Water: The Elixir of Life

by D.M. Murdock

Fresh water is the elixir of life. Unless you're a sea creature, of course! So, how much water should drink in order to thrive? And what type of water?

As is the case with plants, human beings need a variable amount of water. The "one size fits all" approach does not work with diet, exercise or sleep. Nor does it apply to water. A man in the desert will need more water than one in the rainforest. Someone who's been perspiring will be thirstier than someone who has not.

The subject of water consumption is, like so many other health issues, full of confusion. One person recommends drinking nothing but spring water; another insists on distilled. Is H2O just H2O, or is there some "trick" to it?

How much do we need? Again, each of us is different, and different criteria will determine our individual water needs. The adage that we all need eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day, equivalent to a half a gallon, is evidently based on generalized and flawed conclusions. For some people under some circumstances, this 8-glasses-a day amount will be too much; and for others it may be too little. Should we not rely on our own bodies to tell us when we are thirsty? Too much water can actually be fatal; it is called water intoxication. Don't laugh - it's happened!

Too much water flushes water-soluble vitamins and minerals out of the body. The water-induced removal of certain B vitamins may cause a form of neuropathy, while depletion of magnesium could cause heart failure. Too much water combined with high sodium - as in soup or broth, for instance, or with the use of salt tablets, once widely recommended - may lead to congestive heart failure. Again, it's happened.

One fairly easy and reliable way to tell whether or not you are getting enough water - besides your thirst mechanism, which may be faulty, especially if you are aged or ill - is to monitor the color of your urine. If it's too light, you may be getting too much water or not enough B vitamins, especially B2 or riboflavin, which gives urine its yellow color. If your urine is too dark - it could be almost orange or brown - you are definitely dehydrated.

A quart of water a day - or half of the generally recommended amount - may in fact be a good rule of thumb.

One thing is for sure: You should not drink chlorinated, tap water. Most if not all of the world's water is now polluted. Municipal water is a stew of toxic chemicals, while well water contains toxic levels of PCBs. A filter is certainly in order, or at the very least the water filtered at the supermarket or health food store, which in fact is generally pretty high quality. A shower filter would be a good idea, if a household filter is not possible. Your absorption of water - with all its chemicals, including an abundance of chlorine - during the average shower will be higher than is realized.

How water is stored is another problem: Plastic bottles leach chemicals, including xenoestrogens or estrogens that mimic our own bodies' hormones, into the liquids or foods placed in them - and that includes water. There are water bottles manufactured today that are less potentially toxic.

The best water is possibly that which comes directly out of the side of a mountain, although it may contain undesirable microorganisms such as giardia. Allegedly one of the longest-lived peoples ever studied, the legendary Hunzas of the Himalaya, drank copious amounts of high-mountain glacier water, which has been attributed as one of the factors for their longevity. It is unfortunate that the Hunza culture began to go downhill, so to speak, with the building of roads that led to the introduction of denatured food stuffs.

Naturopathic doctor David Williams avers that distilled water is the best because it is the only absolutely pure H2O, with no other ingredients. Pure water will leach out toxins, heavy metals and poisons, acting as a chelation agent.

Despite its reputation, bottled water is often found to contain unacceptable levels of bacteria, and many brands use low-grade plastics that leach chemicals, including xenoestrogens and methyl chloride into the water. Typical tap water contains the following:

• bacteria
• chemicals
• parasites
• pesticides
• pollutants
• viruses

All of these contaminants are removed through the distillation process. Williams's pick for an efficient and economical distillation unit is the Waterwise 9000, which costs about 25 cents a gallon. The Waterwise 9000 utilizes Lexan polycarbonate plastic, which is claimed not leach significant amounts of chemicals, toxins and contaminants into the water. This plastic is also marketed via the company Nalgene and exploded onto the bottled-water scene, promising to be safer than previous water bottles. However, there is apparently a debate as to whether or not this plastic is as safe as it is claimed. Dr. Joe Mercola recommends the following non-leaching types of plastic:

• Polypropylene, designated "#5 PP"
• High-density polyethylene, designated "#2HDPE"
• Low-density polyethylene, designated "#4 LDPE"1

It is highly recommended that you not store anything edible in any other type of plastic, including plastic wrap. Glass jars are the best storage containers for food and water.

Moreover, some medical practitioners - including Dr. Joe Mercola - warn against using distilled water, claiming that it leaches organic, vital minerals out of the body, such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and a host of others. An short-term experiment using distilled water may suffice to demonstrate this effect. Try it and see if your teeth do not start to hurt. It would appear that this side effect is a result of the distilled water leaching minerals out of your body, teeth and bones.

When it comes to H2O, not all waters are created equal, and each individual must determine his or her own level of consumption, as well as the type of water to be consumed. It would appear that the best water comes from deep underground or from mountain glaciers.