The ABC’s of Self Care W

“Dehydration is the mother of all epidemics and it is the first step we need to take in addressing chronic disease.”

— Gina Bria, Cultural Anthropologist

A Nikken Wellness Home is designed to address many health concerns, including environmental toxins, contagions, dehydration, poor sleep quality, weight matters and nutrition. In a practical sense, the Wellness Home creates an environment that enables us to make healthier choices every day.

This week our series on the ABC’s of Self Care continues with W. We could blog about the Wellness Home, Weight Matters, being Wealthy by Choice or Water Matters. A recent article in the Epoch Times has prompted this week’s Impetus. The article entitled Dying of Thirst outlines the many reasons that we should stay hydrated. One quote from the article, sums it up, “Dehydration is the mother of all epidemics and it’s the first step we need to take in addressing chronic disease”, so says Gina Bria, cultural anthropologist.

Water Matters

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. If you consider our composition in terms of molecules, we’re practically all water, nearly 99 percent. 

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.

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. 

When we hydrate, we are often doing it with compromised water. It’s either full of other chemicals, or, if it’s filtered, it has a loss of minerals which drives the energy inside the water. The body needs to work harder with this water to absorb and utilize it.

Hydration is not just about the quantity of liquid you consume, but about the quality of water and how well your tissues absorb it.

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.

What if we could create fresh spring water in our own home or office? The Nikken Waterfall converts tap water into fresh spring-like water. Using a multi-stage 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.

Last month, Nikken announced the concept of vital Wellness Home Packs to enable anyone to make simple, affordable choices to create a Wellness Home. The Packs address all the areas of self care and help make being Healthy by Choice more convenient than ever.

The Wellness Home Water Pack

Clean water is key to good health. Whether you need clean water at home or on the go, Nikken water products give you access to healthy water. The Water pack comes with replacement filters and the PiMag MicroJet® Shower System to reduce contaminants in the water we bathe in.

Our redesigned Sports bottle is a favorite of ours for healthy water on the go, without the expense of, or pollution associated with bottled waters. The new improved PiMag Sport bottle is not just a state-of-the-art water filter, but also a health product crucial to an Active Wellness lifestyle. The new filter can significantly reduce certain harmful pathogens in potable drinking water. It’s also a green choice; You won’t be adding to landfills and polluting ocean waters with plastic. Instead, you’ll be saving a fortune by not paying for commercially bottled water. 

Empowering individuals to take greater ownership of their health has never been more important. The rising cost of healthcare, the unprecedented increase in chronic disease, and the cost of treating and managing preventable conditions has launched an Awakening to raise Self Care as an essential component of health care. The new Vital Wellness Home Packs are easy, convenient and affordable ways to empower anyone to be Healthy by Choice, not by Chance.

What to Look for in a Water Filtration System

What to Look for in a Water Filtration System

We all need water, as I say, “Water is not just a beverage choice, it is our most essential nutrient”.  Replacing our daily water needs is paramount to being Healthy by Choice. If you are a fan of The Impetus you are already aware that bottled water is not the choice I recommend (see Is Bottled Water Healthier than Tap Water). Given that tap water is 2000 times less expensive than bottled water and that municipal tap water is monitored and regulated, the healthy choice is to filter your tap water.

There are many choices for home water filtration. Each person’s needs and expectations are different. The best water filter for you depends on what's in your water and what you want to remove. For many people, an aesthetic choice for improving taste and smell is all they are interested in, but for those wanting healthy water, removal of noxious contaminants and chemicals is imperative. Cost is a major concern and can range from inexpensive pitchers, faucet mount systems and refrigerator door filters, ($20 to $100) for aesthetic concerns to high priced under-counter or whole house systems ($1000 up) for improving taste and smell and removal of toxic substances. Each can have their merits and shortcomings.

The Most Important Aspect is Removal of Harmful Chemicals

I think the most important aspect when deciding on a system for healthy water is the removal of harmful chemicals and contaminants. Forty-four percent of the US population relies on groundwater for its drinking water supply, according to the National Ground Water Association, groundwater is at risk of pesticides, solvents, heavy metals, and volatile organic compounds that have seeped into the water table. Any company can say that its water filter removes contaminants, but the average person doesn’t have a lab or the means to confirm it’s factual. That’s why I strongly suggest getting a system that has third-party corroboration in the filters effectiveness in removing harmful substances. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) have set water treatment standards, and agencies like the NSF and the Water Quality Association (WQA) test against those standards. A filter certified for both NSF-42 and NSF-53 standards is recommended.

NSF-42 Filters that are certified to reduce aesthetic impurities such as chlorine and taste/odor. These can be point-of-use (under the sink, water pitcher, refrigerator, etc.) or point-of-entry (whole house) treatment systems. These filters improve taste and odor by reduction of chlorine and chloramine.

NSF-53 certifies the reduction of metals and chemicals that can affect your health. NSF-53 is a bit more complex as multiple compounds fall under this certification and they’re each certified separately. Reduction of mercury and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

I also recommend a system that is certified NSF-372 to remove heavy metals such as lead from water. The main threats to human health from heavy metals are associated with exposure to lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic.

 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.

We use a system in our home that sells for about $400 that meets all these guidelines. We use a sports bottle for healthy water on the go and filter our shower/bath water. Visit the H2O shop in the Emporium for product details. 

Not only do we want healthy choices for our bodies, but also for our planet. I advocate for systems such as these that are environmentally responsible and made with recyclable and biodegradable materials. 

What do you want in a home/on the go water filtration system? Enter a comment below. Let's chat. 

Be Healthy by Choice, not by Chance