We have been told for years about the importance of drinking plenty of water every day.  70% of our body is composed of water, and in fact, no life could exist on earth without water, but is the water we are now drinking really beneficial to us or harmful?

How does water work in our body?  It helps us digest food, maintain proper body temperature, gives our lungs the moisture we need to breath, provides for the form and function of our body's 100 trillion cells, it is the primary ingredient in all bodily fluids including: blood supply, lymph, saliva, glandular secretions and cerebrospinal fluid ? to name a few things water does in the body every day.  Water constitutes, regulates, flows through, cleanses and helps nourish every single part of your body.  But the wrong kind of water - with inorganic minerals, chemicals, and other contaminants - can pollute, clog and turn to stone every part of your body.

What is being added to our water?

  Chlorine is being added to "poison" the bacteria in our water; if you can smell it, it may enter the intestinal tract to destroy helpful bacteria (it was used as a weapon in WW1).  It has been linked to heart disease, senility, and cancer of the bladder, liver, pancreas, colon, and urinary tract. Chlorine is a cheap, effective disinfectant. It kills the germs that spread disease through the water supply to susceptible people. Chlorine can also combine with organic chemicals to form byproducts such as trihalomethanes (THM) and haloacetic acids, which have been linked to reproductive disorders and cancer. It is important to note here that drinking the water is not the only way to get THMs into the body. The use of hot water for washing hands and bathing or showering causes THMs to vaporize so that they can be inhaled and then go directly into the bloodstream through the lungs. Showering with chlorinated water is probably the greatest exposure route

  Fluoride: Next to chlorination, fluoridation of the public water supply has been hailed as one of the great public health victories of the last century. But there is a lot of controversy about water fluoridation, to put it mildly. No study has demonstrated that fluoride is an essential nutrient for people. Above very trace levels the research is accumulating that fluoride has a very toxic effect on many systems of the body. Added fluoride compounds have been shown not to be necessary for healthy bones and teeth. Data from the World Health Organization shows that in Europe, where fluoridation is uncommon, the rates of cavities among children has decreased as much in recent years as in areas where fluoridation is practiced. So, the claim that fluoride in the water is beneficial has really not held up to independent scientific scrutiny. Furthermore, there are adverse effects of taking in too much fluoride. First, systemic fluoridation leads to more brittle, fragile bones. Eighteen studies are cited on Fluoride Action Network's website showing that fluoride would increase bone mass density but reduce strength of the bone at the same time, due to fluoride-caused defects in the bone structure. Fluoride combines readily with low levels of aluminum in drinking water and tends to accumulate in the brain. Rats drinking distilled water with sodium fluoride added had twice the amount of aluminum in their brains as control rats, and rats drinking water laced with aluminum fluoride had even higher levels. Neurotoxic morphological changes were seen in brain tissue of the rats in both the sodium fluoride and aluminum fluoride groups compared to the control rats, including changes similar to what is seen in Alzheimer?s disease. And the level of fluoride used in this study? It was 0.95 ppm fluoride, the same level as what is recommended by public health officials to "protect teeth". In addition, fluoride and iodine, both being halogens, compete for uptake by the thyroid gland. This results in hypothyroidism in some cases.

Arsenic is an element that occurs naturally in the earth's crust. Arsenic is also used industrially, another potential source of contamination. Ground water can contain arsenic in unhealthy levels. Arsenic is odorless and tasteless, so it can only be detected by chemical analysis of the water. The EPA states, "Non-cancer effects can include thickening and discoloration of the skin, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting; diarrhea; numbness in hands and feet; partial paralysis; and blindness. Arsenic has been linked to cancer of the bladder, lungs, skin, kidney, nasal passages, liver, and prostate."

A new class of pollutants has been added to our environment with the advent of the chemical age: pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and industrial-source pollutants. A lot of effort has gone into making the waste streams of American industries be much cleaner. However, little has been done about consumer-generated pollution. What happens to the drugs we take? Only a small amount is utilized by the body and the rest goes to the sewer treatment plant. And all of the things we put on our bodies and in our hair also end up the same place. Ingredients from pharmaceuticals and personal care products have been found in rivers and streams worldwide as noted in Table 1. Waste treatment plants catch some of these compounds but they are not designed (yet) to handle the many drugs that come their way. While these drugs get diluted in the water, the effect on the environment is not yet known

In an update of Paul Bragg's book; The Shocking Truth About Water, he cites an ABC News study revealing that more than 700 chemicals have been found in our drinking water, and 129 of these chemicals have been cited by the EPA as posing serious health risks.  Yet the EPA requires testing for only 14 of these chemicals.

What about pure, low mineral water?

There is some hard data showing that there are extra losses of minerals as a result a drinking low mineral water. In spite of these homeostatic controls, minerals really can be removed from the body by distilled water. This is a major finding, because advocates of distilled water claim that the minerals in the body are protected in some way from being taken out by distilled water. It is a nice idea, but these animal and human studies argue that it really doesn't work that way.

What are our options?  The only type of water we recommend is alkalinized water.  Simple water filters do not remove all chemicals and minerals, although it is preferred to drinking regular city tap water. Reverse-osmosis & distilled methods of purification are reliable for removing the toxic substances from the water. However, the body does better with some minerals present in the water. Extra loss of minerals from our bodies occurs without minerals in the water. Minerals in ionic form can be utilized from water; in fact, some ions occur naturally in foods and in our body fluids. The optimal water is free from pollutants, fluoride, and chlorine, and has sufficient nutritional minerals in it to make it passive rather than aggressive. The solution to this is to drink water that has been put through an ionizer. It purifies the water, removing the toxic substances; has smaller microclusters of water, making it more hydrating; has the ionic minerals in the water; and, perhaps the most important factor, is the anti-oxidants that are present in the water, helping fight the free radicals that cause disease. In addition, because it is an alkaline water it helps to restore a healthy balance in the body. It is the best choice for long-term health.

According to Dr. Batmanghelidj the following is a partial list of dehydration symptoms that are typically treated as disease: allergies, asthma; chronic pain - including dyspeptic pain, rheumatoid arthritis pain, angina pain, low back pain, intermittent leg pain on walking, migraine and hangover headaches, colitis pain, and its associated constipation, depression, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, lupus, diabetes, and Multiple Sclerosis.

What can you do to prevent or overcome dehydration?

•         Begin by eliminating the dehydrating factors in your life - caffeinated beverages, coffee, tea, colas, and processed foods.
•         Increase your intake of pure water. We recommend reverse-osmosis or distilled water. Try to drink 8 - 10 glasses each day.
•         Drink a glass of water about 1/2 hour before eating. This will increase the moisture in the stomach without diluting the digestive juices that the body needs to digest your food.
•         DON"T drink with your meals!
•         Drink a couple of glasses of water before going to bed and then two more (hot) immediately upon rising. This will help with the dehydration that occurs through the sleeping hours.

Are you drinking the amount of water you should every day?

Water facts!

- One glass of water shuts down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University study.
- Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

- Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

- A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or

- Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.