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From Archie Julien

You cite a three-day study showing that any beverage is as effective for keeping the body hydrated as eight glasses of plain water (5 April, p 26).

Water is passed through the kidneys, whose jobs include maintaining proper balances of water and many different acids and salts in the body, and removing toxins and waste. Consumption of plain water allows the kidneys to perform this function while passing water with lower concentrations of the materials being eliminated. Most other beverages will result in higher elimination concentrations, because they contain additional substances that must be eliminated, such as phosphoric acid in soda pop, or sulphites in table wine.

While the cited two groups of athletes drinking plain water or drinking only beverages might have exhibited the same hydration level after three days, those on plain water were giving their kidneys a rest.

Three days is not enough time to see kidney failure problems emerging. Things might be very different if the study had lasted for decades instead of only three days.

I have personal experience with a family member who certainly drank her eight glasses of soda pop every day. She died of kidney failure.

Mackay, Queensland, Australia