Dr. Saunders Personal Recommendation for Healthy Drinking Water

In The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, the salt sea mocks the thirst of the ship’s crew:

Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.

Water is Essential for Living

• Two thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered by water.
• Scientists seek it on other planets to try to determine if there is any possibility of life.
• Deserts become lifeless in the absence of water.
• A human being is made up of 70% water.

Water has been a source of healing since the beginning of time.  More recently, one doctor has done extensive research on the use of water to cure illness.  It started in an Iranian prison.  His biography includes:

“When the Iranian Revolution broke out in 1979, Dr. Batmanghelidj was placed in the infamous Evin Prison as a political prisoner for two years and seven months. It was there he discovered the healing powers of water. One night, Dr. B. had to treat a fellow prisoner with crippling peptic ulcer pain. With no medications at his disposal, Dr. B. gave him two glasses of water. Within eight minutes, his pain disappeared. He was instructed to drink two glasses of water every three hours and became absolutely pain-free for his four remaining months in the prison.” (http://www.watercure.com/about_drb.html)

Dr. B went on to do research on other illnesses, including muscular pain, arthritis, and degenerative diseases, finding many of them to be treated simply and effectively with water!

You see, we must have pure water in order to maintain proper balance of both nutrients and salts.  Water is essential for all functions of the body:

• The production of energy
• Contraction of muscles
• Removal of waste
• Transportation of nutrients

All these require adequate water to function. Most of our water is not in the blood, but in cells. For example, the muscles work based on the salts dissolved in the water inside and outside of the cell.

We are told to drink eight glasses of water per day, but this may not be good as universal advice. I have a different way to drink water that brings health, vigor and even helps to lose weight.

• If you 
  

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  don’t drink water with a meal, then you eat 30% fewer calories.
• If you drink only water between meals, then you become well-hydrated.  This also helps the digestion to reset between meals.
• Every time a person feels hungry between meals, a drink of water will restore vigor and remove the hunger.  This will also bring health, as Dr. B found.
• While water shakes your thirst, the temperature has a large effect, as well.  Cold water quenches the thirst faster and thus people drink less of it.  In order to get the proper amount of water, it is best to drink it at room temperature.
• Drink alkaline water. You will see significantly positive difference in your health. It’s easy, painless, tastes good and your body cannot live without it. In fact, your body is dying to be properly rehydrated with this water.

Water Purification

Water is known as the “universal solvent,” as most elements and compounds can at least partially dissolve in it.  Because so many substances dissolve in water, we need to be careful about the water we drink.  Water from the ground, either from a well or a spring may contain dissolved substances such as:

• Heavy metals: arsenic, cadmium and lead

OR

• Organic toxins: solvents, pesticides or fertilizers

Furthermore, much of our water has been found to contain drugs, such as Prozac and antibiotics.  City water has been tested and studied extensively; some cities, such as San Diego, have better tap water than some bottled water.  Other cities may have water contaminated by bacteria, parasites, chemicals and salts.

Water grows life!  Any water sitting around will grow bacteria, algae and other microscopic organisms.  Because of this, one type of toxin that is common to all water is chlorine and bromine.  The halides (such as chlorine, bromine and iodine) are potent killers of these contaminants and can thus prevent disease.  Nearly all water purification systems use halides to prevent the growth of microorganisms.   Though chlorine is found in our bodies as salt, chlorine can be toxic, even in small amounts because it produces free-radicals.

How do we get these contaminants out of our water?  Filtration is one important non-toxic way.

Mesh Filters

The first stage of filtration is to remove particles of larger size such as dust, minerals and large organisms.  Often, the “whole house” filters are a mesh that removes particulate matter larger than 20 microns.  This may be dust, sediment or larger microbes.

Sand Filter

City water systems often use huge sand filters to take out physical contaminants, such as dirt, dust and algae that isn’t dissolved.  Many also use activated charcoal to take out other organic and inorganic materials, creating purified water.

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Ceramic Filters

A ceramic filter uses the water pressure to force the water through a porous ceramic stone.  This takes out particles as small as one micron, including bacteria, fungi and cysts that can cause disease.  However, they don’t remove dissolved minerals, such as arsenic, lead and mercury.

Charcoal Filters

Charcoal has pores in the carbon that adhere to organic molecules.  Thus, charcoal filters are useful for holding on to organic toxins such as pesticides, solvents and chlorine.  While most only affect the flavor of the water, some can be harmful to your health.  Charcoal filters don’t remove dissolved minerals like salts, lead and mercury; and some organic molecules that dissolve in the water.

Reverse Osmosis

One very effective way to remove all dissolved toxins and salts is by reverse osmosis.  This works by forcing the water through a membrane that has holes only big enough for one molecule of water to go through.  Anything larger stays on the other side, leaving mostly pure water.  This usually comes in several stages, including several of the above, to get the particles and organic materials out first.  The water from a reverse osmosis system is very pure and great for drinking water.

Distilled water

The most effective way to get pure water is by distillation, or boiling water and condensing it again.  This also needs to be done in stages because the first volatile compounds to boil off will condense on the other side, leaving less-than-pure water.  There are many inexpensive home distilleries available.  This method, though effective, uses lots more energy than other methods, such as reverse osmosis.

pH or Alkaline water

Anyone who is reading about water has heard about alkaline water.  pH refers to the “partial pressure of hydrogen” in water.  Water is a balance of hydroxide (OH-) and hydrogen (H+).  The two together make H-OH, or H20.  The perfect balance of these is a pH of 7.0.  The more hydrogen molecules, the lower the pH – this is the acid side.  The more hydroxide the higher the pH – this is alkaline or basic.

While the body is very careful to maintain the pH at just above 7, there is a range in which everything functions well.  Ideally, however, the higher levels within that range are best.  This keeps the immune system, the enzymes, proteins, and electrolytes working at their peak performance.  When the body is on the acid side there is more inflammation and less efficiency.

Many studies have been done on the acid balance of the body, and an alkaline diet does produce better results.  Keeping the body slightly alkaline may prevent:

• Cancer
• Heart disease
• Arthritis
• Kidney disease
• Liver disease

While the diet has the greatest effect, water can play a role in this.  One study showed that people who already had chronic kidney failure didn’t progress to need dialysis if they drank alkaline water.   (J Am Soc Nephrol, published online 16th July 2009)

However, you don’t need to buy an expensive machine to make your water more alkaline.  Many of these studies, such as the one that prevented kidney failure, used simple baking soda!  The “treatment arm” used ¼ teaspoon of baking soda in water every morning.

My Personal Recommendations for Clean and Healthy Drinking Water:

1. Use an activated charcoal filter.
2. Drink pure water between meals instead of snacking on food.
3. Don’t drink anything with a meal to dilute your digestive juices.
4. Put ¼ teaspoon of baking soda in your water once per day.
5. Drink your water at room temperature.

Drinking water is an important part of any healthy diet and body.  Don’t adulterate your water with flavors, sweeteners, and colors.  Just drink pure water.  This will improve your chances of a long and happy life!