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Water. The substance of life. We cannot live without it. And yet, our modern-day lifestyles have compromised our water supply. Getting clean water is not as straight-forward as it used to be.
It is a bit of a tricky and confusing subject because water looks like water. If you get served a clear glass of liquid at the restaurant when you first sit down, why would you have any doubt about its contents? After all, it’s clear and its water. So, what’s the big deal?
There is actually a lot more information on water than you might think. I went to a lecture on water by Dr. Winston Kao who has been studying water for over 30 years. To say my mind was completely blown from all the valuable information I learned, is an understatement. You can read more on him and his valuable information here. For now, I’ll give you some fundamentals we should keep in mind when it comes to selecting and drinking water.
As I was saying, our modern lifestyles have made it so that we have greatly contaminated our water supply. Luckily there are regulations and protocols to help clean the water. However, water is cleaned with chlorine; a substance not meant to be consumed by us in large quantities.
Let me give you one quick example as to why too much chlorine is non-optimal for the body. Because of its structure, chlorine competes with iodine in the body. The thyroid gland is the gland that uses iodine the most to maintain itself regulated. But when we ingest too much chlorine, we throw off the thyroid function. The thyroid gland is already a delicate, fussy gland. It is quite sensitive. So constantly ingesting high levels of chlorine from tap water or some bottled water is not exactly functional for health.
So one point to keep in mind is that the more chemicals and toxins we put in our water supply, the more damage it does to us. The hard part is that the damage is occurring gradually and over time so we don’t notice that it's actually the very water we are drinking that is doing us harm.
Another point to keep in mind is that water, for proper hydration, is only as good as it can effectively enter our cells. How does it do this? With minerals. Minerals such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, etc. occur naturally in the earth. When water comes directly from the earth in it’s natural state, it contains the proper mineral supply to push the water inside the cells when we drink it. However, because of water contamination, water must now get filtered and in this process, it often gets stripped of the naturally containing minerals. So what do we do?
Companies now add synthetic minerals back into the water they bottle. And they market it to you as water with electrolytes (electrolytes are minerals). However, these synthetic minerals are not natural. And the body knows it. Because they are synthetic, they do not hydrate us properly as advertised. Most bottled water in the market is empty water. It doesn’t hydrate properly.
So these are the two main points to keep in mind when selecting the water we drink:
1. Selecting water that is not overloaded with chemicals and toxins
2. Good minerals for proper hydration
Our personal favorite water filters are from Ideal Earth Water and Berkey Filters which can be purchased in the links below:
The best bottled water you can purchase:
1. Mountain Valley Spring Water
2. Fiji
ADDITIONAL NOTE ON WATER
It is a myth that everybody needs 8 glasses of water per day. The more mineral supply we have in our bodies from eating clean whole foods including lots of healthy fats (butter, ghee, coconut oil, olive oil) and vegetables, the less water we need. The basic rule is to drink when you are thirsty. But keep in mind that in general, the worse the diet (refined and processed foods in boxes, sugar, etc), the more water the body will need.
Be Well.
Mariela Villaverde, L.Ac., MAOM
The Functional Co.
