Are You Drinking the Right Amount of Water?

Drinking the Right Amount of Water? 

Water is one of the most critical elements to life.   In our earliest stage of development we are nearly 100% water and as the fetus develops it continues to be surrounded by a water based solution.  At birth we are approximately 70% water, as we go through our developmental stages, we lose some water and gain more mineral and protein density.

The average adult should be around 60% water, however, most become chronically dehydrated and drop around 45-50% water. This creates problems in the body, that overtime, turn into chronic conditions.  So are you drinking the right amount of water?

All Chemical Reactions Depend on Water:

The chemical reactions in all plants and animals that support life take place in an ionized water (H2O) medium.  It not only provides the medium to make these life sustaining reactions possible, but water itself is often an important reactant or product of these reactions. In short, the chemistry of life is H2O chemistry.

At the cellular level, water plays a significant role alongside cholesterol and saturated fat as the very bonding adhesives in the cell membrane. Together these important structures keep the cell strong & help it to resist toxic & infectious invasion

The Many Critical Roles Water:

1. A medium for every metabolic (energy producing) reaction in the body

2. A generator of hydro-electric and magnet energy within the cell giving the body the power to live and function (the bodies most efficient energy sources)

3. A fluid to capture and pull out toxins in the urine and feces

4. Lubricates and protects joints, organs, & tissues

5. Expands sarcomeres (muscle cell units) allowing for optimal cross-bridge attachment and greater muscular power, strength, & endurance.

6. Electrolyte balance within and out of the cell.

Water and pH Balance:

Most people in our society carry an excess of acidic wastes.  This creates a significant burden in the body.  The blood stream must be at a 7.365 pH level, if it rises or falls one tenth of a pH unit, it’s cause for a visit to the hospital’s intensive care unit.

If blood pH moves two tenths either way, it’s lethal.  and there is a very sensitive buffer system in place to maintain this. Therefore, the body does whatever it must in order to maintain a steady blood pH

Result: Alkaline buffering minerals stripped from:

Our bones & teeth (calcium)

Our muscles & nerves (potassium)

Our arteries (magnesium)

Our joints (sodium)

Excess acidity = stored in fat cells

Alkaline Environment and Health:

Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism January 2009 (1)

“When fruits and vegetables are metabolized they add bicarbonate, an alkaline compound, to the body,” said lead author Dr. Dawson Hughes.  “Our study found that bicarbonate had a favorable effect on bone reabsorption and calcium excretion.  This suggests that increasing the alkali content of the diet may attenuate bone loss in healthy older adults.”

Other research has shown that cancer thrives in an acidic, low oxygen environment (2, 3, 4).  Heart disease and blood vessel disorders are related to low magnesium levels in the smooth muscle within the arteries, and joint degeneration is attributed to poor sodium and fluid content within the synovium that surrounds the joint (5, 6).

All of these effects are due to the common cause of excess acidic wastes within the tissues of our body.  The contributing effect is a life cut short by lifestyle based degeneration and disease.

The Hunzan Water Supply:

High-altitude mountainous cultures such as the Hunzas in Pakistan and the Vilcabambians of Southern Ecuador have been some of the healthiest, longest lived people in the world   Many have lived over 120 years, even up to 150 long, strong, and vibrant years. One of the unique things about these people has to do with their water supply.

Most of their water comes into the villages from snow melt where it picked up highly alkaline minerals in the natural colloidal form as it passed through the mountains on its way down to the villages. Therefore, the water these vibrant cultures were consuming contained a slightly alkaline pH.

Based on this notion, slightly alkalized water is an effective way of regaining your pH balance.  Here are several ways to alkalize your home water naturally

1. Himalayan Pink Salt:   Add in a pinch of Himalayan pink salt to each glass of water or about 1/2 tsp per gallon.  The 84 essential minerals in the salt help to energize the water.
2. Squeeze Lemon or Lime:  Fresh squeezed lemon or lime provides vitamin C, bioflavonoids, potassium and more.  These nutrients have an alkalizing impact when they are metabolized by the body.  Try squeezing a 1/4 lemon or lime in your water.  You can also use an organic lemon or lime juice but it won’t be as good as the fresh source.
3. Apple Cider Vinegar:  Although apple cider vinegar is high in acetic acid, when the body processes this acid, it leaves an alkaline ash to support the bodies well being.  Try putting a tablespoon of ACV in each glass of water.  Be sure to use a raw ACV with the mother in it.  I like Bragg’s here

Finally, consume a plant-based diet that is rich in alkaline foods in the list below.

Berkey Water Filters:

Berkey water filter systems are fantastic due to low cost and their remarkable ability to remove harmful pathogenic bacteria, cysts, parasites, and unhealthy chemical contaminants such as Chlorine to levels higher than 99.99%, while at the same time leaving in the essential minerals your body needs.

Berkey filter systems also distinguish themselves from many other filtration systems by having the capabilities to significantly reduce fluoride and arsenic via the “PF” line of filters.  Each durable Black Berkey filter will last up to 3000 gallons (6000 gallons per set of 2). This is much longer than the majority of water filter solutions on the market.

At 10 gallons per week, this equates to more than 11.5 years of healthy clean drinking water!   Including fluoride and arsenic reduction, 1 gallon of Berkey filtration costs just 7 cents!  Stop and think how much money you could save by the simple reduction in bottled water purchases by regularly using water filtered by your Berkey filter.

Berkey systems do not rely on electricity and they are portable so you can travel with them.  For those of you who live in apartments or rental homes, this is the most cost-effective solution for you.  Check out the various systems and find out what Berkey system would be right for you here.

Sources For This Article Include:

1. Dawson-Hughes B, Harris SS, Palermo NJ, Castaneda-Sceppa C, Rasmussen HM, Dallal GE. Treatment with Potassium Bicarbonate Lowers Calcium Excretion and Bone Resorption in Older Men and Women. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2009;94(1):96-102.

2. Cui J, Mao X, Olman V, Hastings PJ, Xu Y. Hypoxia and miscoupling between reduced energy efficiency and signaling to cell proliferation drive cancer to grow increasingly faster. Journal of Molecular Cell Biology. 2012;4(3):174-176.

3. Lyssiotis CA, Vander-Heiden MG, Muñoz-Pinedo C, Emerling BM. Emerging concepts: linking hypoxic signaling and cancer metabolism. Cell Death Dis. 2012 May 3;3:e303. PMID: 22552280

4. Brahimi-Horn MC, Chiche J, Pouysségur J. Hypoxia and cancer. J Mol Med (Berl). 2007 Dec;85(12):1301-7. PMID: 18026916

5. de Baaij JH, Hoenderop JG, Bindels RJ. Magnesium in man: implications for health and disease. Physiol Rev. 2015 Jan;95(1):1-46. PMID: 25540137

6. Bo S, Pisu E. Role of dietary magnesium in cardiovascular disease prevention, insulin sensitivity and diabetes. Curr Opin Lipidol. 2008 Feb;19(1):50-6. PMID: 18196987