Take Action! World Water Day!
Take action on World Water Day, March 22, 2021.
“Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it. ”
What does water mean to you? To myself having clean drinking and bathing water is not only essential but a luxury. I am astounded and saddened knowing that in our modern world there are over 2 billion people globally that do not have access to clean water. We need to take action and we can.
Add your voice to the conversation at https://www.worldwaterday.org/ and help shape forthcoming World Water Day campaigns, help bring awareness, and design action steps we can all take towards conservation, cleaning, and sharing our most precious resource.
Our last Masterclass Dr. Gary Lindner, outlined some actionable steps and water filtration products we can all use and share. You can watch that video here.
I encourage you to visit https://www.worldwaterday.org/ and join the global conversation, share on social media, and join the cause. No one should have to go thirsty or question the health of their drinking water.
Be Healthy by Choice
About Heather N. Abbott:
Heather is the COO at “Self Care Awakening.” Heather is an IIN Certified Health Coach. "I create a sacred space for you to become your best self."
Use the Contact/Book Appointment link to book a free consult.
Heather is a founding member of Ladies Leading Ladies a group dedicated to training and empowering current and future Wellness business leaders.
I am an independent Nikken consultant. I work with a team of consultants. I nurture client relationships. I love building new relationships. Let’s connect. I enjoy working from home.
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The Great Alkaline Water Debate
Basically, when treating water for drinking, we should “take out the bad” and “leave in the good.”. We want to remove toxic chemicals and impurities then add back the essential minerals that nature intended to be in water.
What is Alkaline Water?
Water is our most essential nutrient and is vital to our survival and good health. You may know that two-thirds of your body is water, however, in terms of the number of molecules, your body consists of over 99 percent water molecules! Because water is so vital to our health, the type and quality of water we take into our body is very important.
I have written before that filtering tap water is the best way to get healthy water, see What to Look for in a Water Filtration System. Basically, when treating water for drinking, we should “take out the bad” and “leave in the good.”. We want to remove toxic chemicals and impurities then add back the essential minerals that nature intended to be in water.
Water from natural springs have been highly sought after for centuries because those who drank it claimed it had amazing health-restorative abilities. There are many natural springs on Earth where this has been observed. Tlacote, Mexico, Nordenau, Germany, Nadana Village, India, Yankalilla, Australia, The Himalayan Mountains in China and recently in Vilcabamba, Ecuador. It is of note and interest that indigenous people that consume these waters display exceptional health and longevity where people are reported to live to 100 to 135 years of age. All these waters in their natural state are alkaline. The alkalinity is due to minerals in the water including calcium, silica, potassium, magnesium, and bicarbonate.
The “alkaline” in alkaline water refers to its pH level. The pH level is a number that measures how acidic or alkaline a substance is on a scale of 0 to 14. For example, something with a pH of 1 would be very acidic, and something with a pH of 13 would be very alkaline. Alkaline water has a higher pH level than regular drinking water. Because of this, some advocates of alkaline water believe it can neutralize the acid in your body. Normal drinking water generally has a neutral pH of 7. Alkaline water typically has a pH of 8 or 9.
Alkaline Water Debate
There has been much debate as to whether drinking alkaline water is healthier than drinking pH neutral water (7.0) or acidic water (less than 7.0). There are scientific studies that report benefits and those that do not. Those in favor of alkaline water claim it provides a range of health benefits. Namely, that it boosts the metabolism, reduces bone loss and slows the aging process, and metabolizes nutrients easier by neutralizing acid in the blood that causes disease. They believe low-grade acidosis may not always be detected with testing, leaving your body to suffer the consequences. The opposing side agrees there might be benefits but is unsure whether the benefits come from the high-pH-level alkaline water itself or the minerals it contains.
One recent and interesting study in mice, Alkaline Water and Longevity: A Murine Study, reported, “statistical analysis revealed that alkaline water provides higher longevity in terms of “deceleration aging factor” as it increases the survival functions when compared with control group; namely, animals belonging to the population treated with alkaline water resulted in a longer lifespan.” Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2016; 2016: 3084126.
I suggest that a little common sense regarding this debate is the answer. Alkaline water is water that’s less acidic than tap water, filtered water, and most bottled waters. Concentrating on the pH level of our water might be not be the aspect we want to focus on. If alkaline water is healthier, that is intrinsically due more to the minerals it contains rather than its pH level. This means it is rich in alkalizing minerals that our bodies need. Yes, we can get minerals from the food we eat and many health and nutrition experts advocate alkaline diets. Drinking alkaline water seems a simple and efficient way of providing minerals in addition to our food choices. Also, we absorb minerals more efficiently from water than we do food.
In nature, water flows down mountain streams and picks up minerals from rocks in the stream to give it it’s alkalinity. Water filtration systems that create naturally alkaline water work the same way.
Water is not just a beverage choice, it is our most essential nutrient. Drinking half your weight in ounces per day of healthy water is one aspect of Being Healthy by Choice, not by Chance.
Down the Hatch
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.
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 : ).