toast water an example of a category of supposedly health-restoring foods. Water in which cereals have been cooked or soaked plays a leading role in traditional folk medicine, and with good reason. Illness drains the body’s energy and fluids. Water prevents dehydration and starch helps to restore strength. In the past, if you wished someone well, it seemed natural to drink his or her health in a liquid in which bread had been steeped. We therefore still toast our friends on formal occasions. Rice water is still given to invalids in many parts of Asia and Africa. Barley water (usually flavoured and fortified with lemon—for vitamin C—and sugar) was a popular energy-giving drink in Britain until about 1980.
