First of all, there is an abundance of confusing information to be found on the web and in print. One item that is often mention is the battle between bottled water and tap water. The “studies” are saying that bottled water is about the same as tap water. This makes sense because much of the bottled water IS tap water. For instance, in July 2007, Pepsi announced that their brand “Aquafina” is in fact tap water. Isn’t that interesting!

I believe the fluoride in tap water is very unhealthy and the loose regulations on bottled water means that we are gambling every time we drink it. 

Still, you have to put these things in perspective. If you were dying of thirst on a desert island I would think a bottle or two of cold clear spring bottled water would be a very healthy idea.

Ok, enough small talk, I don’t want to go too far into these debates because I don’t really care as they are all missing the point. Let’s look at the big picture. Consider the following;

1)      Rain is distilled water.

All the heating, cooling, evaporation, and condensing processes in our atmosphere are actually purifying and “distilling” our rain water. I think it’s fair to say that rain water is what we as humans, animals and plants SHOULD be drinking, IF we were in an unpolluted world.

2)      The water inside our fruit and vegetables is “distilled”.

When we bite into an orange that was grown in the proper soil, we are ingesting 90% distilled water and 10% organic matter.

3)      Distilled water is pure and clean. There are no human additives such as fluoride and no bacteria or minerals to worry about.

4)     Animals prefer to drink steam distilled water!  We actually tested this idea on our cats. We filled 3 bowls with equal amounts of water; the first bowl with Tap Water (which happens to be untreated well water), the second bowl was filled with Town Water (reverse osmosis) and the third bowl was filled with Steam Distilled Water.  The next morning we found the distilled water bowl empty, the town water half full, and the tap water essentially untouched! Wow…very cool. It’s kind of like the cats spoke to us and said “Hey…we like that distilled stuff…give us more.

These 4 points lead me to believe that distilled water is the way to go. I have read a few comment on the internet about distilled water being a “hungry” water, which takes minerals out of your body and will harm your bones and teeth. This is not true, in fact, just the opposite has been found to occur in cellular research studies. It is a mistaken belief that drinking pure distilled water reduces valuable minerals from living human tissues.

Here’s a few website that agree with this thought, albeit some are from people’s selling a product, which doesn’t make them wrong or right. They just bring up interesting points.

http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/distilledwater.htm

http://www.naturalsolutions1.com/ecodist2.htm

http://www.aquatechnology.net/frame426340.html
I will be following up with more information on this topic in the weeks to come.

Later,
Brian

My wife saw a show on Oprah a few months back that basically confirmed my beliefs in health and longevity. There was a man on it who ate a big bowl of fruit for breakfast, a big salad for lunch, and a regular supper each day. He didn’t need to count calories with this method.  He is 65 years old but apparently has the health of a 20 yr old. Wow!

Here is the link to an article….a good read.

http://www.oprah.com/printarticlefull/oprahshow/20090305-tows-oz-calorie-restriction

So, for now,  I have decided to have at least one meal a day of fruit only (breakfast) or veggies only (lunch or supper), and at least 8 cups of water per day. This will allow me to reduce my calorie intake and to increase my fibre intake without the burden of counting calories each day.  When I am ready I will upgrade to 2 meals per day of veggies or fruit…..but not yet.

Coffee

Mmmm….coffee….sweet wonderful coffee!  Many people can not even fathom going without thier daily coffee or coffee(s). I for one, enjoy a cup with my wife in the afternoon which we both very much look forward to…for the social aspect and the chemical aspect.  We have not missed our daily ritual for a long time. We are talking about changing our afternoon date to tea once in a while but it just hasn’t happened yet.  

The trouble with coffee is that it is a diuretic….which means that it dehydrates your body….note the urge to “pee” after you drink coffee.  In order to counter this, I have read that for each cup of coffee you drink, you need 1  1/2 cups of water to make up for it.

Salty Food

Salt is an electrolyte.  Electrolytes absorb water. This is why drinking alot of water helps flush out the extra sodium in our body…on the other hand a lack of water leaves the salt inside our body. Too much sodium has been linked to high blood pressure and heart disease.

Alcohol

Alcohol is another diuretic. Alcohol encourages the body to lose more water than it takes on by halting the production of the body’s anti-diuretic hormone, resulting in you needing to go to the toilet excessively and so speeding up the loss of fluid from your body, leading to dehydration.

Our Bodies Need Water!!

You have been told a hundred times how important water is….yet when that headache comes or back pain starts…..most people go running to the Advil or Tylenol pills.  Since the ads we see on tv are not saying “take water for a pain free restful night” or “drink water to help mineral absorption and ultimately your health”, most do not think of this as a solution. Chiropractors, doctors and painkillers are money makers and we have all been trained to go running to these easy methods of pain control. Next time, make sure you are hydrated first. Did you know even mild dehydration can cause a lack of energy and tiredness? Think about why this happens and what is happening to your body day in and day out when you lack water.

So….if you have health problems….forget about the pills and make sure you drink 9-13 cups of water per day (depending on your sex, activity level etc).

See what happens and let me know.