The importance of water:
You might ask "What's so important about water? Most of us will say, "I drink some every day - It's just common sense". Or you may say, "I know when I need water, I always drink some water when I'm thirsty...." etc.
However, we live on a watery planet. All life on this planet depends on water. Even the wild plants and small bugs that live in the driest deserts still need water. The average person's body is made up of 60% to 70% of water. This fact alone should tell you how important it is.
The dangers of not drinking enough water are very real
The average person does not drink enough water. This is a fact. Most of us rely on drinking soft drinks, alcohol, tea or coffee to get our fluid intake. Countless studies have concluded that the average person in most western countries does not drink enough water. This can have both short and long-term effects on the body.
We are lucky enough to have water available to us 24 hours a day if we want it. Modern facilities collect and clean our water quite well. Most of us just have to travel a few yards to the closest water supply. We can literally turn no a tap and there it is. Some places in the world have huge water shortages and perhaps they have a good reason why they don't drink as much as they would like. Most of us don't have this excuse.
How much should I drink?
Most people should drink at least 6 to 10 average sized glasses of water each day. Many people do not drink enough water and over time the consequences of this can be severe. People often think that drinking cups of tea, coffee or even alcohol makes up for not drinking water. This is fully correct. Instead of quenching your thirst, some of these drinks can actually make you feel more thirsty.
If you want a cup of tea or coffee then go for it. But make your next drink a nice glass of water. Don't just rely on liquids other than water. We have heard many times that one reason why people don't drink water regularly is because they don't like the taste! Their body has become used to drinking flavoured liquids and now they can't face having just plain water! Usually, this is something you can get used to again, but if your water does have a smell or taste, then change your water. There are more tips about this below, but you can filter it, boil it, distill it or even add a natural flavour to it such as a slice of lemon or lime etc.. Make it easy on your body and just give it a glass of water from time to time.
Impurities in water
Even though most of us need to drink more water, it is a sad fact that our water quality can often be quite poor. In many countries of the world, even western countries, it is not recommended or 100% safe to drink normal tap water.
At the very least, you should always filter your tap water, even when in the UK and the US. Water companies do make mistakes from time to time and impurities can find their way into the water supply. There are numerous cases of contaminated water with chemicals or bacteria finding its way through our taps and causing mass illness, stomach upsets or diarrhoea.
More and more reports are coming out in the mainstream press about the impurities in water such as chlorine, farm fertilizers and now even more dangerously man-made drugs such as female contraceptives, industrial chemicals and even Prozac. The long-term side effects of this have not been studied well enough as this is a recent phenomenon, but already there are reduced male sperm counts in many countries. The new chemicals in our water supplies and falling birth rates in many western countries can't just be a coincidence.
So what can you do about this? Thankfully, good people have come up with various ways of making our water safer to drink. These are mentioned below and every family should take responsibility to monitor and improve their own water supplies. Don't leave it to the government or the shortcutting water companies to bring us safe water. A good idea is to think of the water coming out of our taps as a starting point. We need to clean it ourselves some more before we drink it.
Constipation - Not enough water is a BIG factor
Constipation is a sure sign of not enough water and is a good indicator that you should drink more. Let's face it, the main substance in the body is water. Not drinking enough water means the body has to literally take water from the cells of our bodies to help us digest foods and carry out the various chemical reactions that take place within the body. Doing this too often numerous times a day upsets the inner balance of the body and it can stress organs and digestive systems and begin to make you feel uncomfortable. Over time this condition can become chronic.
People often then take drugs to "cure" this problem. This further strains the natural balance of the body and a dwindling spiral of poor health can result. The body is a carefully balanced organism. Think of it as a chemical processing unit. You consume food and the digestive tract breaks this down into smaller and smaller parts and chemicals. These parts enter the bloodstream and they are transported around the body into the cells. Here the cells break things down even further and energy is released which the body uses to move and survive. All of these automatic and natural chemical processes need WATER. Without sufficient water, everything is thrown out of balance and a major side effect is constipation. There is more detailed information here in the constipation article.
We recommend you do a Detox and Cleansing Program
Every machine needs to be serviced regularly. We take our cars to the garage every year, our computers have anti-virus programs, if things break in our kitchens we get them fixed or throw them away and get another. However, most of us just roll along and don't give our bodies a bit of a service. When you think about it, it is quite remarkable just how our bodies adapt and try to work, despite our best efforts to wear them out and mistreat them at times.
This is one of the reasons why we think it is good to cleanse the body from time to time. Make things easier for yourself and notice the benefits of having your body in better shape, both internally and appearance-wise. We recommend people do a detox program at least once a year. Just doing this simple Detox 1 & 2 will definitely help. Our Detox 1 & 2 is easy to do and it gets great results. You can then also do the more advanced Detox 3 & 4 if you wanted to be even more thorough.
Both are highly recommended.
Here are some more tips on how to improve your water quality:
You can use Spring or Bottled water
Many people drink bottled water. This can be a good choice and it is usually much better than drinking tap water. Do choose a good brand and make sure that the level of dissolved solids is not too high. You should also try to avoid water with a higher than average sodium content.
In most countries, the water suppliers have to put on their labels the number of particles that are dissolved in the water. These are usually naturally occurring minerals and other solids that have dissolved into the water. Usually, they are safe to drink and companies have to get their bottled water rigorously tested. But we recommend water which has less than 400 parts per million of solid matter. Anything higher than this and you should question why. This is usually recorded on labels as TDS (total dissolved solids). The world health organisation recommends a figure of below 1,000 and they go on to say that less than 600 is classed as "good". We prefer something even lower and incidentally, these figures don't take into account what the dissolved solids actually are! If it is mainly sodium or even more harmful chemicals then that is not good.
Take a look at some of the bottled water labels and you will soon find the best one for you.
Distilled water
Many people decide to buy a distilled water maker because they want to drink something that has zero dissolved solids in it. This is safe to drink it and you can also add other sources of water too. A great selling point of distilled water is that it has zero man-made chemicals in it. Distilled water is empty water and it can help to draw out the toxins from the body. Before we became experts in our field, we used to think that drinking distilled water long-term would leach too many vital minerals and vitamins from the body.
We are now of the opinion that the benefits of drinking distilled water dramatically outweigh any possibility of harmful mineral leaching. These days, it is practically impossible to leach excessive minerals from our bodies, just by drinking distilled water. If you eat a decent, well-balanced diet, with lots of superfoods, you get more than enough vitamins and minerals each day. It is simply common sense that if you drink a glass of distilled water with your meal, you are consuming far more minerals than could possibly be leached by the water!
Our research has uncovered that distilled water machines were targeted as unsafe by other water filter manufacturers who didn't like the competition. They created this scare story which sounds somewhat plausible. Perhaps if someone was doing an extreme fasting regimen and only drinking distilled water and not food, then possibly some leaching could occur. However, there is still no concrete evidence that this occurs.
Don't forget, distilled water is just pure water. Mother nature produces fresh water using its own method of distillation. The sun heats up water from the sea, clouds form eventually and the rain falls on the land. This would be pure distilled water too if it wasn't polluted by man's stupidity. We firmly believe that drinking pure distilled water is of much greater significance and benefit than not doing so.
For peace of mind, if you do drink distilled water for a prolonged period of months or years you can simply take a mineral and vitamin supplement. If you follow our diet and lifestyle principles this can even be avoided.
A simple tip for distilled water drinkers is to add a slice of lemon, lime or even a slice of a clean vegetable into your jug. You could also add a tiny pinch of healthy rock salt or sea salt. Make sure these are from safe sources and have not been radiated or polluted.
Fizzy water warning
Many people enjoy fizzy water but studies show that prolonged drinking of fizzy water and soft drinks can create problems for the body. Basically, fizzy drinks contain carbon dioxide in the bubbles. The body needs and requires oxygen and most carbon dioxide in the body is considered a waste product to be eliminated. Why add to the body's troubles by drinking carbon dioxide which the body regards as a poison? The occasional fizzy drink is fine but do not make it a habit. One of the most inaccurately named products sold by the large companies is the so-called "healthy fizzy drink" products. Health and fizz do not go together!
Filtered Water
Check whether tap water in your area is safe to drink. If it is safe we suggest you also filter the water before drinking. This will help to eliminate some of the toxins found in most water supplies. There are many simple charcoal filtering systems you can buy. You can keep it simple and just use a filtering jug or get a system fitted to the main water supply in your home.
For both systems do make sure you replace the filters as per the manufacturer's instructions. Don't believe the reports that say filtered water is worse than tap water. This only becomes a problem when the filters aren't changed properly and this bad news is often misinformation pumped out by scaremongering competitors. Use common sense. Filter your water and make it a pleasure to drink a nice, refreshing glass of water.
Hangovers
A little side benefit of drinking enough water is that it can dramatically reduce the effects of a hangover if you have drunk excess alcohol. Most people don't realise that one of the causes of a hangover is not enough water. It's amazing how often a hangover can be avoided by simply drinking a good sized glass of water before going to bed. An occasional tipple is fine but too much alcohol is not good for you.
We hope you found this article useful. Many ailments in the body can be reduced over time if you drink enough water. It is really important. Do well and best wishes in your journey towards achieving good health.
