Our Bodies Need Water
Our bodies are around 70% water. We use this water for virtually every bodily function. Water aids digestion and transports nutrients. Water is important to circulation and cleanses wastes and toxins. Water helps to regulate our body temperature and lubricates joints and soft tissues. Water helps activate your body's immune system and is an essential component to aiding your natural healing processes.Water is not a beverage of choice, but an essential nutrient!It is thought that water even helps to provide energy for the brain. And yet, we don't drink enough water. Estimates suggest around 75% of us are chronically dehydrated. More than 1 in 3 have a thirst mechanism that is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.
Water can not be produced by the body in sufficient amounts and must be supplied from an outside source.We lose water each day when we go to the bathroom, sweat, and even when we breathe. Loss of water is faster when the weather is hot, when you are physically active, or if you have certain medical conditions such as a fever, vomiting or diarrhoea.
Signs of dehydration include dry mouth, little or dark urine, strong smelling urine, constipation, low energy, fatigue, sluggishness, headaches, dizziness, stretch marks, confusion and muscle spasms. In fact many ailments and illnesses are actually signs of dehydration.
Chronic dehydration is a disease producer. Even low levels of dehydration can affect us in many ways:
1% deficiency makes us thirsty
2% deficiency can trigger fuzzy short term memory
5% deficiency causes a fever
8% deficiency causes the glands to stop producing saliva and the skin to turn blue
10% deficiency causes a person to lose the ability to walk
12% deficiency is fatal
How Much Do I Need?
It varies from person to person, climate and conditions. As we age we naturally dehydrate more and many people, if not most, are in a constant state of dehydration.
In my nutritional practice I see clients with as little as 30% water composition*.General advice is 8 "glasses" per day. More specifically you can use this formula to find the minimum you should have per day on average:
Take your Weight in lbs
Divide by 2 to determine the number of fl. oz
Or divide by 40 to determine the number of pints
Or divide by 70 to determine in litres
Or divide by 70 to determine in litres
For example if you are 10 stone, you are 140 pounds. You need at least 70 fluid ounces or 3 1/2 pints of water or 2 litres per day.
Top Drinking Tip: Drink a pint of water on rising first thing in the morning at least half an hour before breakfast. This is a great way to start your day and get a large proportion of your requirement sorted first thing.
The Problems With Our Water
People aren't drinking enough water largely because they don't like the taste of it.
Nature constantly recycles our water. Evaporation leaves behind contaminants. The rain joins streams where the water spirals down it's windy path being filtered by sand and energised by the sun and the magnetic field of the earth along the way. Minerals are then added by the stones it runs over and the final result is nourishing, life-giving water.
Top Drinking Tip: Drink hot or warm (not cold) water. This allows water to pass straight to the colon without having to be warmed up in the stomach first. It is also very refreshing this way and many people find it a good substitute for tea.
However, between population growth, human waste, dumpsites, pesticides, fertiliser and animal waste, along with industrial hydrocarbons, toxic chemicals and acid rain, we have polluted our air and our streams to the point that no one trusts the safety of their water. Our municipal supplies are recycled numerous times through multiple households! Water is pumped through straight pipes (sometimes lead) to our taps or supplied in leaching plastic bottles.
Water at it's natural source is very different after it has been subjected to such unnatural processes and can lose it's natural "living structure" within 72 hours.
Part of the solution is the chemical treatment of our water supplies in an effort to eliminate some of the contaminants that have accumulated. These chemicals can cause still other contaminants such as chlorine byproducts. Chlorine is a highly reactive chemical which is not good for our gut and hardens our arteries. Not only does it deaden the water stripping it of its natural life giving qualities, it also tastes rank.
With microbiological threats, as well as organic, inorganic and volatile organic chemicals, we have much to be concerned about.People are now turning to filtration of their water at the point of consumption. Many such solutions exist. Learning about the pros and cons of each alternative is important to help you find the answer.
Alternative Purification Solutions
Carbon Filters
These filters work by absorption. They capture contaminants by making them adhere to the carbon in the filter. They do a good job improving the taste and odor because they reduce the level of chlorine byproducts. They may even remove or reduce the level of lead and some lighter weight volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Carbon filters however do not remove bacteria, parasites, heavier VOCs, organic chemicals or help with Total Dissolved Solids or heavy metals.
Pitchers
Table top pitcher jugs like Britta use granulated activated carbon to filter out chlorine and make water taste better. The downside is that the filters are extremely basic and leave behind the majority of contaminants. The water they produce is still high in toxicity and usually acidic.
Pitchers
Table top pitcher jugs like Britta use granulated activated carbon to filter out chlorine and make water taste better. The downside is that the filters are extremely basic and leave behind the majority of contaminants. The water they produce is still high in toxicity and usually acidic.
Ceramic Filters
Ceramic filters work in a similar way to carbon filters. They also use the principle of absorption. They have all of the same benefits and problems as carbon filters. They do have one additional benefit in that they may alkalinize acidic water.
Ultraviolet Treatment
With this method of purification, water passes through a chamber that has an ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet light disinfects or reduces the amount of bacteria. This expensive process needs to be used with other filtration in order to remove other impurities. Ultraviolet treatment, also does nothing to help the pH level of acidic water.
Reverse Osmosis
With this type of filtration, water is forced through a membrane that removes contaminants from the water. These membranes can remove chlorine byproducts, parasites, some bacteria, industrial chemicals, lead, nitrate and toxic metals. The contaminants are washed away with water. They are not effective at removing lighter weight VOCs.
Two problems can arise with reverse osmosis. First the slow process wastes precious water. Second, while removing contaminants, reverse osmosis systems tend to remove all of the beneficial minerals from water, leaving it acidic.
Distillation
Distillation systems boil water and collect the vapours. The process can do a great job of leaving behind heavy metals including arsenic. The boiling process should also kill any bacteria that may be present.
Distillation systems boil water and collect the vapours. The process can do a great job of leaving behind heavy metals including arsenic. The boiling process should also kill any bacteria that may be present.
However VOCs are not removed with distillation as these chemicals tend to boil before the water does and are collected in the vapours. As well, alkalinizing minerals are removed, leaving the water acidic.
Ionization
Water ionizers raise the pH of drinking water by using electrolysis to separate the incoming water stream into acidic and alkaline components. However this form of unnatural purification tends to strip the water of it's natural healthy minerals providing an artificial alkaline water.
Ionization
Water ionizers raise the pH of drinking water by using electrolysis to separate the incoming water stream into acidic and alkaline components. However this form of unnatural purification tends to strip the water of it's natural healthy minerals providing an artificial alkaline water.
Bottled Water
Many people turn to bottled water to give them peace of mind. And yet, bottled water is usually nothing more than water from a civic water supply that has been run through one of the filtration systems listed above.
The deficiencies of the filtration method used can be amplified since the water is then stored in plastic bottles which may contain bacteria. Water is best stored in glass. Plastic can transfer odors, flavours or even leach residues into the water stored inside bottles.
The Importance of pH
pH refers to "potential for hydrogen". All fluids have a pH from 0 to 14. Any fluid with a low pH is acidic. Our internal body fluids have a slightly alkaline pH level of 7.35-7.45. Acidity in our body is usually associated with trouble such as inflammation, infection and disease.
It is believed that alkaline water helps to restore balance while also helping to defend your body against illness.
The most common methods of water filtration remove so much of the minerals that are in our water, that the water is left acidic. Virtually all bottled water available on the market today utilizes these filtration methods and therefore is also acidic. Imagine, people are trying to protect themselves from contaminants by purchasing bottled water, and instead create a condition of acidity throughout the body. This can happen as quickly as within two weeks. The buffers in our stomach simply can't keep up!
The pH of your blood should be within the range 7.35-7.45. A level of 7 or less can be fatal.
Increased acidity in our bodies has been associated with a number of health conditions throughout the body. Acidity is associated with infection and disease. On the contrary it is difficult for diseases to develop and thrive in a predominantly alkaline environment. It is critical that we minimise problems with our health by ensuring that the water we drink is as close as possible to our body's natural pH level.
PiWater
The concept of Pi water was discovered by Japanese researchers more than 40 years ago during research on plant growth cycles. The scientists isolated natural spring water with specifically-charged ion particles (ferric ferrous salt) and referred to it as "living water" from the beneficial effects they perceived it had on plants and animals. They found in later research that this substance had other highly beneficial qualities. Inducing these particles into a high energy state and infusing it through a multi stage filter process creates Pi water.
Natural Spring Water has been filtered by the Earth in ways we do not completely understand which work better than any invented means of purifying water.
Pi water is the closest water to human body water. It possesses high anti-oxidation properties because of it's ability to eliminate free radicals and contains a wide variety of trace minerals essential for the human body. It also provides far infrared energy, and can transfer this energy to other living systems.
Top Drinking Tip: Water should be drunk pure and alone, not with or close to food. If it is combined with food or within other beverages such as juices, or teas and coffees, the body treats it as food and it must pass through the liver before reaching the colon.
Pi water can be created using a special pi filter which also neutralizes the pH of water, making it slightly alkaline and bringing it very close to the pH of body water.
The Effects of Magnets on Water
Water is H2O being two hydrogen atoms attached to one oxygen atom. Because of their tetrahedral structure water molecules have an uneven charge distribution with different charges at each end. Neighbouring water molecules are held together by this uneven charge in a process known as hydrogen bonding and therefore tend to form clusters. Once clustered, water molecules are much harder to absorb at the cellular level.
Applying a high powered magnetic field to water breaks these clusters of molecules into smaller groups. The water is saturated with electron-rich ions to neutralise the free radicals without the application of an unnatural electrical charge. The resulting water becomes "wetter" and is much more absorbable by our bodies.
PiMag Water Products
Nikken has combined the best of western and eastern science in their Pimag® family of water products to give you safe and healthy mineral rich water solutions wherever and whenever you need.
The Nikken Pimag Waterfall is a counter-top tap water filter that has been designed to replicate as closely as possible the natural production of spring water. Feeding your tap water through the top the water slowly falls under gravity through a filter of carbon, silica and sand, over pebbles, and out through a magnetic field before reaching your glass. The system provides superior filtration, reducing more than 30 recognised contaminants, and adds back essential minerals and electrolytes leaving you with an economical supply of Pi / Mag (living and magnetised) water without water wastage or electrical power.
Since we drink a lot of our water away from home Nikken has also introduced a portable Water Bottle incorporating Pi technology.
To assist in bathing there is the Pimag Ultra Shower System certified to reduce chlorine by 90% without adding chemicals to the water.
Next Steps
Take the first step towards better hydration! Contact me with your questions or arrange a meeting to sample the water (we have representatives all over the country), or come along to one of my regular product demonstrations.