Water in nutrition and health

How well hydrated is the body directly influences how efficiently it operates. More specifically, available water is distributed according to body's functional priorities: blood and brain are at the top, while other organs and tissues suffer disproportionately more from water deprivation if water intake is insufficient; the lower priority they are, the more so. Longer-term local dehydration caused by insufficient water intake either contributes to, or directly causes

the onset of a degenerative disease2.

Such hidden dehydration may very well be among main factors behind the modern epidemic of degenerative diseases.

Why would anyone be dehydrated with plentiful water readily available? Part of the answer is the widespread substitution of pure water with various drinks: coffee, teas, sodas, fruit juices, beer, and others. Most of these drinks actually

drain water from the body,

by stimulating fluid excretion. At the same time, the feel of thirst is partly suppressed by the natural body reaction to fluid consumption, setting the stage for a chronic hidden dehydration. It is also quite possible that the body, after some time, adjusts to the state of dehydration by reducing its response to the lack of water (feeling of thirst), as it generally does when the unfavorable condition persists.

It is not only quantity of water that affects your health: its quality is as much important. That includes water acidity/alkaline (pH) level, as well as its toxic contamination level.
 

Pure water is qualified as having neutral pH of 7. It is the exact middle on the alkaline/acidic scale of 0 to 14 pH, where pH=0 is most acidic, and pH=14 most alkaline. In order to be acidic, water has to contain more positive H+ (hydrogen) ions; alternately, alkaline water contains more negative OH- ions. Since the water is always electrolitically balanced, that is, with equal number of positive and negative ions, the excess of either negative OH- ions, or positive H+ ions have to be compensated by the presence of an appropriate number of positive or negative ions contributed by elements or substances dissolved in water.

The balancing (negative) ions in acidic water are usually bicarbonates, while the positive ions balancing alkaline water are usually carbonate-based mineral elements, like calcium- or magnesium carbonate.

What drinking water pH is optimal for health? Considering that the optimum blood pH (plasma) is 7.4, and that as small deviation as ±0.1 can seriously affect proper body function, your drinking water should be somewhat alkaline, with its pH gravitating toward 7.4 (groundwaters tend to be alkaline too, which makes drinking alkaline water more natural choice as well). What is unknown, however, is how various specific chemical composition making water alkaline - or acidic - may affect the body.

Tap water, as well as most bottled waters are acidic, not seldom beyond the EPA's 5.5 pH maximum recommended for drinking water (at the alkaline end it is 9 pH; keep in mind that the pH number - or potency of hydrogen - is an exponent, showing how many normal, or uncharged water molecules there is for every hydrogen ion, as 10pH; thus water at the pH of 5 is 251 times more acidic than at pH 7.4). It could be contributing to body's acidic imbalance by producing acidic metabolic residue, in the manner similar to "acidic" foods - meets, dairy, sweets and most processed foods.

Even mild chronic acidosis inhibits body's enzymatic efficiency, thus can have unpredictable and very serious health consequences. While the possibility of making the body more acidic, or alkaline, by food and water consumed is poorly researched, there is emerging scientific evidence pointing to a link between water acidity and health. Most of the research on this subject has been done in Japan, and the

evidence of healing properties of alkaline water seems conclusive.

One recent Western study (Stene et al., 2002, Norway) has found that acidic tap water with pH 6.2-6.9 was associated with fourfold higher risk of developing diabetes (type 1) than alkaline water with pH 7.7, or higher. Whether it is acidity itself, or rather chemical contents of the water making it alkaline, or both, it is likely that it can affect your health. That warrants staying informed about new findings, and act accordingly.
 

Finally, tap water and, to some extent, bottled water as well, are notoriously contaminated by toxic substances. This constant low-level source of contamination results in toxins accumulating in the body with time, adding to its toxic burden until it causes, or contributes to the onset of a disease. Degree of toxic water contamination, as well as types of contaminants, vary somewhat with the source, but

all tap water is bellow acceptable level,

and requires thorough filtration in order to be safe to drink. This is a direct consequence of the municipal water-treatment plants - aside from using antiquated technology - being built to disinfect, not to purify water. They are incapable of efficiently removing hundreds of toxins routinely present in it - and the number is only growing.

For that reason, your drinking water has detectable amounts of - among other chemicals - variety of prescription drugs, either originating from users' wastes, or from medications thrown into sinks and toilets in medical facilities, finding its way to tap water through inefficient waste water treatment plants.

Hence both quantity and quality of the water intake directly affect your health. Many symptoms and diseases are either aggravated or caused by insufficient water intake (water deficiency, or dehydration) or poor water quality, or both. It is hard to comprehend that something as important to our health as water is given so little attention from all sides: the science, public officials and general public.
 

The good news is that it it's very easy to correct unhealthy patterns in water consumption. The rules are few and simple:

(1) Most of the fluid you consume should be in the form of somewhat alkaline water, not less than 1.5 liter (approx. 1.7 quarts) a day, for average temperatures and average level of physical activity.

    (2) Your water should be free from toxic contaminants, which normally will require filtration (this includes your bathing water, since your body can very efficiently absorb toxins through the skin).