Finding the Best Source of Water
These days water is something that many people take for granted. We are very used to being able to turn on the faucet in the kitchen or bathroom and having clean, safe water come right out. While this is an amazing amenity to have it, has unfortunately gotten to the point that the water that comes out is not as clean and safe as we think. Finding the best source of clean, and safe water is a key strategy when looking to achieve optimal health.
So, let’s talk about what can be in our tap water these days. Depending on where you live, your tap water could have things like fluoride (a proven neurotoxin2), chlorine (which kills the good bacteria in your gut), heavy metals (like lead, mercury, aluminum, and cadmium), herbicides and pesticides (which can disrupt all kinds of physiologic processes), and even residues from medications that people throw down the drain.1 So, as you can see the state of our water supply may not have the bacteria in it that spread infection 100 years ago, but it is far from safe. If your house gets water from a well rather than the municipal water supply this is usually safer, but with the many chemicals that run off into our ground water it is important to test your well water as well. Build-up of toxins in the body is one of the leading contributors of many chronic conditions and symptoms and our drinking water contributes to this in a big way.
As a solution, many people think that getting bottled water is a safer option. This can be true of some bottled waters but not when we are talking about water bottled in plastic. Plastic is a hormone disruptor3 and the plastic from the bottle can leach into the water and end up in us when we drink it. Bisphenol-A (BPA) has gotten some attention as one of these hormone disruptors, so companies started making products without this in the bottle labeling them “BPA-free”. However, to make plastic they have to use another plasticizer which is just as bad. On top of the plastic problem, many large bottled water companies have said that their bottled water is basically just tap water.
This being said, the there are many bottled waters that are good. The ones we want to go for are the spring mineral waters in glass bottles. The good brands in the store will vary depending on where you live. What you want to look for is a brand that lists the mineral content on the side of the bottle. I like waters with lots of sulfates in it as this mineral is an especially healthy one, but just getting a water with any mineral content and no toxins is a win. But while this is a good option for buying water, what should we do about our tap water?
The first and best thing to do is to get a water filter that will bind all these nasty toxins so that you can have clean drinking water. There are many options for this but be sure to get a quality filter. The best ones can be expensive so it is important to do the best you can even if the filter you get is only getting some toxins out it is at least something. The best filters I know of that get everything out are filters like Aqua Tru and Big Berkey, which are counter top filters. For ones you can install under the sink or for ones you can use to filter the whole house you can go to www.friendsofwater.com. With these filters you can be sure that the vast majority of toxins are out of the water before you drink it. But the problem here is that now it is devoid of minerals.
When water comes out of the earth via a spring it is mineral rich and that is the way water should be. Drinking mineral poor water could actually deplete your body of minerals because water likes
to have minerals dissolved in it, and the mineral poor water you drink will soak up minerals from your body and then you will excrete them. So, how do we solve this problem? You could add the minerals back with a mineral supplement, or you could just use your filtered water for cooking and only use it for drinking on occasion.
One way to fix this is to get water from a natural spring. If going out and collecting your water sounds like something you could do then you can go to www.findaspring.com to find the closest natural spring to you. Sometimes the website has information about if the water has been tested, but if it doesn’t it would be a good idea to get the water tested before drinking it. I know this all sounds like a lot to do just have healthy drinking water but being sure your water is as clean and mineral dense as possible is a very important part of decreasing your toxic load and achieving vibrant health. Unfortunately, the current state of our water supply is making these strategies a reality for those who want better water.
Before we end, there is one more aspect of water that is worth discussing. A researcher named Gilbert Ling, and more recently Gerald Pollack at the University of Washington, have discovered that water has the ability to hold energy. When water is energized it has the ability to build what they called 4th phase water in our cells and other places in the body. This 4th phase water is what drives cellular processes and even the flow of blood through our blood vessels. To wrap your head around all the amazing properties of water you can read Dr. Pollacks book called The Fourth Phase of Water.
The reason I mention this is that there are things we can do to increase the amount of energy in the water we drink. Water that comes from a spring has been very energized by the earth, exposing water to light (especially infrared light) can energize it, and vortexing (swirling) it can energize it. You can energize the water in your body by getting natural sunlight or sitting in a infrared sauna. There is even a company, www.thewellnessenterprise.com, that sells devices you can install in your pipes that can help to energize your water.
Water makes up a very large part of our bodies and being sure we have the best quality water in our bodies as well as drinking the best quality water we can is essential in achieve the optimal health we all deserve.
1. Group, E. (2016, April 14). 12 Toxins in Your Drinking Water. Retrieved from https://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/12-toxins-in-your-drinking-water/
2. Shivarajashankara, Y.M., Shivashankara, A.R. (2012). Neurotoxic effect of Fluoride in endemic Skeletal Fluorosis and in experimental Chronic Fluoride Toxicity. Journal of Clinical and Diagnositc Research , 6(4),740-744.
3. Wagner, M., & Oehlmann, J. (2009). Endocrine disruptors in bottled mineral water: total estrogenic burden and migration from plastic bottles. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 16(3), 278-286. doi:10.1007/s11356-009-0107-7
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