DHMO in Water Bottles Concerns Walkers

Walkers are concerned about dihydrogen monoxide (DHMO) in their water bottles. "We always hear about how important it is to stay hydrated and to drink a cup of water every mile when walking, but this DHMO situation has me wondering what to do," said Angela Wasser, a fitness walker from Twin Falls, Idaho.

DMHO - What is a Safe Level?

Researchers confirm that all water bottles contain at least some DHMO. But what level is safe? Debate has raged in the sports medicine community about the dangers of distance runners and walkers drinking too much DHMO, leading to hyponatremia (low blood sodium), and instead recommend sports drinks such as Gatorade or Powerade, which contain salt, be consumed after the first few miles.

Avoiding DHMO

Sports drinks contain DHMO as well, but the danger of overconsumption is reduced by the presence of salt. Sports medicine experts have wavered between "drink when thirsty" and "keep drinking or you'll get dehydrated" as advice for walkers and runners. "Fears of too much DHMO are reduced if walkers use the drink-when-thirsty as the rule of thumb," said Miguel Agua, "But thirst can lag behind the body's need for fluid replacement."

The Best Advice

"This whole debate would be clarified if we just called DHMO by its common name, water, rather than dihydrogen monoxide. I don't know what stuffed shirt started calling water DHMO, but it is confusing everyone," said Wendy Bumgardner, certified marathon coach. "Walkers need to drink water and sports drink when walking, and it just scares them to talk about DHMO in their water bottles rather than calling it water."

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