osteopaths once over-claimed for their craft, asserting that they could cure the soft bits as well as musculosketetal conditions. So medics said manipulation is total phooey. Wrong.

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