The Rogues' Gallery

NFL Star Quarterback Peddling Magic Water

Evan Bernstein August 27, 2015 3 Comments

Russell Wilson is the starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks from the National Football League. He is one of the high-profile players in the sport, having led his team to a Super Bowl victory 2 years ago, and almost won it again last year. He recently signed a very lucrative 87 million dollar contract. He is arguably footballs biggest rising star.

In the latest issue of Rolling Stone Magazine, Wilson claims he recovered from a head injury last season by drinking water. Not just any water, it’s special water from a company he promotes. The product is called Recovery Water, and Wilson says it has also helped his teammates recover quickly from serious injuries. He says “I banged my head during the Packers game in the playoffs, and the next day I was fine … it was the water.”

From the Recovery Water website:

Take daily hydration* to the next level with Recovery Water. When integrated into your active lifestyle, Recovery Water improves your body’s natural restoration process, which means less muscle soreness and fatigue. This superior water even heightens your sense of well-being, helping you stay sharp and focused for what lies ahead. Created from unique technology, Recovery Water has undergone years of research, proving** that this one-of-a-kind beverage goes beyond water to achieve just one goal: To help you feel and function better every day.

Here are the asterisk notes:

*Drinking Recovery Water 2-3 times daily will keep you hydrated and allow you to enjoy the full benefits of the water.

**Studies conducted by University of Florida and Seattle Sports Medicine found that those who integrated Recovery Water into their active lifestyle experienced less muscle damage and 20% decrease in muscle fatigue. For more information, see the articles in The American Physiological Society Journal of Applied Physiology and the Hindawi Physiology Journal. Also, check out the summary poster from Seattle Performance Medicine.

The articles they are referring to are here and here. The studies looked at the supposed benefits of consuming “electrokinetically modified water” (EMW). The conclusion statement from the 2014 publication reads as such:

Conclusions: Oral consumption of EMW for 18 days prior to high intensity resistance exercise can significantly reduce muscular fatigue and RPE during strenuous exercise. The combined effects of fatigue attenuation and lower RPE may decrease the risk for musculoskeletal injury as well as enhance postexercise recovery mechanisms.

Conflict of Interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.

Acknowledgments: The study was supported by the Revalesio Corporation (Tacoma, WA, USA). The authors would like to thank Dr. Andreas Kalmes for help with editing. The results of the current study do not constitute endorsement of the product by the authors or the journal.

The Revaiesio Corporation produces the Recovery Water product. Their exact “support” of the study is unclear, and how exactly their involvement does not constitute a conflict of interest is also unclear.

What is perfectly clear is that the product is, simply, water. It starts off as dihydrogen monoxide, goes through whatever “nano” process, hand-waiving, or spell-casting they perform, and the final product ends up being … dihydrogen monoxide. Replication of the study has yet to be performed, nor is it likely to be replicated because the results of the study are exactly what Revaiesio wants, and represents one of the two things they need to sell their product.

The other thing they need is a useful idiot, preferably an pro athlete from one of the major US sports, and ideally, one of the sport’s biggest stars. So in addition to the Seattle Seahawks, Russel Wilson is also quarterbacking the Revaiesio public relations team, who’s Recover Water product sells for $3 per bottle!