Water, Water Everywhere... Nor Any Drop to Drink!

The human body requires water. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. Adults need an average of 30 mls (one ounce) per kg (2.2 pounds) of body weight, so a 220 pound person would need 100 ounces or twelve and a half cups per day. We need more under certain circumstances such as increased losses (vomiting, diarrhea, sweating, athletic exertion), hot weather and increased protein intake. Water intake can be in the form of different beverages, although I recommend the majority come from purified water which I will address shortly. I focus on purified water, particularly REVERSE OSMOSIS purification, because it has been found to remove radioactive elements such as Strontium 90 and unwanted pharmaceuticals that make their way into our drinking water.

Healthy beverages would include tea, coffee, lemon and limeade, fresh vegetable and fresh fruit juices. Many fruits and vegetables themselves have an impressive water content. As far as those healthy beverages, I recommend making tea and coffee, hot or cold, from purified water and certified organic sources, especially if having them daily. What about caffeine? Do you like it? Do you need it? My professional opinion is that small doses are not unhealthy and can actually enhance athletic performance and mental clarity. HOWEVER, if you rely on caffeine for "energy" or alertness then it is an unhealthy state to be in. If your energy system is short circuited, then you need nutrition support, not caffeine support!

A maximum acceptable level of caffeine would be 100-200 mg per day if that level is tolerated. How much is that in beverage intake? Well 8 ounces of coffee can contain 100-200 mg of caffeine; 8 ounces of brewed tea 40-120 mg, while iced tea may contain less; dark chocolate may contain 21 mg per ounce while hot chocolate will only contain 9 mg or so per 8 ounces. 12 ounces of cola and caffeine containing soda can contain 20-71 mg, but most soda drinkers have much more than 12 ounces per day!

So called "energy drinks" can have from 48 to almost 300 mg of caffeine in just 8 ounces! Be careful you aren't consuming "pharmaceutical" levels of caffeine, it can become drug-like! Use of excess caffeine was even banned from athletic use up until 2004, as it was considered "doping." If you're trying to kick the soda habit in general, an occasional naturally flavored seltzer with natural sweetener and lemon or lime juice can do the trick. As far as caffeine intake, be aware of your tolerance and be careful not to overindulge as it can rev up your phase I detoxification enzymes and leave you with even more harmful toxins in your body! Thank you Center for Science in the Public Interest for your published caffeine tables.

Now back to SAFE DRINKING WATER. Again, water purified by reverse osmosis (RO) and subsequently ozonated and carbon filtered, tops my list of water recommendations. I will address the main reason in a moment. Some may argue that purified or distilled water is mineral free and that is "dangerous." Well, of course it is unhealthy to not consume adequate minerals but I would rather have toxin free water and add my minerals back through diet!

Adequate mineral intake can be accomplished with a healthy, plant based diet of foods grown in soil containing appropriate levels of minerals. You can retain mineral content of plant based foods by eating them raw or baking, steaming or sauteing instead of boiling. A simple and favorite way of adding minerals back is to add Willard Water (1-2 ounces per gallon) to drinking water. It adds back trace minerals which will alkalize the water and act as a buffer in the body. Check out the 60 Minutes' transcript about Willard Water on the WW website.

My number one recommendation would be a statement to the municipal sources of drinking water: 'Please purify our drinking water before you send it to us!' That may be ideal, but may not be realistic at this time. I don't automatically recommend running out and buying gallons and gallons of pre-bottled water either. This can be a huge energy cost because producing and then recycling all those plastic bottles takes a lot of fuel! Filling your own bottles at an RO machine or having one installed at home may be the best solution at this time.

Don't be fooled into thinking all bottled water is purified either. It is what it is... "water in a bottle." Some bottled water even comes "from a municipal source" which is basically tap water. Of course the tricky thing with most bottled water is the plastic itself which contains potentially harmful chemicals, including phthlates and BPA but that's another lecture!

Reverse osmosis has been found to not only remove those unwanted pharmaceuticals from the water but also radioactive Strontium 90, as I learned personally from Dr. Ernest Sternglass. Dr. Sternglass was a director of the RPHP Baby Teeth Study: The Tooth Fairy Project, a project that I became personally involved with. I will save that long story for another day... for now you can follow the study at radiation.org.

So, bottom line, is our tap water safe to drink if it contains radiation, pharmaceuticals, industrial runoff and rocket fuel contaminant? I think not, and agree with The Ancient Mariner: 'Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink!" except maybe truly purified water.