Down the Hatch
Life cannot exist without water, seriously!
Proper hydration is essential to a healthy life. Water comprises over two-thirds of our body weight, and is one of the most essential elements to maintaining well-being. Water is important in every physiological process. Water helps your body with circulation, assimilation, digestion, elimination and temperature control.
Researchers estimate that about 75% of people in the US have a mild chronic dehydration. This can lead to many health issues such as fatigue, joint pain, weight gain, headaches, ulcers and high blood pressure. Chronic dehydration may affect your organs and lead to kidney stones, cholesterol problems, constipation, and liver and muscle damage. What if you could reduce or alleviate these symptoms by just drinking healthy water?
Water is not just a beverage choice
Water is not just a beverage choice, it is our most essential nutrient. When we think of water in this way it becomes apparent that we must drink enough each day. We can live for 3 weeks without food, but only 3 days without water!
How Much Water Should We Drink?
There is no perfect answer to this question as it depends on your age, health status, level of physical activity, body type and ambient surroundings.
Everyone has heard drink eight 8oz glasses of water a day. This is insufficient in my opinion for proper hydration for most us. A good rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in ounces per day of water. So, if you weigh 160 pounds, 10 glasses or 80 ounces per day is a good rule to follow.
Common Water Choices
Many people prefer not to drink municipally treated tap water. Many times, this is for aesthetic reasons. They don’t like the way tap water tastes or smells. One good aspect about tap water is that it is monitored and treated to kill pathogenic micro-organisms. This is usually accomplished with chlorine treatment or other types of similar halogens.
Water is one major way we contribute to our body burden of toxic chemicals pollutants from farming and industry as well as the chlorine that is added to kill bacteria in municipal water treatment facilities. Bottled water is not much better as it is usually nothing more than processed tap water. Even that expensive spring water may be full of harmful contaminants. Regulations on bottled water differ by country, and many bottled waters have no quality thresholds in place. In 2008, the Environmental Working Group conducted tests that found bottled water not necessarily any safer than tap water. Ten brands sampled by EWG contained 38 pollutants ranging from fertilizer residue to industrial solvents. Pollutants in two brands exceeded state and industry health standards.
On the average bottled water is 2000 times more expensive than tap water. A nice analogy I like to make is that’s like going into a $6 sandwich shop and paying $12,000 for a sandwich! Of major concern to me and others is the detrimental impact plastic water bottles have on our environment. First, is the energy cost of shipping the water from source to consumer – often shipping thousands of miles internationally. Secondly, it’s through the energy and hydrocarbon input into the manufacture of the bottles and the disposal of the bottles, particularly if sent to landfills or simply discarded as 80% of plastic water bottles are not recycled.
An effective way of providing yourself and your family with healthy water is filtration of tap water. There are many types of systems to accomplish this. Common methods of filtering can remove the chemicals but it also removes important minerals our bodies need. Guidelines I suggest looking for when comparing systems are advanced filtration that is corroborated and meet or exceed ANSI/NSF standards of 42 and 53. Look for a system that adds minerals back to the water and creates a slightly alkaline water. I am also a proponent of micro-clustered water that helps with absorption and I suggest getting a system that is easy to use and maintain and cost effective.
PiMag Waterfall
Our Favorite!
The Nikken PiMag Waterfall® converts tap water into fresh spring-like water. Using a multistage process which filters, alkalizes, mineralizes, ionizes, energizes and oxygenates the water, the Waterfall provides great tasting water which is easy to use, affordable and a healthy water choice. Water the way nature intended it.
We shot a couple quick 2 minute videos showcasing the PiMag Waterfall. Take a look : ).