What's In Your Water?
publication date: Jan 30, 2010
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author/source: East West Healing and Performance
By East West Healing and Performance  Water is the most abundant and important substance on Earth and in the human body. We turn to water for healing (and feelings) in all dimensions of our lives-from hot tubs to hydrotherapy, from bathing to baptism, the mere sight of water, a mountain lake or ocean tide, can ease the pain of psychological wounds. In fact, pain of physical wounds is also healed through water. When we are injured our bloodstream carries repair substances to the injury site, 81% of which is water! When toxic substances make there way into our bodies, or urine (95% water) and our sweat (99% water) usually carries the toxins back out. I think you are catching my point, that in these, and countless other ways, water is fundamental to life. Without clean water, we cannot experience optimum health, but by practically every public standard issued during the past 50 years, humans have not experienced optimum health. One of the reasons for this fact is simple- the Earth’s water is in crisis. Crisis- from the Greek word krisis, meaning “turning pint” or “point of decision”-is exactly the right word to describe our present day relationship with water, both nutritionally and ecologically. The resolution of this crisis is so fundamental to our personal health of our planet that we must look more closely at water than we look at any other nutrient. Drying Up According to Wirthlin world-wide, a market research company, 20% of us drink no water at all, and 42% of us consume a mere 2 glasses or fewer. At the same time, we are consuming on average, 1.8 cups of coffee. 1.3 cups of soda, 1.2 cups of milk and 1.1 cups of juice a day. Point blank, we are drying ourselves out (technical term is dehydration). Dehydration is linked with to a long list of chronic health problems including adult-onset diabetes, arthritis, asthma, back pain, cataracts, chronic fatigue syndrome, colitis, depression, heartburn, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, kidney stones, lupus, migraines, multiple sclerosis, and muscle dystrophy. Eerily similar to the health crisis is our bodies, where dehydration is increasing our risk of chronic disease, we are experiencing a crisis with the water in our environment, as some bodies of water in the United States are drying up! Getting Diverted All water needs to get where it was originally designed to go, and in the case of human beings, that means directly into our bodies and not detoured as a result of drinking pop and coffee. Not only with cutting back on water and pop allow us to improve our own water status but we can also take some environmental steps by helping water reach its natural destination. Meaning, if we leave water alone-rather then diverting it into reservoirs or damming its flow-it will typically become more mineralized and more supportive of our health. Studies in Sweden have shown that if everyone in the country were to dink with the highest naturally occurring magnesium levels, death from heart attacks would drop by about 19%. In fact, increases in water magnesium as small as 6mg per liter might be able to reduce ischemic heart disease by 10%. Becoming Toxic Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey have estimated that as many as 250,000 underground tanks used to store gasoline may have leaked MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) into nearby soil and groundwater, contaminating as many as 9,000 community wells in 31 states. MTBE is the gasoline additive used in the United States since the 190’s to enhance octane and cut air pollution. Alongside these substances that have found their way accidentally into our soils are the substances we have put there intentionally. A total of 150 million tons of solid waste is deposited into our country’s 7500 municipal landfills each year! Currently, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) currently monitors about 80 toxic substances found in our drinking water. Contaminants will differ per region of the world, due to the wide variety of sources, manufacturing and other pollution related activities, however, over 1100 potentially toxic compounds have bee identified in drinking water across the U.S. A 2001 survey of 374 communities in 12 states found the pesticide atrazine,a reproductive and immune toxin, to be present in 96% of all water supplies tested!. Drinking water in almost 30% of these communities contained at least 5 pesticides! The EPA labels these waters “impaired” and estimates that 85% of all river miles and 68% of all lake acreage in the U.S. are currently “impaired.” Unfortunately what counts as “fit for drinking” is a matter of much debate. Toxic substances found in municipal drinking water across the U.S. have been directly linked to many chronic, degenerative diseases including Alzheimer's, asthma, most forms of cancer, infertility, Parkinson's, and Rheumatoid arthritis. I use the word indirectly here because contaminated water has not been shown to directly cause disease in some simple, straightforward way. In fact, toxic substances founding drinking water may never be shown to directly cause disease, for three reasons. First, contaminants in a single glass of water are present in very small amounts, and a lifelong study would be needed to measure the effects over one’s lifetime. Second, water toxins work behind the scenes compromising our health at a largely invisible cellular level. They disrupt the energy-producing mechanisms inside our cells, they disturb chemical signals that are sent across our cell membranes, and they drain our nutrient supplies by asking our livers to work overtime. Educate Yourself! This information, in and of itself, expresses the importance of understanding and educating yourself on where your water is coming from and that not all water is the same. As this is the first step of good nutrition, knowing the origin, processing and contents of anything we take into our bodies. Because water is second in importance only to air for sustaining life, we do want to do the best we can with the current knowledge and inner guidance we have, without being too fanatical. Taste and smell can help us assess if our water is good for us. However, the presence of negative health factors may not alter taste or smell. For the most part, water contamination is inescapable; if there is any question about the water we drink, we can have it checked for bacteria count, mineral content, and the presence of a wide number of chemical pollutants. If there is concern, we should find a filtration or purification system that makes the water safe or find another source of drinking water. The three most effective home treatment systems are solid carbon block filters, reverse osmosis, and distillation. Purchasing pre-bottled water is an unnecessary expense, and in many cases, the water is not as good and definitely not as fresh as water purified at home. About the Author  As San Diego’s trainers of holistic health, Josh and Jeanne’s vision is to provide individuals with ongoing motivation and guidance. Their Holistic approach embraces treating the person and systems within the person, versus the disease that has the person. We all have been born with different genetic strengths and weaknesses, and the way we have treated our bodies has given us different states of vitality and recuperative capabilities. In order to recover and achieve each individual’s personal state of optimal wellness, we must assess and treat all four pillars of health. In doing so we are able to develop individualized, comprehensive exercise and/or nutrition programs. Regardless of whether you have immediate health concerns and /or orthopedic injuries, or wish to prevent future ones, an accurate assessment backed by effective therapies (exercise/nutrition), is essential!Visit www.eastwesthealing.com Copyright (c) East West Healing and Performance. Reprinted with permission. |