(From my daughter Karen, who works in the medical field):

This is what Prue (my colleague) had to say about your water and coke thingy:

Re the water “facts”, my usual rule of thumb goes as follows: Any claim that uses a statistic e.g. “75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated” without defining its terms (what degree of dehydration? 2%? 4%? we were always trained to define it), the way the data were collected (what did they do – lunge at people on the street, feel their skin elasticity and measure the SG of their urine?), and a cite for the research, is a lie made up by someone with an agenda to push. Same goes for any claim about “research” or a “study” that doesn’t cite exactly where the results are published. All the “water” claims are so vague as to be meaningless e.g. what’s a “weak” thirst mechanism, exactly?

Adding in percentages (“37% of Americans”) is a fairly cheap ploy to add fake credibility to a statement that is vague and/or sweeping. Without the number stuck on, you look at the statement more closely and realise that it’s pseudoscientific gibberish.

Try it: – 48% of Australians’ tiger-detecting abilities have deteriorated seriously as a result of exposure to Diet Coke. – Preliminary research suggests that watching “The Simpsons” makes your shoes wear out 65% faster. (Hey, this is kinda fun).

OK, here’s the specific page for the Coke “facts”, all of which are either untrue or pointless: http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/acid.htm

Cheers,

Karen