Health begins with water. Since the body is mostly made up of water (about 70%), all body functions depend on water. I guess you could call water a universal solvent. Most nutrients, with the exception of fats, dissolve in water, are transported in the water-based blood system, and are used by water-filled cells. And, because cells are filled with water, water lubricates them, like cartilage and muscle cells. It also keeps the cell walls foldable and receptive to the entry of nutrients and the exit of waste.

These facts point to the crucial nature of proper hydration for a healthy body. It is even more important as we age, as will be explained soon. Every organ in the body depends on water to function properly and efficiently. When we are not properly hydrated, or even slightly dehydrated, our bodily functions become complicated. Over time, our health can become a challenge. It’s very subtle at first, then the symptoms start to appear.

The US National Research Council has guidelines that suggest we need one milliliter of water for every calorie we consume. That translates to about half of your body weight in ounces of water consumed daily. Some scientists and advisers in the medical community say that amount is too conservative, that we should drink more. For someone who is obese, very overweight, or has a chronic disease, you should drink 1 liter (32 ounces) of water for every 30 pounds of body weight.

If we look at the functions of the body, there are four obvious ways the body loses water; defecation, perspiration, breathing and urination. Also, the body’s digestive process uses a lot of water which can further dehydrate the body if there are not enough water reserves. Efficient digestion is also aided by drinking enough water between meals to cleanse the digestive tract and provide enough water for bodily functions.

Obviously, the quality of the water we use to stay healthy or restore our health is very important. For most people, it means that the water must be clean and safe to drink. What most people don’t know is that to be healthy throughout life, the body needs to be as close to a neutral pH as possible and the blood needs to be between 7.35pH and 7.45pH or we will die. That means our body fluids need to be fortified with alkaline and ionized water.

Most of the foods that people eat form acid ash and waste in the body, so to neutralize them we need to drink alkaline ionized water.

Another component of health that is crucial for us is negative ions. Alkaline and ionized water is full of negatively charged particles that our bodies crave. Without negative ions, our body decays and ages. Eventually our health erodes and our organs slowly lose their efficient function.

It seems that the “fight” for health is our attempt to rid our bodies of the positive ions we acquire from our “unnatural” diet and to get enough negative ions into our bodies. Traditionally, our Paleolithic ancestors used to eat an efficient raw food diet supplemented with river and stream water that gurgled over rocks and down waterfalls, thus becoming negatively charged and highly oxygenated.

Sadly our diets have been reduced to stopping at the local drive-thru and drinking from cans and bottles. These habits have created a society of overweight, acidic bodies full of positive ions and poor health.

Fortunately, the process is simple to reverse. Even if your health is fine now, you should be motivated to stay healthy throughout your life. A few lifestyle changes will earn you valuable “life insurance.”

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Russians discovered that negative ions were very good for human health. They postulated that if they could create negative ions in the water, they would create an easier path to health. Through experimentation, the first water ionizers were created. The challenge, even today, is that the bonds that make up water molecules are weak. Water ionizers break large water clusters into smaller clusters, but do not permanently retain the ionic microcluster structure once they are formed. So the best way to drink alkaline and ionized water is fresh from a machine that creates it. At best, it can be put in a glass bottle and it will hold its charge and micro-cluster for two days, as long as the water is filled to the brim of the bottle. After that, the weak bonds break apart and reform into larger cluster molecules and lose their negative charge.

Even today, Dr. Emoto has shown that water has a memory and can be “programmed”. The concept of alkaline and ionized water is becoming more and more of a household word as people realize the benefits of drinking this special water.

It is estimated that 75% or more of North Americans are dehydrated enough to negatively affect their health. And, with that dehydration there is an inflamed acidic body. It may be “silent” inflammation now, but eventually it will rise to radar range and turn into pain or symptoms. It doesn’t seem to matter that people drink a lot of water, it matters more what kind of water they drink.

In a study from the University of Washington, it was found that many people interpret their thirst as hunger. Giving study participants a glass of water when they were hungry stopped hunger pangs in 98% of those surveyed.

For the average American, there are one or more toxic chemicals stored in their fatty tissue from drinking treated tap water. That doesn’t even include toxins from the food we eat, what we put on our skin and hair, what we clean our homes with, or environmental pollutants. In the US, 53 million people drink water from municipal water supplies that contain potentially dangerous levels of chlorine and fluoride derivatives and byproducts, lead, fecal bacteria, fertilizers, pesticides, jet fuel, pharmaceuticals, and other impurities associated with cancer and various types of metabolic dysfunction and disease.

I remember a study from a few years ago where they took hair, blood and urine samples from a famous artist who ate organic products, used “natural” products, drank the best water he could find, used as few chemicals as possible in his art and It had natural fibers. 48 toxic chemicals were found in his body. He was really aware of being a “back to earth” guy and quite shocked at the toxic levels in his body. Alarming, don’t you think?

Since most of us are dehydrated to various degrees, our level of fatigue throughout the day could be directly related to dehydration and our diets. The typical depression seems to be between 3 and 4 in the afternoon, when we reach for that sugary snack or coffee. If we knew that by drinking two glasses of alkaline and ionized water after lunch, we could feel much better. Water is so important that just a 2% drop in your body’s natural water level can lead to brain fog, short-term memory loss, an inability to concentrate, and slowness in simple math calculations, sequenced procedures, and interpretive skills.

Also, regarding your health, recent research shows that 8-10 glasses of alkaline ionized water per day can significantly reduce pain levels, including in the back and joints, in up to 80% of patients. Research also shows that if the average person drank at least 5 to 16 ounce glasses of alkaline ionized water a day—that is, pure alkaline ionized water, not mixed with anything—your risk of getting breast cancer could be reduced by 79% %. colon cancer by 45% and bladder cancer by 50%.

How does it work? The properties of alkaline and ionized water are unique. Drinking this water provides a quick supply of available oxygen, making the water an “antioxidant.” In other words, water has an extra electron attached to it that produces hydroxyl ions that are negatively charged. These hydroxyl ions in ionized water seek out and neutralize free radicals. This is very important, since free radicals are the ones that damage our cells and cause disease and premature aging. When hydroxyl ions, as an antioxidant, have neutralized free radicals, the result is an energized, vitalized and oxygen-rich body. Alkaline and ionized water helps balance the body’s pH by reducing excess cellular and body acidity, which helps the body dissolve and excrete acidic waste products more easily.

The electrolysis process that produces alkaline ionized water not only produces an excess of electrons, but also reduces the size of the molecule group from 13 to 14 (which is normal tap water) to 5 to 7. This can happen due to the weak bonds that water has with the molecules around it. These smaller groups have a lower molecular weight, making alkaline ionized water more easily absorbed by the body. The smaller group size is also better able to deliver nutrients to all cells, tissues and organs and speeds up metabolism as more and more acidic waste is removed from the body. Therefore, take your vitamin and mineral supplements with alkaline and ionized water for increased absorption. Instead, take your medications with plain water. Normally only about 30% of your medication is absorbed by the body due to our acidic and clogged condition. Alkaline and ionized water will increase the absorption of your medication and you may get too much.

A normal average North American diet will produce high levels of acidic waste in the body from 97% of what is eaten. We simply do not eat enough alkaline foods, fruits and vegetables. These acids, if not neutralized, can cause inflammation and free radicals. They can kill healthy cells by stealing oxygen and damage them by stealing electrons. Alkaline water and food will not only dissolve these harmful acids, but also help remove them from the body by allowing them to pass safely through the kidneys and intestines and not store them in our joints, organs, blood vessels, and fat cells.

The qualities of high alkalinity, more oxygen and lower molecular weight act as a powerful cellular detoxifier, helping the body maintain or restore its health and should be a part of everyone’s daily regimen. Research in Japan since the 1950s indicates that most chronic conditions are the result of increased waste, acidity, and resulting impaired body and immune system function.

If you are looking to feel younger, more flexible, vital and alive, or even stay that way, then the answer is clear. Try alkaline and ionized water!