FACTS, FADS AND FRAUDS IN NUTRITION 23 



advertised as a cure for arthritis. There are plenty of such on the market, 

 however, and more will continue to appear so long as the unfortunate sufferers 

 from this disease continue to patronize them. 



4. FASTING CURES 



Another age-old fallacy. Fasting regimes have been heralded as a cure for 

 smallpox, appendicitis, pernicious anemia, colds, rheumatism, and so-called 

 acidosis. To be sure there are digestive disturbances in which food becomes 

 distasteful and may well be left alone until natural appetite returns, but there 

 is no magic in fasting as a cure for disease. The fasting fad is much less popular 

 today than it was a generation ago but occasional enthusiasts are still en- 

 countered. 



THERAPEUTIC CLAIMS FOR MINERAL OR SPRING WATERS 



Since the question of the supposed health value of drinking water from some 

 special source occasionally arises, an authoritative answer to this question is 

 in order. » 



Mineral, spring, natural or alkaline waters are usually advertised 

 with unwarranted claims as to their health values. These waters are 

 often alleged to possess curative and medicinal properties. 



Analyses of most of these waters do not disclose explanations or evi- 

 dence for remarkable curative properties. In many cases the deceptive 

 therapeutic claims are the result of hearsay and illusion, or of deliberate 

 scheming to defraud. 



Formerly, therapeutic properties were attributed to mineral waters 

 containing lithium or possessing radioactivity. Such characteristics as 

 radioactivity or the presence of lithium in drinking water have not been 

 shown to have useful effects. Strongly radioactive waters may be dis- 

 tinctly harmful. Natural waters' contain only traces of lithium. The 

 fortification of waters with lithium salts has no rational foundation; 

 larger doses of lithium may be dangerous. 



Spring waters of low mineral content are not to be distinguished 

 physiologically from ordinary potable tap or drinking water; their prop- 

 erties for meeting the water needs of the body are the same. Drinking 

 water should be pleasing to the taste and free from contamination that 

 may produce disease. Therapeutic or curative claims for mineral waters 

 that are not laxative are to be viewed with suspicion. 



The daily water requirements for health cannot be defined with any 

 degree of exactness, as activity, temperature and other conditions influ- 

 ence the demands. Sufficient water should be taken with meals and 

 between meals to satisfy thirst. Glutting the body with water is not 

 justified. Under disease conditions the physician should prescribe the 

 water intake. 



Good bottled waters of uniform composition of tested purity and 

 freedom from pathogenic contamination at the source and protected 

 from possible contamination during transit to the consumer have special 

 usefulness; they serve as refreshing, pleasing drinking water with a 

 maximum safety assurance and merit the support of popular and pro- 

 fessional advertising appropriate for pure potable water. 



A pamphlet published by the Bureau of Investigation of the American 

 Medical Association gives a list of several mineral waters which have carried 

 misleading and deceptive advertising. 43 The Food and Drug Administration 

 has published notices of judgment against two others: Witter Water (N.J. 

 21188) and Cal Spa Water (N.J. 20886). 



Reference 1 on page 4. 



Bur. Inv. A.M. A. Pamphlet — Mineral Waters. 



