Water is the single most important resource for the human body. Water is the most essential nutrient involved in every function of the body. Water accounts for approximately 70% of an individual’s complete fat free body mass. In order to function properly, water must be consumed in set quantities in consistent intervals (average of 2.5 liters per day). When not enough water is consumed, people can begin to develop certain illnesses and even accelerate their aging processes.

Now after establishing the importance of water, one must then think what kind of water is good to drink? Many people believe that the water concentrations in coffee, sodas, and energy drinks will be sufficient for the human body to function on optimal levels; but that is incorrect. Simply stated, the water from these beverages is nothing but poor quality distilled water.

Your Answer to Hydration and Better Health Lies in Alkaline Water!

Types of Water

We often call the earth "The Planet of Water". Roughly 70% of its surface is covered with water. All living things on the planet rely on water for survival. We need to drink lots of water, but unfortunately most of the drinking water available to us is simply not healthy anymore. In some cases, our drinking water is dangerous to our health.

1. Tap Water

How do you feel about drinking 8 glasses of tap water each day? Chlorination makes tap water safe to drink but it can also react with organic compounds inside your body to produce toxic substances, especially in your colon. Small amounts of chlorine are added to our public drinking water supply to kill bacteria and other microorganisms.

This amount of chlorine is small enough for us to drink but it can still kill bacteria and enzymes in our body essential to digestion.

During a shower, our bodies absorb roughly 2 glasses of this chlorinated water through our skin. We also inhale the mist and steam of this water while we shower. Nearly all tap water supplies contain large amounts of active oxygen (oxidants) and high positive ORP (Oxidation Reduction Potential) values. Having a high POSITIVE ORP means that tap water can be very oxidizing, or destructive to your body.

2. Purified Water Distilled Water and Reverse Osmosis

Distilled water and water purified by reverse osmosis may not have most pollutants and additives found in tap water, but it also lacks any minerals naturally found earth's water that are essential to our well being. These processes remove EVERYTHING from the water, including helpful minerals.

Since this water contains no minerals or life whatsoever, it leaches vital minerals and alkaline buffers from our bodies. Distilled water and reverse osmosis water have no energy or vitality at all and can contribute to an acidic state in our bodies.

3. Bottled Water (Including "Mineral Water")

You might think that bottled water is healthier than tap water. But in a four-year scientific study, The NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) tested more than 1,000 bottles of 103 brands, a third of them were found to contain contaminants such as arsenic and carcinogens.

Recently, another shocking study showed that over time cancer-causing toxins such as dioxin leach into the water from the plastic bottle. Actually, a lot of the bottled "spring" waters are just filtered tap water put in a plastic bottle. These bottles often remain on store and factory shelves, unopened for months or even years.

Bottled water is essentially dead water. If you choose your water based on the package or the brand, you should know that some 95% of the price you are paying for that bottled water is covering other costs, such as packaging, advertising, distribution costs, rather than the water itself.

Yet, bottled water is so popular and available almost everywhere. As a result, the bottled water industry enjoys annual sales of more than $3.5 billion worldwide. 15 years ago people wouldn't spend $3-$5 per day on bottled water; these days they do.

4. Alkaline Ionized Water

Alkaline ionized water is by far the healthiest water available today. Decades of scientific and medical research have gone into its developement. It is produced by an in-home machine that first filters and then ionizes tap water. This process splits the water into its alkaline and acidic parts. The alkaline water is used for drinking. It has tremendous hydrating and antioxidant qualities, due in part to its smaller water clusters and abundance of extra electrons created by the ionization process.

Osteoporosis: Every Woman’s Nightmare
Many women worry about taking too much calcium supplement, believing that it may lead to calcium deposits. All calcium deposits within the body have been found to be leached from the body and not from nutritional calcium. The true cause of calcium deposits is lack of hydrogen, alkaline minerals and proper cleansing, which precipitates a state of crisis, causing calcium to be commandeered away from the body tissue and bones due to acidosis.

In Asia, and especially in Japan and Korea, alkaline water is regularly served to patients under treatment. Drinking alkaline water could help in preventing cancer and degenerative diseases mentioned earlier because it helps to reduce acid wastes.

Kidney Disease
As the body consumes toxins, the kidneys become over-burdened with acid wastes. Nephritis, uraemia poisoning, and bladder diseases are all acid related conditions, which can be helped greatly by alkalizing the bloodstream. Kidney stones begin as tiny specks; they gradually build into solid stones, composed of phosphates, urates, etc. They are another form of acidic salts. Drinking plenty of alkaline water will prevent kidney stones from forming, and even after their formation, it can help dissolve them.

The pancreas produces very high pH body fluids, pancreatic juice, with its pH value of about 8.8. A shortage of calcium ions in the body impairs the production and the release of the insulin hormone. This in due course leads to an acidic blood condition. Congested blood vessels caused by excess protein buildup also impairs pancreatic function. Alkaline water, by supplying calcium in an ionized form and by helping prevent excess protein buildup, can prevent and help reverse this condition.

Acid wastes (from the lifestyles we lead - not only from food and drink, but also from stress and other pollutants) are dumped into the bloodstream and lymph, and then are transported to the liver and kidneys for the detoxification processing and elimination. The pH level of our internal fluids affects every living cell in our bodies and the effect that over-acidification can have upon the health of our bodies is immense, with a chronically over acidic pH creating an extremely negative environment which affects all cellular functions from the beatings of the heart to the neural workings of the brain.

In order to hydrate your body optimally, you need to drink water that is alkaline and mineral rich. Alkaline water helps to neutralize acids and remove toxins from the body. Alkaline water also acts as a conductor of electrochemical activity from cell to cell. Ideally, water should have a ph between 9 and 10, and you should be drinking 3-4 liters of it daily. As you hydrate your body properly, you'll develop more of a thirst for water.

Food cravings are often the body's cry for water. You might already have more of a thirst than you even realize - and if you are going to quench it, make sure your water is alkaline!

Acid-Alkaline Balance

Proper Health starts with the correct acid-alkaline balance in your body. The pH level (acid - alkaline measurement) of our internal fluids affects every cell in our bodies. Extended acid imbalances of any kind can overwhelm your body, and lead to health complications.

Just as the body regulates its temperature in a rigid manner, so will it manage to preserve a very narrow pH range - especially in the blood. As a matter of fact, the body will go to such great lengths to maintain a blood pH of 7.365 that it will even create stress on other tissues, body systems, and organs to do so. Chronic acidity will interrupt all cellular activities and functions - it interferes with life itself.

When the pH of the body gets out of balance (too acidic), we may experience low energy, fatigue, excess weight, poor digestion, aches and pains, and even more serious disorders.

The cycle of acidity begins primarily as a result of three things:

1. Ingesting acids. Eating too many acidifying foods like processed sugar, meats, dairy, coffee, alcohol, etc. Create an acid ash in the body. These acids can overload the body’s ability to neutralize them.

2. Creation of acids. Pathogens and microforms create acidifying toxins in the body. As the body becomes more and more acidic, bad bacteria, yeasts and other microforms proliferate in the body. Since these organisms are living, they eat as well as create resulting toxins. These toxins are often very acidifying.

3. Improper elimination of acids. Not all acids are the same; some are weak and some are strong. Weak acids like citric acid are much easier to neutralize than strong acids like uric acid. The body uses many systems in order to buffer acids including breath, mineral reserves, and fat. When the body’s buffering systems become compromised, excess acids build up.

The process of reestablishing acid-alkaline balance begins with proper diet and nutrition. This includes eating alkalizing foods (vegetables, low sugar fruits, etc.), super hydration (drinking plenty of alkaline water that is ionic and structured), and proper supplementation.

pH Balance begins with super hydration

Water is the most crucial factor in establishing and maintaining proper acid-alkaline balance. Since your body is 70% water, it is extremely important to constantly replenish your supply of it. The body loses 2.5 liters of water every day just through normal bodily functions. The quality of the water that you drink is just as important as the quantity of water you drink. The water you put in your body must be able to prevent toxins and chemical substances from accumulating and creating destructive influences on cells. Water must also transport minerals and nutrients required for cell metabolism, and remove any substances that can damage the cell. Ideally, the water you drink should have a ph between 9 and 10, and you should be drinking 3-4 liters of it daily.

In order to hydrate your body optimally, you need to drink water that is alkaline and ionized. Alkaline water helps to neutralize stored acids and toxins. Once these acids are neutralized, they can then be removed by the body. Alkaline water containing ionic minerals also acts as a conductor of electrochemical activity from cell to cell. Reports from studies suggest that ionized, alkaline water can help the body resist disease and slow aging by:

• Increasing Intracellular Hydration
• Replenishing Essential Minerals
• Stabilizing and Protecting Cells
• Helping To Maintain Normal Blood Flow and Acid Alkaline Balance
• Flushing Out and Preventing Wastes from Accumulating in Cells
• Preventing Free Radicals from Forming and Damaging Other Cells

Restructured Alkaline and Acidic water is the result of an electrolysis process. This process is actually electrifying the water between two points: a cathode, a negative conductor and an anode, a positive conductor. The result of this electrical charge is separation and concentration of alkaline minerals and acidic minerals. The alkaline water contains the alkaline minerals which are potassium, magnesium, calcium and sodium. The acidic water contains the acidic minerals which are chlorine, fluoride, lead, sulfur and phosphorus. Another process also takes place during this electrolysis. The alkaline water molecule structure (groups of H20 molecules) size is reduced from approximately 11 clusters to 5 or 6 clusters. This smaller water is referred to scientifically as “Electrolyzed Reduced Water” , and commonly referred to as “Restructured Alkaline Water”.

This alkaline water is full of negative hydrogen ions as a result of the molecular restructuring. This is what gives the alkaline water the super anti-oxidative property and its ability to be an active scavenger of free radicals within the body. Its restructured size gives it great permeability in the body allowing it to cross cellular barriers, limited by normal water, providing maximum hydration. The smaller molecular size gives increased permeability and effectiveness for nutritional supplements and prescription medication. The alkaline water has an oxygen reduction potential (ORP) rating which refers to how much anti-oxidation it can perform. This relates to the relative pH of the water and as you drink it, determines its effectiveness as an anti-oxidant in your body. The higher pH provides more oxygen reduction potential and the higher its potency as an anti-oxidant within your body. Over time, the alkaline water has the ability to turn your tissue into an alkaline state and dissolve acid formed matter such as kidney stones and gall stones within the body. The alkaline water has a pure clean taste, is easy to drink and sometimes referred to as a “wetter water” due to its smooth texture and reduced molecule structure size. The smaller molecule structure size allows the water to boil in about half of the time as regular water, making it excellent water for cooking. The faster heat conduction keeps the flavor in the food and not in the water that is drained away.