The year 2026 is already shaping up to be filled with lots of unusual science. Over the weekend, Joseph Ladapo, Florida's controversial surgeon general, recommended that people start drinking “structured” water, a seemingly fictional form of water that has become popular in the world of alternative medicine.
Ladap did The statement was published in X's Saturday post in response to the Florida Department of Health's very reasonable advice to avoid drinking liquids. After first advising people to avoid drinking from plastic bottles if possible, Ladapo said that “drinking structured water may provide more benefits.” The problem is that, according to real scientists, structured water doesn't actually exist.
“I find it very surprising that someone holding such an important government position could demonstrate a lack of basic knowledge of the sciences,” Timothy Schmidt, head of the chemistry department at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, told Gizmodo.
Avoid plastic bottles whenever possible, and drinking structured water may provide more benefits… https://t.co/MxsVk7R4MN
— Joseph A. Ladapo, MD, PhD (@FLSurgeonGen) January 3, 2026
Snake oil by another name
Structured water also sometimes called hexagonal water or exclusion zone (EZ) water.
Presumably this is “fourth stage“water that is different from liquid, gaseous (water vapor) or solid (ice) water. The originator of the term, bioengineer Gerald Pollack, argued that water can sometimes behave differently near very hydrophilic surfaces or areas filled with substances that are chemically attracted to water. This water supposedly has a structure different from other types of water, hence the name.
Proponents also argue that structured water is made up of three hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms, or H3O2, as opposed to the chemical formula of regular water, H2O. And it's supposed to have a host of additional health benefits over classic water, such as improved nutrient absorption, detoxification, and immune health.
Although it may be anything According to Schmidt, the idea that water might behave strangely around hydrophilic surfaces is where the science ends.
“Structured water is a nebulous idea: in the most fanciful cases they propose a chemical formula that does not exist and is different from the formula of real water, whereas in the most scientifically sound form it describes the unusual properties of water near the interface,” said Schmidt, who previously written about the implausibility of structured water.
Even if the water could take a form resembling what proponents call structured water, Schmidt adds, such a change would be incredibly short-lived and could not be mass-produced and sold to people looking to improve their hydration skills.
“There is no evidence that water with surface properties can be packaged into a product,” he explained. “Water molecules exchange hydrogen atoms with each other in just two milliseconds, and it loses its memory of its structure a billion times faster. Any water structure changes completely in a few trillionths of a second.”
This hasn't stopped people from claiming that they have created structured water products. sold to improve your health, and even the media sometimes deceived according to commercial offer. Schmidt once pays attention to the Sydney Morning Herald. published a 2022 article that credulously repeated claims about the health benefits of structured water, with only a hint of skepticism (it appears that the article has since been demolished).
We must pay tribute to Ladapo: it is true that experts I usually recommend is against reusing plastic water bottles, so his first piece of advice isn't completely unreasonable. However, this has more to do with the fact that bottles can accumulate harmful bacteria over time than with the plastic itself (microplastics, unlike structured water, are a real phenomenon, but their health effects are still being studied).
Florida Surgeon General
Of course, this isn't the first time Ladapo has espoused sketchy health beliefs.
For example, in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ladapo advanced ineffective treatments for viral illness such as hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin (multiple studies have found no benefit), while also an understatement harm of the pandemic. And since Ladapo took over as state surgeon general in September 2021, he has repeatedly misrepresented the safety of vaccines, especially vaccination against covid-19and questioned the value of compulsory vaccination in general (he once compared slavery mandates).
September last year, Ladapo declared his intention eliminate all school vaccination requirements in Florida, a plan so controversial that even President Donald Trump expressed his disdain for it. As of December last year, the supply was reduced remove only some vaccines. Ladapo is also pushing the state to stop water fluoridation, another step. categorically against real experts.
Ladapo selling fictitious water may be a small thing compared to all of the above. But it remains a troubling sign that our country's health care industry is increasingly being run by dedicated anti-science zealots.
