Response to Various Opinions on Water Consumption
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This is a response to some of the opinions put forth by others, regarding the source of water and which water we should drink. In particular, I am responding to those in the raw food movement. I’ve been hearing and reading a lot about water from various individuals and I find myself in profound disagreement with some of them.
I am a raw foodist who believes we all should ideally be on a 100% raw food diet. There are many opinions regarding which foods we should consume and in what quantities and I can see that these arguments will continue for some time without a conclusive agreement amongst raw food “experts”. But water is a different matter. There is water that should be consumed and water that should not be consumed except in emergencies. Let me clarify which is which.
My Background in Water
I have been in the bottled water business since 1993 and have sold and promoted ionized water since 1996. I am a Certified Water Facility Operator in the state of Michigan (S5, D5). My father had a doctorate from MIT in Environmental Engineering, taught at Michigan State University for 15 years and ran his own engineering company for 17 years designing municipal water treatment and purification plants throughout mid-Michigan. He taught me most of what I know about water and its various sources.
Wild Springs
I have heard the term “Wild Spring” used lately, which apparently refers to a spring that occurs naturally. This is a term that has been invented out of thin air and now is beginning to be used as a term of reference. There are springs that have been built and developed where there was no spring before, but they do not differ from naturally occurring springs. Spring water is ground water that has been naturally pushed to the surface, usually from deep within the earth, but not always. Water that comes from springs has been exposed to pollution in the first 3 – 5 feet of the soil where it is most concentrated. It is best to draw the water you drink directly from the source from a deep well at least 100 feet down. It is best to draw water from this depth to avoid the pollution that is most highly concentrated in the first few feet of soil.
Springs are also prone to bacterial contamination since bacteria counts are highest in the first 3 feet of soil. Bacterial counts are even higher in surface water such as that found in lakes, rivers and streams.
Other kinds of water are artesian and mineral water. Artesian water is ground water usually below 100 feet that has been forced toward the surface by pressure. Artesian is not an indicator of quality, although it tends to be good quality water.
Water Filtration
I have heard some talk that suggests spring water should not be filtered and I could not disagree with that notion more. I personally don’t drink any water that hasn’t flowed through a carbon filter, preferably a one micron block carbon filter. They remove chlorine and particles from the water down to one micron. There are other filters with various media that can remove iron, fluoride, sulfur and other undesirable elements in water.
I heard one “health guru” state that if he couldn’t drink spring water that they would go days without drinking water until they could get some. This is an absurd statement, especially considering that finding a natural spring is quite difficult. In fact, the chances of finding a natural spring and collecting water from it are next to impossible. I personally am not aware of any natural springs that are open to the public in the state of Michigan. So where will we all go to find our natural spring water? It’s a completely impractical idea for the average person to even considering doing on a regular basis. And to go days without drinking water would be extremely detrimental to your health, therefore I am very much opposed to the Russian concept of dry fasting, that of eating or drinking nothing at all for days at a time.
Consuming Tap Water
I often hear it said that tap water (municipal or city water) should never be consumed under any circumstances. I do not agree with this notion at all. Most tap water can be consumed if it is properly filtered through an adequate carbon and/or KDF filter. Again, I recommend a 1 micron activated carbon filter for this. This removes the chlorine that is found in most tap water. For tap water that contains chloramines instead of chlorine to disinfect I recommend a carbon/KDF filter, since KDF is slightly more effective at removing chloramines than carbon.
I also recommend everyone use a KDF filter to remove chlorine and/or chloramines for your shower or bathtub. If you don’t, then you are absorbing these chemicals into your body through your skin and in your lungs, which is extremely dangerous since they are carcinogens. Carbon will not remove chlorine from hot water.
Pharmaceuticals and Caffeine in ground water
Larger cities quietly started recycling their water in recent years. This policy was kept quiet and not published in any of the trade magazines. Coconut shell carbon is the most effective way to filter out pharmaceuticals, but it certainly won’t get all of them.
The best way to remove anything and everything from your water source, including pharmaceuticals (even caffeine, which is any extremely small molecule), is with reverse osmosis (RO). This purifies the water, meaning it removes everything except the water molecules themselves so you end up with pure water. Distillation achieves the same results. This water should not be consumed since it is acidic, leaches minerals from the body and does not hydrate the body’s cells or tissue. If water is purified then it must be re-mineralized if you wish to consume it. Re-mineralization also makes the water more hydrating, less acidic and it will not leach minerals from the body.
Is water conscious?
I have heard it stated that water is conscious, perhaps even more so than Buddha and Jesus. This is one of the most ridiculous notions I’ve ever heard regarding water. Water is an inert, inorganic substance with two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen molecule. It has no more life than a stone, some plastic or a wooden table. Before the wood was fashioned into a table it was a tree. All plant and animal life created by God is conscious on some level. However, an inanimate object does not have consciousness and to state that two hydrogen molecules and one oxygen molecule that have bonded now has consciousness is absurd and the claim has absolutely no scientific evidence to support it. The anthropopathic practice of assigning feelings or consciousness to inanimate objects has its roots in primitive cultures and has not been in vogue for thousands of years. Water does not think nor is it omniscient anymore than a plant is. Although a plant or animal is conscious, it is not sentient or does it have the ability of self-reflection. Only humans are sentient, which is a gift from God. As for water, when you consume it, you are not drinking anything that thinks.
The vortex effect of water spinning
It has been claimed that water spins from deep within the earth as it reaches the surface and there is no truth to this. It would be nearly impossible to prove that water actually spins as it rises to the surface. Victor Schauberger stated that nature creates vortices as a result of a tremendous and sudden release of energy. A tornado is a good example of this. But water spinning as it rises toward the surface of the earth is unfounded and improvable. It’s another idea that has been invented out of thin air.
Does Water self replicate?
It has been stated that water has the ability of self-replication. Inorganic substances cannot self-replicate or self-reproduce themselves. Living cells are capable of self-replication through mitosis or meiosis. As with regards to whether water is conscious, it is inert and therefore incapable of self-replication. Water is not a living thing.
The Best Drinking Water
Having clarified some of the issues regarding spring water the question remains which water is the best water to consume. That would be Ionized Water of which I have researched and written about extensively since 1996. I have done so because there is nothing more important for the body than water and quite often people recommend the wrong kind of water to drink, such as purified water. Ionized Water has two powerful antioxidant qualities, a negative ORP which reduces oxidation of the body and it is a free radical scavenger because it contains an abundance of electrons. It is alkaline and therefore helps balance the body’s pH. It also has smaller water molecules which penetrate bodily cells and tissue and hydrates them more efficiently than conventional water. This also pushes out substances that don’t belong in the body and are potentially harmful which we call toxins. You can read about Ionized Water in great detail in any of my books, in particular The Miraculous Properties of Ionized Water, which describes what Ionized Water, how it is produced and what we can expect when drinking it. My other publication, Consumer’s Guide to Purchasing a Water Ionizer explains the best way to choose a water ionizer, as well as filtration options.
I recommend the documentary called “Flow” (http://www.flowthefilm.com/) It explores the issue of water control and distribution, who is benefiting financially from it and who is getting hurt because of those decisions. It is quite an eye-opener and a cautionary tale about the future of the world’s fresh water supply.
The Watershed Wellness Center
Lansing, MI
1-888-826-4448
www.watershed.net
