DRINKING about one to two litres of water a
day may protect against the development
of high blood sugar (hyperglycemia),
French researchers report.
In a study of 3,615 men and women with
normal blood sugar levels at the start of the
study, those who reported that they drank
more than 34 ounces of water a day were
21 per cent less likely to develop
hyperglycemia over the next nine years
than those who said they drank 16 ounces
or less daily.
The analysis took into account other factors
that can affect the risk of high blood sugar,
including sex, age, weight, and physical
activity, as well as consumption of beer,
sugary drinks, and wine.
Still, the study doesn’t prove cause and
effect. People who drink more water could
share some unmeasured factor that
accounts for the association between
drinking more water and lower risk of high
blood sugar, says researcher Ronan Roussel,
professor of medicine at the Hospital Bichat
in Paris.
Despite the known influence of water intake
on vasopressin secretion, no study has
investigated a possible association between
drinking water and risk of high blood sugar,
he says.
Participants in the new study were offered
health examinations every three years,
including a self-administered questionnaire
asking how much water, wine, beer-cider,
and sweet drinks they drank a day.
Blood sugar levels were measured at the
study’s onset and about nine years later.
Over the course of the study, 565 people
developed hyperglycemia.