FDA: "Real Water" Could Cause Acute Non-Viral Hepatitis

The FDA has issued a statement urging the public not to drink, cook with, or serve Real Water brand alkaline water, linking it to an outbreak of acute non-viral hepatitis in Nevada. In all cases, Real Water was the consistent factor in what people ate or drank prior to becoming sick, though the FDA mentions that "additional products may be connected to this outbreak." The investigation is ongoing.

Though the outbreak is, according to Real Water, concentrated in Las Vegas, the products associated with the outbreak may also have been shipped to Honolulu, Hawaii; St. George, Utah; Tucson, Arizona; and Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Orange County in California. Hepatitis of all types may include symptoms such as "fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, clay or gray-colored bowel movements, joint pain, yellow eyes, and jaundice." If you're experiencing any of those symptoms and think you might have had Real Water, seek medical attention immediately.

What is Real Water? According to its website, "Real Water is a premium, drinking water with 9.0 pH that utilizes the proprietary E2 Technology, making it the only drinking water on the market that can maintain a stable negative (-) ionization. Since Real Water is alkaline with a 9.0 pH and negative ionized, it can help your body to restore balance and reach your full potential!" This inscrutable explanation is followed by a list of Real Water's key benefits ("Detoxify!" "Hydrate like never before!"), each of which is followed by an asterisk to indicate that these statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.

For its part, Real Water has issued a statement on its website acknowledging the product recall, saying that it's working with the FDA to "achieve a swift resolution" before adding this urgent appeal: "Real Water is asking that all retailers pull the product from the shelf, effective immediately, and hold it in the back rooms or return it to the distributors."