“I got this powdered water – now I don’t know what to add” – Steven Wright

written by Michael O’Leary

H2O might lower your risk of a rising A1c depending on how much you drink each day.

A nine-year study of 3,615 middle-aged, French men and women with normal fasting blood glucose levels at the start of the study showed that the risk of developing excessive blood sugar levels decreased the more water people drank. (Link to published site)

The researchers followed the participants by periodically asking them to fill out a questionnaire that included questions about water and alcohol intake, tobacco use, and exercise levels. They also underwent clinical exams including blood tests that documented blood levels of glucose, insulin, triglycerides, and HDL-cholesterol. The study appeared online Oct. 12, in Diabetes Care.

Based on the questions about daily water consumption they categorized the participants into three groups according to the amount of water they drank each day. The 677 people in the lowest consumption group drank less than half a liter each day. Another 1,754 people said they drank between half a liter and 1 liter of water daily, and 1,184 people said they drank more than 1 liter of water a day.

By the end of the study 565 people had documented high levels of blood glucose (hyperglycemia). When they made adjustments other factors, the researchers calculated the odds for developing hyperglycemia for each of the three groups.

For the lowest consumption group the odds of developing hyperglycemia was 1.0 meaning those people had a 50-50 chance of developing type 2 diabetes. The middle group had an odds ratio of 0.68, or a 32 percent chance or developing the disease. The group with the highest water consumption had an odds ratio of .79, or a 21 percent chance of developing hyperglycemia.

In short, they found that as intake of water increased, the risk of developing hyperglycemia decreased.

Because the study is based on questionnaires where people were asked to report their own water consumption, this type of study is not considered to be a strong scientific study, compared to a study where groups are actually given prescribed amounts of something and then compared. When asked about a health behavior, such as how much water a day to you drink, people tend to underestimate or overestimate the quantity they actually consume.

To find of if water intake actually affects type 2 diabetes risk, researchers will have to undertake studies where water consumption is measured and controlled over a long period of time in a large number of people. Such studies, however are very difficult and expensive to conduct.

In the meantime, it couldn’t hurt to drink an extra glass of water a day.