WATER FOR HEALTH AND LONGEVITY

by Dr. Lawrence Wilson

December 2020, LD Wilson Consultants, Inc.

All information in this article is for educational purposes only.  It is not for the diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.

 

WARNING: We do not recommend Deer Park Spring Water at this time.  It may be contaminated.     

 

Table Of Contents

 

I. INTRODUCTION

Recommendations

Drinking Water Principles

Shower and Bath Filters

 

II. DETAILS – WHICH WATER TO DRINK

Municipal tap water

Well water

Spring water

Distilled water

Reverse osmosis water

Carbon filtration

Other types of filtration (including alkaline water, open water and others)

Summary

 

 

I. INTRODUCTION

 

Water is not only the most essential substance next to oxygen for human life.  It is also complex, often containing hundreds of dissolved minerals and chemicals.  It is indeed a marvelous substance.

Water for drinking is a whole food.  For this reason, we find that altering it usually damages it, like refining food.  The exceptions are just filtering the water through carbon, a carbon block or a sand filter.  Ozonation of water is also okay.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

 

The reasons for these recommendations are given later in this article.

1. Adults needs to drink about 3 quarts or 3 liters (about 96 ounces) of water daily.  If you weigh over about 250 pounds, have a very physical job, do a lot of physical exercise daily, or perhaps if you live in a very hot and dry climate, you may need a little more.

Drinking more than this, by the way, is not as good.  If you need to drink more than about 3 quarts or 3 liters of water daily, and yet you feel dehydrated or thirsty, or if you have pain in your kidneys or leg cramps, most likely you are drinking the wrong kind of water.

Here is what to do:

- Avoid reverse osmosis water

- If you are drinking spring water, try a different brand.  Alternatively, drink carbon-only filtered tap water if it is safe to drink.  Most tap water hydrates the body.

2.  Do not count other beverages as part of your water intake, except mild, non-caffeinated teas.  Coffee, caffeinated teas, coconut water, juices, or other beverages do not hydrate the body nearly as well as water.

3. The best kinds of water to drink are either spring water (this is usually best) or in America one can drink tap water filtered with only either carbon or a sand filter.

4. Drink a variety of spring waters.  If you drink spring water, alternate the brand you drink, if at all possible. 

Recomended Brands are:

European: Evian, Icelandic Glacial, Icelandic Spring, Aqua Panna, Volvic, Evamor and Voss (but not most other European brands).

 

American: Simple Truth Artesian Water, Simply Sedona, Walmart, Whole Foods (365), Ozarka, Resource, Trader Joes, Sprouts, and Alpine Pure.

 

Canadian: Artesian Spring, Mt. Doug Spring, Canadian Springs, Salt Spring Island Water, (B.C).  You may have a tablespoon of Ice Age Premium Glacial Water per cup of spring or other water, but not.  The reason is it is very low in minerals.

 

Asian/Pacific: Hawaiian Springs, Waikea, Ka-Vita, Eternal (from New Zealand).

 

5. Do not drink much with meals.  Drink only a small cup of water with meals to take your nutritional supplements, and not more.  More than this dilutes your stomach acid and harms digestion quite a lot, in some cases.

6. An excellent idea is to drink about a quart or a liter of water upon arising and at least half an hour before breakfast.  This will usually provoke a bowel movement and gets the day off to a good start.  When you wake up, just relax and drink. 

You may feel a little like you are floating away, and you will urinate more than usual until the water has passed from your system, but it is often the best way to make sure you drink enough water.

It is also often necessary to drink water at night if you wake up.  Formerly, this article recommended against drinking water at night, but we find it necessary, at least for some people.  Otherwise they get leg cramps, pain in the back (kidney pain) or other symptoms when they wake up or even during the night.

A nice idea, but not necessary, is that if you buy spring water in plastic bottles and if you have time, empty it into a glass bottle when you arrive home.  It stays a little purer and more potent this way.

 

WATERS TO AVOID

 

Please avoid:

1. Trinity Water, as it is much too high in fluoride.

2. Deer Park spring water.

3. Many European brands.  These include Perrier, and others.

4. All brands that are labeled, drinking water or purified water.  This includes Aqua Fina, Dasani, Bal, electrolyte waters, and many others. 

Do not be fooled by fancy sounding names or fancy bottling.  These bottled waters are just tap water, often produced by reverse osmosis, which damages the water.

Adding minerals to the water does not fix the serious problems of few minerals in the water and their inability to hydrate the body properly.

5. Alkaline waters of all kinds.

6. Distilled water, except perhaps for a few days during a healing reaction.  Distilled water and reverse osmosis water will demineralize the body.  Read labels because some distilled water says in fine print made with reverse osmosis.  Stay away in this case.

Adding minerals to distilled water damages the hydrating ability of the water.

7. Water from water machines found at supermarkets, for example.  These are made by reverse osmosis.

8. Water from water stores.  This is usually made with reverse osmosis, in our experience.

9. Well water, in many cases.  Some well water is fine, but it is very variable due to agricultural and industrial contamination, and other factors.

10. Tap water, except in America or other nations where you can safely drink it if it is filtered with carbon or sand only.  Tap water is not ideal because it usually has added aluminum and chlorine, and perhaps other chemicals.   However, it often hydrates the body well.  If this is all you can find or afford, then filter it with simple carbon or a sand filter.

In America, tap water is carefully regulated and is usually safe to drink.  However, at least use a Britta or other simple carbon filter to remove chlorine, and change the filter about once a month.  In other nations, the safety of tap water varies.  In many nations, it is not used for drinking.

11. Multiple stage filters, in most cases.  We do not recommend any multi-stage water filters.  They all tend to damage the water. 

Some of them use reverse osmosis, which removes beneficial minerals and damages the water so that it does not hydrate the body as well.

Others use various chemicals such as zinc or copper that also damage the water.  We would avoid them all.  Carbon and carbon block filters are safe, however, provided you change the filters regularly.

12. Other designer waters.  These include Penta Water, Vitamin Water, Smart Water, and others.  We suggest avoiding all of these. They often begin with reverse osmosis water and this is damaged water.

            Alkaline water is popular because it will make you feel better for a while.  However, it is always damaged water that may not hydrate the body as well, and is much more yin, which is a damaging quality in all cases.

13. Structured water.  This can mean various things and usually involves multi-stage filters that we find damage the water.

 

Other cautions about water:

 

1. Always read labels carefully to see if bottled water is actually spring water, or just filtered tap water.  Unless it says spring water, it is not spring water.      

2. We do not suggest water that has been altered by adding minerals, prayers or by other processes.  Many of these are available today.  They often do not hydrate the body well.  Also, most of them begin with tap water and use reverse osmosis to filter the water.  This is not good.

 

Plastic bottles.  In our experience, spring water that comes in plastic bottles is perfectly safe. 

However, to get rid of a little plastic residue, you can pour the water from the plastic bottles into glass bottles.  Discard a tiny amount in the bottom of the plastic bottle, which will contain a lot of the plastic residue.

If you dont want to buy plastic bottles, you may be able to have water delivered in recycled plastic bottles, or you may find a local spring by visiting http://www.findaspring.com. 

 

3. The second best type of drinking water is usually carbon-only filtered tap water if it is safe in your nation.  You can also use a Berkey sand filter.  Use the following cautions with tap water:

 

A. Do not drink softened water, whether it is softened by salt tablets or potassium tablets.

B. Be careful with well water.  Most of it is not that good in the United States, and elsewhere.

C. Use only a carbon filter or other natural filter.  Do not use a multi-stage filter to remove fluoride, lead, etc.  These usually damage the water in some subtle way, in our experience.

D. If your tap water contains toxic metals or toxic chemicals, the following may help:  1) let it sit for a day to let the minerals settle to the bottom.  Then pour off and drink the water without the minerals. OR 2) boil the water.  Then let it sit for a day, and then pour off and drink the water after the minerals have settled on the bottom of the pot. 

 

4. To be well-hydrated, stay away from all substances that tend to dehydrate the body. These are 1) caffeine in any form, 2) sugars and sweets of all types, and 3) alcohol in any form and amount.

Sugars includes fruits, juices, fructose, rice milk, almond milk, soy milk, rice syrup, honey, agave nectar, other sweeteners, coconut milk, coconut water, coconut crme and all other sweet foods and beverages of any type. 

The only juice we suggest is 10-12 ounces of preferably fresh or store-bought carrot juice or 1-2 ounces of wheat grass juice daily.  For the fastest development, do not drink other juices.

 

7. Water for cooking.  If you plan to drink the cooking water, as occurs with pressure-cooking, or in soups, then the best would be spring water or carbon-only filtered tap water if it is safe to drink. 

For steaming or boiling red meat, any type of water will do.

We do not recommend watery soups.  Too much water with food dilutes the digestive juices.  If you want to have soup, it should be thick and not watery, or have only a small cup of soup as an appetizer.

 

DRINKING WATER PRINCIPLES

 

            This is an important part of this article.  Otherwise, the recommendations above may not make sense.

 

1. The type and amount of water one drinks is an essential aspect of health and healing.  Every week, we encounter a person who is not progressing on a development program due to drinking an improper type or not enough drinking water.  If this continues for several years, it can ruin ones health.

 

2. Using any amount of CAFFEINE, SUGARS (INCLUDING FRUIT AND JUICES), or ALCOHOL tends to dehydrate the body by causing water loss.

 

3. The material in this article is based wholly on clinical experience.  Theories abound regarding which water to drink and how much.  We dont consider them too much because ultimately, what is important is what works in the body to promote health.

 

4. Water is more than a beverage.  It is a particular type of energy that we need in a certain amount on a daily basis.  If we do not obtain it, health is negatively impacted.

 

5. Pure water processed only by nature is a type of whole food.  It not only flushes toxins from the body and supplies many needed minerals, but impacts the body in many other subtle ways. Like other whole foods, when it is tampered with, water loses most of its precious healing properties.

 

6. Water processing.  It is okay if spring water is filtered with carbon, carbon block, or a sand filter.  Also okay is ozonating water or passing water by an ultraviolet light.

Sparkling water.  Sparkling water (water with bubbles) is fine.  Adding simple (non-sugar) flavoring found in some sparkling water is also okay, though not ideal.

 Other processing is not good.  This includes multi-stage filters, alkalinizing water, adding minerals, adding sodium bicarbonate, or other additives.

Copper pipes.  Running spring water through copper or steel pipes also does not ruin it, as some health authorities contend.

 

7. Most people do not drink enough pure water.  Adults need about 3 quarts or 3 liters daily, and perhaps a little more if you weigh over 250 pounds or 110  kilograms, do physical labor or vigorous exercise daily, and perhaps more if one lives in a very dry or hot climate.

 

8. Desirable drinking water qualities, in their order of importance, are:

            a) Ability to hydrate the body.  This is the most underrated quality of drinking water. Some types of water, such as reverse osmosis and even distilled water, do not hydrate the body as well as others. 

This means that for some reason the body cannot use the water very well.  One could say it is biologically unavailable to the body cells.  This is a complex phenomenon, but it is true.

b) Purity.  This means the water does not contain too many toxic metals, toxic chemicals, radiation, other harmful energies, or biological toxins such as bacteria, fungi, parasites or viruses.

c)  More yang.  Yang is a physics quality that means warm, compact and with downwardly and inwardly moving energy.  This quality of water depends mainly on its mineral content and its acidity. 

The best water from this perspective contains the alkaline reserve minerals, some trace and ultra-trace minerals, and has a fairly neutral pH or acidity level.

d) The correct minerals.  This is very important, as well. 

 

SHOWER AND BATH WATER FILTERS

 

This article is about drinking water.  For showers and baths, any filter is okay.  A number of companies sell filters that remove some chlorine, and perhaps fluoride or other elements from shower or bath water.

These are fine to use, as is a whole house reverse osmosis system, as long as you dont drink the water.  Most of the shower filters I have seen use KDF or other types of filters.  This is fine for showers and baths.

 

II. DETAILS – WHICH WATER TO DRINK

 

            Finding pure water to drink has been a problem for humanity for ages.  Water for drinking either comes from surface water sources such as rivers and lakes, or from underground wells, springs or deep aquifers.

Water is often classified as hard or soft.  Hard water just means it contains more calcium or lime.  Soft water means it contains less dissolved calcium and often other minerals.  Surface water tends to be softer water, while ground water tends to be hard in many cases.  Popular types of water I will discuss are:

 

1. Tap water

2. Well water

3. Spring water

4. Distilled water

5. Reverse osmosis water

6. Carbon filtration

7. Other types of filters and treatments.  These include water softeners, electrical processes and others.

 

Let us examine each method in more detail.

 

1. MUNICIPAL TAP WATER

 

Tap water in most locations comes from either large wells, or from lakes, rivers or reservoirs constructed specially for the purpose of supplying drinking water.  Building and maintaining the water supply is often the most costly public service provided by cities and towns.  Most cities are proud of their water system and do not hesitate to recommend it for drinking.  In the United States, in particular, public drinking water is heavily regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA.

 

Advantages of tap water.  Most important, tap water seems to hydrate the body well, in most cases.  It also contains a wide variety of minerals that provide vital trace minerals for the body, in most instances.  It is also inexpensive and convenient.  In the United States, but not in most nations, tap water is not contaminated with bacteria, viruses and parasites.  However, in other nations tap water may need to be boiled to kill pathogenic micro-organisms.

 

Disadvantages of tap water.  These include contamination with metals and toxic chemicals, and the addition of more toxic chemicals used to sanitize the water.  Among the contaminants are small quantities of toxic metals and hundreds of toxic chemicals depending on the location.  Another important contaminant is the residue from dozens of medical pharmaceutical drugs.  These are explained in the sections below:

 

Excessive toxic metals.  Many city water supplies, especially wells, contain some excessive amounts toxic metals or toxic amounts or forms of other minerals.  Common toxic metals include arsenic and lead, which are found in many pesticides and herbicides and find their way into the wells and other water supplies.  At times, these are difficult to remove from large amounts of water, so they are just left there even if the water violates environmental standards, especially in poorer nations.

Other minerals that often contaminate drinking water include too much iron, manganese, boron and copper depending on the location.

One way to remove some of these easily is to let a pitcher or pot full of tap water sit for a day and some of the metals will settle to the bottom of the pot.  You can then pour off the water, leaving most of the minerals in the bottom of the pot.  You may lose some beneficial minerals this way, but it is one way to remove some toxic metals, as well.

 

Medical drugs in the tap water.  Today, most city water also contains residues of many medical drugs that do not break down fast enough and are recycled in the water supply.  This is a complete horror that has not received nearly the publicity it deserves.  Most medical drugs including many antibiotics, heart medicines, birth control pills, and hundreds of others pass right through the body unaltered.  They do not biodegrade quickly, and are literally recycled in many communities and go back into the drinking water.

 

Chemicals used to sanitize water – chlorine, aluminum, copper and fluoride.  Cities and towns often add aluminum compounds to water to make solid matter clump and fall to the bottom of holding tanks used at most water treatment plants.  While it removes solid matter, aluminum finds it way into the drinking water.  Excessive aluminum is found in most people's tissue mineral tests.  High levels are associated with memory impairment and dementia.

            Copper or bromine.  City water companies may also add copper and other chemical compounds to reduce the growth of certain harmful algae and molds in reservoirs.  While copper is a nutrient mineral, most people have too much of it in their bodies.  Vegetarian diets are high in copper.  Weak adrenal glands cause copper accumulation.  Birth control pills raise copper and copper intra-uterine devices can drastically raise one's copper level. 

Copper toxicity is extremely common and can cause depression, anxiety, mood swings, panic attacks, fatigue, headaches, skin rashes and even cancer.  Over half the mineral analyses I see reveal elevated levels of tissue copper.  For more on copper, read Copper Toxicity Syndrome.

            The fluoride abomination.  Although laws in America such as the Clean Water Act of 1974 prohibits adding any substance to drinking water except to make it safe, many communities in the USA and Great Britain, in particular, have been convinced by ignorant and corrupt health authorities to add fluorides to their drinking water.  These chemicals are poisons, and are sold as rat poison, in fact.

Fluoride does not reduce tooth decay in most studies of it. Any health authority who reviews the data in an unbiased way would never recommend adding fluorides to drinking water.  In fact, some medical studies show more tooth decay in fluoridated areas.  All nations except the United States and some parts of Great Britain and Australia have given up the practice based on the research and on the principle of people's right to choose whether or not to have their water medicated .  Adding fluoride has nothing to do with the safety of the water, and in fact makes it much more toxic.

            Fluorides are very toxic chemicals, considered as toxic as mercury or lead.  Also, the compound often used, hydrofluosilicic acid, is not pure fluoride but rather a smokestack waste product from fertilizer factories that is about 30% fluoride.  It contains heavy metals, kerosene, benzene, radioactive substances and other toxins.

Adding smokestack waste to drinking water is, in the author's opinion, criminally insane.  Anyone who drinks it is foolish and insane.  The facts are available to anyone who cares to learn about them.  Naturally occurring fluorides are almost as bad and should be avoided at all cost.  For more on fluoridation, read Water Fluoridation on this website.

 

Chlorination of tap water.  To remove bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms, almost all city water companies add chlorine to the drinking water in America.  This works, but chlorination is highly toxic to human beings and animals.

Some researchers assert that a major reason for the drastic rise in heart disease in the early 20th century in Europe and America was the addition of chlorine to the drinking water.  Chlorination of drinking water probably also contributes to cancer and other illnesses, as chlorine is so toxic. 

            Ozone as an alternative. A few American cities including Los Angeles, and some parts of Europe, use ozone to purify their water supply.  Ozone is O3, an unstable form of oxygen that is known to kill almost all pathogenic organisms.  Its only drawback is it does not stay in the water as long as chlorine does. 

Ozonation is much safer, cheaper and more healthful than chlorination.  It will come into wider use as scientists realize the damage chlorine does to humans, animals and plant life.

 

Summary.  Tap water, if unfiltered, often has too many toxic metals and chemicals in it to be good for drinking.  This is variable depending on location.  If tap water is filtered with carbon only (see below), then it will hydrate the body and can be used for drinking, but is not usually as good as a high quality spring water.  Note that carbon can remove some chlorine, but not fluorides.

 

2. WELL WATER

 

              Well water can be fine, but often it is contaminated today.  This is especially the case if one lives in a location that either is or was used for industry or for agriculture.  Sadly, this includes most of the Eastern USA and the Midwest USA, and many parts of other nations as well.

            Even if your location is pristine, wells can easily become contaminated, especially with minerals such as iron, manganese, and occasionally others, too.

            State testing laboratories cannot or will not test for hundreds of toxic chemicals and they often dont even test for contaminants such as high levels of manganese.  I know this to be a problem in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, in the United States, for example, based on many hair mineral test results.

            If you have a well, try to check carefully before using it for drinking purposes.  Most of the time, I find I have to tell people with wells not to drink their well water, unfortunately.

 

3. SPRING WATER

 

            That which is called spring water can be from various sources:

-Some is melted glacial ice.  This water usually has a low level of total dissolved solids and minerals.  An example is Ice Age Glacial water, Icelandic spring water and Whistler Glacial water. 

- Some is from reservoirs. 

- Some is from aquifers, which are large underground lakes, essentially.

- Some is from streams that flow through the earth and bubble up to the surface in certain places.

It is good to drink a mix of these waters, as they are all somewhat different.

Most spring water has been evaporated from the earth and in this way distilled.  Then it has fallen to the earth and been mineralized and filtered by passing through layers of rock and soil. 

Regulation.  In most nations, spring water is highly regulated by the government for purity and mineral content.

Warning: Some Arrowhead spring or drinking water may contain added lithium.  This is not healthful, and not easy to identify.  For this reason, I would avoid all Arrowhead spring or drinking water.

 

            Advantages of spring water and deep artesian well water.  The main advantages appear to be that it often hydrates the body well and, if it is a quality water, it is low in toxic metals, toxic chemicals and pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, parasites and other micro-organisms.  It has been filtered by the earth in ways we do not understand well, but which can work very effectively and often better than any human-invented means of filtering and purifying water.  Another advantage is that it usually contains a wide variety of trace minerals that the human body needs desperately today since the food supply is generally depleted of minerals today.

              Disadvantages to spring water.  These include its cost, having to buy it in plastic bottles, inconvenience of having to carry it home, perhaps questions about its purity and safety in some cases, and variability from spring to spring.

              Government regulation.  The television news often tells us that spring water is unregulated in many nations including the United States.  This is not the truth in the United States, or in many other nations.  Spring water must meet certain strict government criteria to be allowed to be sold and to be labeled as spring water.

             

Summary.  I have found pure spring water to be the best type of drinking water in many cases because it hydrates the body well, and it supplies many needed minerals.  Overall, it is clean and healthful when approved by the government, and it has other invigorating properties due to the natural processing it has been through.

 

4. STEAM DISTILLED WATER

 

Distillation consists of boiling and evaporating water and then recondensing the vapor or steam back into liquid water.  This is a very natural process, and is exactly what occurs when water evaporates into the air and then falls to the ground as rain.

When water is distilled in nature through evaporation, all solid matter is left behind and only pure H20 rises into the air to form clouds that eventually drop their moisture as rain.  This is natures premier water filtration system, in fact.

When water is distilled by mankind, by boiling it and recondensing it, all solid matter is left behind except chemicals that volatilize at a lower temperature than the water.  Most industrial distillers have methods to capture these substances to prevent them from remaining in the water.

For this reason, I find that industrially distilled water is the very best, not home distillers of any kind.  I do not recommend buying a home distiller for this reason.

 

Advantages of distilled water.  Distillation does not significantly damage the subtle properties of water such as its spin, moment, specific gravity and other subtle qualities of the water.  In fact, distilling is the best and really the only way to remove the memory of damage to water that is known to occur when water is contaminated in any way. 

Good quality distilled water is free of most chemicals and all toxic metals.  It is also free of pathogens such as bacteria and viruses.

           

Problems with distilled water. These are many and include:

 

1. Distilled water acts as a chelator in the body.  This is a very serious problem, in our experience.  Distillation (as with reverse osmosis) creates a "hungry" water.  This means it is devoid of minerals and, as  a result, distilled water tends to attract to itself whatever minerals it touches.

When one drinks distilled water, as soon as it enters the body it begins to grab onto and hold onto minerals.  This process is called chelation.  When the distilled water passes out of the body through the kidneys, some of these minerals are lost to the body.  Since it is a mild form of chelation, if one drinks distilled water for more than a few weeks or months, over time it will remove some vital minerals from the body.  This is extremely harmful today because most of us are low in vital minerals to begin with.

 

2. Distilled water lacks nutrient minerals.  Almost everyone is already low in nutrient or vital minerals, and we need to obtain more of them any way we can.  One can absorb some minerals from drinking water.  In fact, good water can supply 30 or 40 trace minerals that the body needs in small quantities.  Unlike spring water or even tap water, distilled water is lacking minerals, so it is less desirable for that reason.

 

3. Distillation produces a slightly acidic water.  Some people do not like this fact.  However, it is not quite the truth.  Used for short periods of time such as a few days during an intense detoxification reaction, it may remove toxic chemicals and metals from the body so that the overall effect is alkalinizing, even though the water itself may be slightly acidic in its pH. 

However, if distilled water is continued for more than a few days, it begins to leach out some vital alkaline reserve minerals that are the ones responsible for making the body more alkaline.  Therefore, long-term use of distilled water can cause the body to become more acidic.

 

4. Metal contamination.  A minor problem with distillation is that metallic distillers, even stainless steel ones, can possibly give up some chromium, nickel, molybdenum, and iron into the water.  It is not a lot, however, as most is bound up in the stainless steel.  An all-glass distiller would be superior, if such a machine were available.  I have not heard of such machines, however.

 

Adding minerals to distilled water.  Some doctors and some designer waters begin with distilled water and add minerals to it to offset the problems of drinking pure distilled water.  However, mineral science is very complex and there are over 40 trace minerals that our bodies need in minute quantities in many cases.  No one, in my view, is very good at figuring out 1) which minerals to add, 2) how much of each, and 3) in what form to add them.

Also, as explained above, water is type of energy and a type of whole food.  Any time you alter it, some of its properties may be damaged or destroyed.  I have reviewed dozens of water products on the internet and elsewhere.  None are very good, in my view, or worth the money.  For this reason, I do not advocate adding minerals, sea salt or anything else to any drinking water.

 

Summary:  Most people should avoid distilled water for the reasons listed above.  I rarely suggest it for a short time only to help with a healing reaction.  Drinking distilled water for longer than this, however, always results in vital mineral deficiencies.

 

5. REVERSE OSMOSIS WATER

 

            Reverse osmosis or RO is by far the most common manmade method of purifying water on earth.  It involves passing water at high pressure through a plastic membrane with tiny holes in it.  Most minerals and chemicals are too large to pass through the membrane and remain behind, resulting in the formation of a largely mineral-free, chemical-free and pathogen-free water.

The design of most RO units includes a way of back flushing the membrane constantly to hopefully prevent excessive buildup of solid matter on the plastic membrane.  This is important or the membrane would be destroyed quickly.  The membrane usually lasts about a year, at which time the water quality deteriorates and the membrane must be replaced.

Gases, such as chlorine, can pass through the membrane.  For this reason, most reverse osmosis units also usually contain pre- and post-filters.  The pre-filter extends the life of the membrane by removing larger particles and certain chemicals.  The carbon post-filter further purifies the water, removing chlorine and other gases that may pass through the filter.

            RO is the most commonly used methods of producing pure water on planet earth.  It is used in almost all home and commercial "drinking water" machines such as those in water stores, supermarkets and health food stores.  It is also used industrially in bottling plants for soda pop, soups, juices, beer and many other drinks.  It is also used on all ships, some aircraft, and in many other applications.  It is much cheaper than distillation.

 

              Advantages of reverse osmosis water.  These include its low level of toxic metals, toxic chemicals and pathogens, and its low cost.

 

              Disadvantages of reverse osmosis water. Unfortunately, RO water has many disadvantages:

 

1. RO water, in general, does not hydrate the body well.  This is its worst aspect.  It is unfortunate, but we see it over and over again.  The plastic membrane must damage the water in some subtle way that we do not understand.

 

2. A residue from the plastic membrane seems to find its way into the water, and then into the body.  This is a consistent finding in everyone who drinks RO water.  So it adds a new toxin to the body, even though the water is quite pure in other ways.

 

3. The water is extremely yin in Chinese medical terms.   This may be because it lacks minerals and because it is contaminated with plastic from the RO membrane.  The yin quality is harmful and best avoided.

 

4. Reverse osmosis water is severely mineral deficient and has an acidic pH.  As with distilled water, it does not supply the body with needed trace minerals, and it may have a mild chelating effect.  This means that it may remove some vital minerals from the body.

The acidic pH is also a slight problem.

 

Summary.  Water filtered by reverse osmosis or RO is not good drinking water, in our experience.  It does not matter if someone has added minerals back to the RO water, boiled it, or done other things to it like praying over it or energizing it in any way that I have seen, so far.

These methods do not seems to undo the damage to the water that occurs due to passing it through the plastic RO membrane.  Please avoid all water made this way for best hydration.

 

Bypassing the RO membrane on a home water filtering system.  Many people have an RO filter on their home or just their sink.  If you wish to use this system for carbon filtration, it is fairly easy to bypass the RO part of your filtering system, in most cases.  This will allow you to keep using the carbon filtration part of the system, which is fine.

The procedure is to open up the cylinder or container on your filtration system that contains the RO membrane.  Then remove the RO membrane, and close up the container tightly.  In most cases, this is all you need to do.

An alternative method is to remove the small tubes or pipes going to the RO membrane container and simply bypassing the RO part by re-connecting the tubes in a different way.  Either of these methods should work okay.

 

DO NOT ADD MINERALS TO REVERSE OSMOSIS WATER (OR TO ANY DRINKING WATER).  The reasons for this are:

 

           Very few people know which minerals they need to add.  Commercial preparations such as electrolyte solutions often do not contain optimal mineral levels for each person.

           Adding salt or sea salt to water may detoxify the body a little, but is a dangerous practice, long term, because the high sodium content can unbalance the minerals in the body by competing with other mineral absorption.

           Most mineral preparations are not pure enough and many, such as coral calcium, can contain some toxic minerals as well.

 

I find it best to obtain minerals primarily from cooked, not raw vegetables.  Other mineral supplements that we use are kelp, 10-12 ounces of carrot juice, a quality sea salt in your food, but not in your water, mineral chelates and dried vegetable capsules. 

 

6. CARBON FILTERS

 

Carbon, also called activated charcoal, is an excellent filtering material.   It is basically charred wood or some other natural substance.  The shape of the carbon molecule causes it to attract a few lighter minerals and most toxic chemicals.  At the same time, it seems to be quite harmless and does not add many toxins to the water it touches.

For best results, the carbon must touch the water for a prolonged period of time.  This means that the larger the carbon filter, and the slower the water flows through it, the better.

Types of carbon filters. Carbon filters comes in two main types. The less costly type is simply powdered charcoal or carbon.  A better type is called a carbon block filter.  The carbon has been compressed to form a more dense block.  The compressed carbon removes more impurities.

 

Advantages of carbon filtration of water.  Carbon is fairly non-toxic, inexpensive and will remove quite a few toxic chemicals and chlorine gas and other gases to some degree.  Also, and most important, carbon will not damage the water at all.  It is a very natural type of water filtration system.

 

Disadvantages of carbon filtration.

1. Carbon will not filter out fluoride or most toxic metals.  It will also not filter out certain small organic and other chemical contaminants.

 

2. All carbon filters clog up and stop working, in time.  There is no reliable way to tell when to change the filter. A dirty carbon filter is worse than no filter at all.

 

3. Carbon readily supports bacterial and fungal growth.  It can begin to occur within days of placing the filter in use.  Some fungi are extremely toxic, though they are tasteless and odorless. One cannot tell without expensive testing whether ones carbon filter is contaminated and when to change it.  Manufacturer's recommendations are not necessarily useful.  It depends on the water source and other conditions.

Some manufacturers state that their carbon filter must be used with chlorinated water to help reduce bacterial and fungal growth.  If yours says this, be sure to observe this caution.

 

4. In order for carbon to work well, water must pass slowly over the carbon.  If it passes quickly, toxins will not be absorbed nearly as well by the carbon.  In most carbon filtering systems, the water passes through the carbon too rapidly to be really effective.

           

Carbon block filters.  A related type of filter is called a carbon block. It consists of activated charcoal that has been compressed at high pressure.  It is much more dense than simple carbon.

The advantages of the carbon block are the water is exposed to more carbon.  Also, the tightly compressed carbon can trap larger particles, including some heavy metals.  As a filtering material, it is far superior to simple carbon.

            Problems with the carbon block, however, are similar to those of regular carbon filters. It can become easily contaminated with fungi and bacteria.  There is no simple test to tell if your filter has become contaminated or how efficiently it is filtering the water.

 

Summary.  Carbon filters definitely can help clean up tap water and other types of water.  They must be changed regularly and frequently, and one must understand that they cannot remove most toxic metals and some toxic chemicals.  One must also beware of bacterial growth on carbon.

 

7. OTHER TYPES OF FILTRATION AND WATER TREATMENTS

 

Berkey sand filters.  These are okay.  They work something like carbon filters.

 

Multi-stage home filtering units. These are heavily advertised today as being superior to carbon filtration.  It is true that these units will remove some fluoride, more toxic chemicals and some toxic metals as well.  Popular brands include Multi-pure, Zero Water and many others.

These units all contain several types of filters to remove different contaminants.  Many contain KDF, along with plasticized beads and other methods, and carbon, to remove fluoride and toxic metals.

Unfortunately, all the multi-stage filters that I have seen damage the water and make it less usable by the body.  As a result, it does not hydrate the body well.  I am not sure which filter medium is causing the problem at this time.  Stay away from these more costly and heavily advertised units at this time.

 

Alkaline water.  I know of three types of alkaline water systems.  All of them have problems and, for this reason, should definitely be avoided.  To alkalinize the body properly, eat loads of cooked vegetables along with kelp capsules.  These contain the alkaline reserve minerals.  As these accumulate in the body, the body becomes more alkaline naturally.  Also, one must avoid all sugars, all alcohol, and all wheat products and most grains for a while.  Alkaline water machines are totally unnatural and have a stimulatory type effect that is not the same as truly alkalinizing the body with the proper diet, lifestyle and mineral replacement therapy.

The most popular alkaline water machines are the platinum-titanium type.  They include the Jupiter, I-Water, Kaagen, and many others.  They use tap water, which passes through a carbon filter.  Then the water passes over electrified platinum-covered titanium plates to alkalinize it.  Then some machines may add a calcium solution or powder to the water to further enhance its alkalinity.  Serious problems with these machines, that are heavily and falsely advertised in my opinion, include:

 

           Yin. Drinking any water that is highly alkaline makes the body more yin.  Yin means sick, cold and expanded in Chinese medical terms.  It is vry harmful, even if ones symptoms improve, at first.

           Cleanliness. Tap water is not a very good base water.  It is quite variable, and most tap water in America and elsewhere is not of excellent quality.  It contains some chlorine compounds, fluorides, medical drug residues, hundreds of toxic chemicals, toxic metals and more.

           Carbon filters cannot remove most toxic metals and many toxic chemicals, no matter what the manufacturers claim.  When water passes quickly over carbon, not that much is removed.  Also, as the carbon filter becomes dirty, it stops working well.

           Platinum is too toxic for any human exposure.  While the amount of exposure is small, we have noted that after using the machine for 6 months or so, some who use it begin to develop a little platinum toxicity.  While this may be okay for most people, some with delicate kidneys or liver problems will be affected.  The amount of platinum absorbed will depend upon ones tap water and ones body chemistry.  The more poorly nourished one is, the more platinum one is likely to absorb.  Other factors such as ones age, vitality, etc. also have an effect.

           White powders added to the water.  One must find out exactly what it is.  Most is not that pure.  Avoid coral calcium powder, for example, or some other contaminated product that adds more toxic metals.

           The advertising for these machines with claims that most Japanese hospitals, and most Japanese people use them is not true, as far as I know.

 

Water store alkaline water.  A few health food stores and water stores are selling even more dangerous alkaline water.  They begin with reverse osmosis water.  Then they add a calcium solution or powder, often coral calcium, to alkalinize it.  Problems with this methodology are:

 

           Yin.  Once again, any alkaline water seems to have a negative yin effect.

           Reverse osmosis does not hydrate the body well at all and should never be used for daily drinking water by most people.

           The calcium solution or powder, especially if it is made from coral calcium, may contain toxic metals.

           Very toxic, possibly.  When toxic metals are added to reverse osmosis water, the hungry water seems to take up the metals easily and drive them deep into the body cells and the kidneys.

 

The Alkastream alkaline water units. This type of alkaline water machine is a non-electric, counter-top or under-the-sink unit that adds a magnesium compound to tap water to alkalinize it.  It avoids the costly and dangerous platinum plates, but it still makes the body too yin, uses tap water which is of poor quality, and possibly ruins the water and causes toxicity from the magnesium compounds used to make the water alkaline.  Avoid this system as well.  For more on alkaline waters, read Alkaline Waters on this website.

 

            Designer waters such as I-water, Pentawater, SmartWater and others.  These are often made from reverse osmosis water, which does not hydrate the body well.  It does not seem to matter what they do to the RO water.  It still does not hydrate well. 

Most of these waters have added minerals.  Not only does this not correct the problems of reverse osmosis, but the minerals will often unbalance the body, if they are even absorbed.  These waters are overpriced, and probably do not hydrate the body well.  So far, none of them will hydrate the body as well as a good quality spring water or most carbon-only filtered tap water.

 

            Open water.  This is a very interesting type of water.  One just adds a few drops of it to drinking water.  For more on this topic, read the article entitled Open Water on this website.

 

            Minerals to add to drinking water.  This is a popular idea, but not usually helpful and, in fact, adding salt can be dangerous.  Adding salt to water may remove a few molecules of toxic metals, but can unbalance the minerals in the body.  Sailors know that drinking salty water is harmful in all cases.

Other problems with added minerals are that one simply does not know which minerals are best.  Some are harmful as they contain toxic metals.  Especially avoid minerals that are added to drinking water that come from the sea, and those that come from land-based mineral deposits or earth mineral deposits.  In my experience, these all contain some toxic metals and the sea-based ones contain salts that can leach vital minerals from the body. 

 

Adding ozone to your drinking water.  Adding ozone to your water will help kill some bacteria and other micro-organisms in the water.  You will also absorb some ozone or extra oxygen from the ozonated water.  To do this, one buys an ozone generator and places the ozone tube in a glass or pitcher of water for about 20 minutes, and this will saturate the water with ozone.

Another, and better way to avail yourself of ozone is with an ozonator/ionizer air purifier in your bedroom at night.  To read about this, click here.

 

              Water softeners.  Some people who have hard water (water with a high calcium content) have a tank in the basement or garage, and they add either salt pellets or potassium pellets periodically to soften the water.  The water passes over the pellets and picks up some sodium and potassium, which tends to dissociate or break up the hard calcium compounds in the water. 

The result is a water that does not leave deposits on faucets, toilets and counter tops.  The water also causes soap and shampoo to lather up somewhat easier, and it may preserve the pipes in the house by getting rid of calcium deposits.

              Water softeners do not purify water.  If ones water is too hard, adding salt may help.  However, it also contaminates the water.  Drinking softened water has been shown to increase heart disease.  Adding potassium may be even worse because the form of potassium used in softeners is somewhat toxic. 

An alternative to deal with hard water is to place either fixed magnets or electromagnets on the pipe leading into the home, and this will have a similar effect to some degree on the water. 


HOW TO DRINK 

 

How much.  Adults need about 96 ounces of water daily or about 3 liters or three quarts daily.  Other beverages are not as good as pure water, and are not a substitute.  One cup of coffee or tea daily is okay, but not more.  Some mild herbal tea is usually okay, but dont overdo.  Dont drink green tea, which is very high in caffeine.

Drink when you arise in the morning.   An excellent way to begin your day is to drink several large glasses of warm water, up to a quart, upon arising in the morning, up to about a liter or a quart.  This will supply you for several hours.  Drinking a number of glasses of heated water will often help with constipation, as well.  In addition, drink about four glasses of water between meals. 

Drink away from meals.  Drink water either up to 20 minutes before a meal or at least one hour after a meal.  This is to avoid diluting the digestive juices.  A little bit of water to take supplements is okay.

 

 

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