He is best known for believing increased water consumption is the cure for most disease, a view not supported by clinical evidence and considered quackery by medical experts.

[9] Batmanghelidj was trained at St Mary's Hospital Medical School, and practised medicine in the United Kingdom before his return to Iran.

[2] In this book, Batmanghelidj asserts that chronic dehydration is the root cause of most pain and many ailments, opposing the use of drugs to cure conditions that he claimed could instead be addressed by increased water consumption.

[4] He argued that water is an important provider of "hydro-electric" energy for the body and brain, by splitting into its components hydrogen and oxygen.

"[3] His ideas have been criticised by Stephen Barrett, co-founder of the National Council Against Health Fraud and the webmaster of Quackwatch, on several grounds, including a lack of any documented peer-reviewed research and exaggerated claims about the number of patients treated successfully.