The Key to Hydration
As I sit here on the beach wondering what to blog about next I can't help but reach for my flaska and start typing about the health benefits of hydration. Water: drink 8 cups a day. Seems easy enough but I will tell you 80% of the patients we see at Healing Arts are dehydrated. Not just a little dehydrated, but so much so that it is affecting their health in one way or another. If I have typed, "Drink more water" on your supplement schedule then you know what I am referring to. Let me take the time now to explain in detail why that one step is so important to your health.
If you don’t drink enough good quality water right now and you start I bet you that your overall health will increase by 10%, just by drinking water! Trust me, staying hydrated is key to a healthy body. Most patients are doing one form or another of a detox when they start their personalized nutrition programs. It could be detoxing from aluminum, plastic, chlorine, mercury or a different heavy metal. It all depends on what shows up in the muscle testing. When detoxing, we need even more than our usual 64 ounces a day because the toxins that are purposely being pulled out also need to be flushed out. If toxins are not being flushed out detox symptoms can occur and include headaches, skin rashes, constipation, diarrhea, irritability, fatigue, trouble sleeping, or feeling like you are getting a cold. Many of these symptoms are similar symptoms when you're dehydrated as well. The reasons why detox symptoms can occur is because there is more being pulled out of the cells and tissues, running around in your bloodstream faster than can actually be pulled into the liver, broken down and eliminated out through the kidneys or bowels. The health benefits of drinking more water including:
carrying nutrients and oxygen to your cells
flushing bacteria from your bladder
aiding digestion
preventing constipation
normalizing blood pressure
stabilizing the heartbeat
less joint stiffness
better memory
regulating body temperature
maintaining electrolyte (sodium) balance.
It is said to drink 8 glasses of water a day but I think everyone's optimal water intake is a very personal amount based on their age, activity level and their current health status. Over the years I have seen a trend of how much water people tend to need on a daily basis and if I was to put a number on it I would suggest for the average adult we need to drink 2 liters, which is about your 8 glasses of 8 ounces (1 cup) of water a day but drink at least 1/2 a liter more if you are detoxing or not feeling well to flush microbes or toxins out.
For a lot of people this can be difficult to do for it does not include any soups, caffeinated, fruit or sugary drinks. So it would only include water or herbal tea. Caffeinated or sugary drinks actually deplete more water than they put in, causing dehydration so if you have a cup of caffeinated tea you would want to do 9 cups of water to make up for it, not 8 cups a day. There is an art to making sure you are drinking enough water and that's why an app to keep track can be a good idea. A free app, such as Daily Water, is good at recording how much water you drink plus you can set reminders to make sure you drink your daily 2 liters. You can actually set it to any daily amount and also email me the data too! There are also water bottles that blink now to remind you to drink. They are made from plastic so I don't love them but it could be used as a baby step towards drinking enough water.
When we are out and need to drink water and the only choice is buying water from a plastic bottle I rather you drink it than stay dehydrated. The water that muscle tests the best from plastic bottles is Mountain Valley, (hopefully you can find it in glass but if not it is the best water from a plastic bottle). Next is Volvic water and the third option is Evian. Hopefully one of those three are an option wherever you are buying water from.
Interestingly our bodies are made up of 60% percent water and that’s why drinking enough is essential to our health and affects so many bodily functions including digestion, blood pressure and detoxing, as well as our energy level. It’s not only vital to drink it but also to ensure that the quality of our water is of the highest regard. There are many more factors than plastic that can contaminate our water supply which can then negatively affect the body’s health. The environmental working group has found over 300 chemicals and metals in our water. These toxins were found in our water supply throughout the United States and even in some water bottles and include industrial solvents, weed killers, refrigerants and rocket fuel in water supplied to the public.
Water stored in plastic containers are a problem because plastic is known to actually disrupt the natural function of the body by disrupting our body’s hormones, immune function, nervous system function and causing reproductive issues depleting our health and vitality. You can go on the environmental working group’s website ewg.org and put your zip code in to find how many toxins are in your water supply. Here are some of the main toxins that the ewg finds.
· Atrazine- herbicide used on food supply that runs into our water stream
· Lead- old piping, affects nervous system and brain function
· Chlorine- added to kill bacteria but it affects the body’s lungs and lymph system
· Plastic- leaches chemicals into our water that affect hormonal balance
· Fluoride- a neuro toxin affecting the brain, added to protect our teeth. The EWG has a map dedicated just to fluoride contaminates. To know how much fluoride is in your drinking water, check out the map.
Understanding that these toxins wreak havoc on the body we can use a water filter to drink better quality water. There are so many water filter options out there that it can be confusing so I have come up with my top three choices that remove most of these nasty toxins.
· Zero water filter is a pitcher water filter like the Brita but does a better job. $35 and is the cheapest I can find that does a good job. But keep in mind it’s a hard plastic pitcher and we don’t love plastic.
· Berkey water filters are great, stainless steel but take up counter space and start at $250.
I personally have a chlorine filter for the whole house and a Reverse Osmosis (RO) filter for drinking water from Culligan that I love. When the Culligan guys came to my house to install the filters it felt like it was my birthday! RO water is great, takes out all contaminates but it also takes out the natural minerals that is in water so you will need to supplement with minerals to make up for it.
Bottled glass water is great and Mountain Valley also tests the best when it comes to water bottled in glass too. That's why it's the only water we offer at the Healing Arts Wellness Center. Whether you drink bottled or filtered water, for those of you who are patients at Healing Arts, at your next appointment bring in your drinking water in a glass container and we'll muscle test it for you to make sure it's good for your body.
When on the go you will want to drink your filtered water but don’t carry it in a plastic bottle. The reason I am against plastic is because it is highly toxic and leeches into the water. Heat makes plastic leach more and when you put your mouth to a plastic water bottle remember that it’s 98 degrees. Many of you are familiar with the need to buy BPA-free plastic. BPA, is toxic because it acts like estrogen in the body. Research finds that BPA leached from the lining of tin cans, dental sealants and plastic bottles can increase body weight of lab animals' offspring. A more recent animal study suggests that even low-level exposure to BPA results in insulin resistance, which can lead to inflammation, diabetes and heart disease. There are now BPA-free products, yet, in 2011 it was reported that "almost all plastic products" sampled released chemicals that acted like estrogen. This is why you want to try to avoid not only plastic water bottles but plastic forks, straws, saran wrap, ziplock bags etc. Plastic is everywhere and it will help to cut down its usage. For more on plastic toxicity and other heavy chemical toxicity and what to do about it, listen to this podcast, Heavy Chemical Toxicity.
Use stainless steel water bottles or even better are glass water bottles. My favorite water bottle that I absolutely love to use is my Flaska water bottle. It’s not only glass but the glass is made in such a way to restructure the water crystals. This type of water is called structured water and is extremely healthy for you. The science behind structured water comes from Dr. Masaru Emoto who was a Japanese scientist that believed that water was a "blueprint for our reality" and that emotional "energies" and "vibrations" could change the physical structure of water. Emoto's water crystal experiments consisted of exposing water in glasses to different words, pictures or music, and then freezing and examining the aesthetic properties of the resulting crystals with microscopic photography. Emoto's studies show that water exposed to positive speech and thoughts would result in visually pleasing crystals being formed when that water was frozen, and that negative intention would yield "ugly" frozen crystal formations.
And if this is what words do to water then you can imagine what they do to us on a cellular level for we are made up of 60% water. To find out more, Dr. Emoto's best selling book is called, The Hidden Messages in Water. The main idea is quantum physics. E=mc2, so anything with mass has energy and that energy travels in waves and can be picked up on and interfere with water. Even the mass of letters on a piece of paper can restructure water crystals.
I have read blogs on making your own special water using words, which Dr. Emoto calls HADO water and the most effective and efficient way is through a FLASKA water bottle. FLASKA makes special glass water bottles that restructure the water in 5 minutes. It comes with a sleeve for protection so if you drop the bottle it doesn't break. They are $36 each for 1/2L and $40 for 3/4L and can be bought online.
To get the most out of your FLASKA restructuring the water write positive words on a piece of paper and leave under the bottle for 5 minutes so that it's restructured to your specific words. Make sure all the words are touching the glass so you may have to write small. An all encompassing phrase would work like 'love and gratitude'. But if you have pain or a health concern write something like, 'this pain is already gone'. For those of you who use affirmations this would be a great way to use them! Get creative and drink your 2-3 liters of water a day like this!
Now I understand when on the go it’s not easy to always have filtered water so when I’m stuck I will buy water in plastic water bottles and pour them into my flaska which is definitely better than getting dehydrated and at least this way your lips aren’t touching the plastic.
Using this concept of restructuring water to hold a certain energy a company called Infopathy came up with infoceuticals. Using the concept E=mc2 and energy medicine we can electronically transfer medicinal waves into a water tincture made just for you. We can muscle test and create a personalized combination of waves to imprint the water with. These medicinal waves are called infocueticals (IC). When we transfer ICs of medicinal substances to the water we create homeopathic dosages - technically there is no active substance present in the IC water, but under the influence of an electromagnetic field with a specific spectrum, the technology makes water molecules organize in a certain way that mimics the energy signature of the original substance. The same thing happens when homeopathic remedies are created. The restructured water can interact with receptors in our body and cause a similar reaction as if it was the substance itself.
I love homeopathy and have used it in my office for 10 years. Now using ICs we can make a homeopathic tincture personalized to you which is the mission of the new Healing Arts Wellness Center. We want to muscle test and make everything as personalized as possible, from the lotion you purchase to the tea you drink, and now homeopathic blends. I also love how it's water based because a lot of homeopathy is alcohol based and patients don't always muscle test for it because of the alcohol content. If you are not able to be muscle tested for a tincture we can make one based on symptoms for you. Homeopathy is not well understood and if you want to know more about it watch this documentary, Magic Pills.
The strength of the effect of the personalized remedy depends on how well the body can actually use or resonate with the information the water is holding, and whether the body has energy to make a change that the water wants. Because it is energy medicine, the effect from ICs might be slower and much lighter, but that is probably why they don't have negative effects. I highly suggest using energy medicine in the form of ICs to help detox, reduce inflammation, support hormones, have better digestion and less pain.
For many people it would be beneficial to drink 32 ounces of water first thing in the morning with 1/2 lemon squeezed in it. If you suffer from headaches, constipation, high blood pressure, or detox symptoms drinking half of your daily water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach and then waiting 30 minutes to drink or eat anything else can really help the body flush out toxins and reduce inflammation. The lemon is helpful because it is a strong detoxer. You see, every night from 11pm-1am your liver takes all the toxins it has broken down from the day and dumps it into the intestines to be eliminated so that if we drink tons of water first thing in the morning it helps move all those toxins to be eliminated and not just sit in the intestines and get reabsorbed through the intestinal wall. You wait 30 minutes so the body can do this detoxing efficiently and not be distracted with also trying to digest your breakfast or tea.
I also love adding lime to my water. Lime water and lemon water are very similar for their benefits. I do find most people test for lemon in their 32 ounces of water in the morning but then test for lime not lemon to be added to the rest of their water for the day. Limes are higher in calcium and vitamin A than lemons, and just like lemons, limes help
• boost the immune system
• they also help support the liver and detox
• help improve digestion and bowel movements
• helps with heart burn
• and decrease inflammation to help with joint problems
If you want to stay healthy, sip on lime or lemon water throughout the day. The vitamin C and antioxidants in limes and lemons can strengthen your immune system and help your body fight off infections such as the cold and flu virus. It may also shorten the duration of an illness. The vitamin C in limes helps the liver to produce glutathione, which is a regenerative antioxidant that helps the liver process and eliminate toxins.
Drinking lime water improves digestion. Limes are acidic and they help saliva break down food for better digestion. Additionally, flavonoids in limes stimulate secretion of digestive juices. If you suffer from constipation, the acidity of limes can clear the large intestine and stimulate bowel activity. If you have heartburn, believe it or not, drinking a glass of warm water with 2 teaspoons of lime juice about 30 minutes before meals may help prevent reflux symptoms.
Arthritis, gout, and other joint problems are caused by inflammation. Vitamin C can reduce the level of inflammation in your body, so adding lime juice to water can relieve symptoms of arthritis and similar conditions that cause joint pain and stiffness. Limes can also reduce uric acid levels. Uric acid is a waste product the body produces when breaking down foods that contain purines, like meat, liver, mushrooms, and dried beans. High levels of uric acid can cause gout.
Limes are not only a good source of vitamin c but also:
• potassium
• vitamins A, B, C, and D
• calcium
• magnesium
If it’s not easy for you to always have a fresh, organic lime on hand to squeeze into your water you can buy organic essential lime oil that is easy to carry anywhere with you and get the same great benefits. Start adding lime to your drinking water today and see what happens!
You may want to get muscle tested for how much lime or lemon to use because I have seen patients detox too fast by drinking too much lemon or lime water. So if you get any detox symptoms such as rashes, severe fatigue, headaches, diarrhea, feel a cold coming on, then cut the limes or lemons but keep drinking your water!
Another thing you can put in your water to make it healthier for you is oxygen. Yes oxygen, it’s called ozonated water and you would need a special machine for it. I have done a lot of research on ozone therapy and what machines are best and I finally decided on the Ozo pod. My main use for it is to make ozonated water to clean all my fruits and vegetables. I felt like all the cleaning sprays for fruits and vegetables were not really doing a good job so when I first learned about ozonated water I was excited to try it on my produce and I love it! It also purifies water for drinking which is great for camping and I also started washing my face with the ozonated water and I do feel a difference, like my skin is tighter. When the ozonated water hits the skin the extra oxygen really gives the skin a boost. I drink 16 ounces of ozonated water every morning on an empty stomach. Because it's good at killing germs for some people it kills some of their good gut flora too so a probiotic may need to be taken with it. Get muscle tested at the office to see how much would be good for you to drink and if you need a probiotic with it as well.
In the ozone process, the machine makes ozone in the water and the water molecules which are H2O are infused with bubbling O3. Because ozone is unstable, the newly formed bond is only temporary and must be used or preserved no more than 20 minutes after creation to be most effective. Ozonated water has a clean, fresh taste. In fact, one patient wrote, "It is the freshest, cleanest - tasting water I've had in ages - and it doesn't taste flat like so many of the bottled waters." This type of water has been shown in a number of scientific studies to kill bacteria and viruses. It has proven effective in killing E. coli, yeast, salmonella and listeria. that’s why it’s good for purifying water when camping assuming you have access to electricity and it’s great for washing your produce.
The biological benefits of drinking ozonated water are a result of the ozone breaking apart creating a single oxygen atom that the body can use. The more oxygen in the body the better! Ozone adds oxygen to the blood stream and eliminates impurities. Increased oxygen in the brain heightens its function. Single oxygen atoms introduced into the immune system makes it stronger and better able to fight infections. Drinking cold ozone water on an empty stomach regularly can detoxify your intestinal tract and is especially good for people going through a parasite cleanse or having constipation or diarrhea. Drinking ozonated water increases energy levels too because of the extra oxygen in the body. But the effectiveness of ozonated water is not limited to drinking. Bathing in ozonated water is great therapy for skin disorders, eczema, psoriasis, hives. It can also be used to treat muscle soreness, spinal and back injuries and neck stiffness.
Due to its disinfecting properties, ozonated water is used during surgeries to keep opened areas sterile. It also is used as a supplemental treatment of cancer. Research has shown that the introduction of the third oxygen cell can aid the body’s immune system in containing the existing cancer cells, thus preventing the spread of cancer to uninfected areas of the body. Though this is not potent enough a therapy to be used alone, ozonated water has been shown to kill small numbers of cancer cells in patients.
Ozonated water has been found to to help the body detox by converting wastes and toxins to water and carbon dioxide after which they are easily expelled from the body. This is especially essential in neutralizing the effects of harmful toxins. Water that has been ozonated for at least 10 minutes has been found to be effective in treating fungal infections, such as athlete’s foot, ringworms and nail fungus by soaking the infected area for at least 10 mniutes. I have also seen ozone water when used with brushing teeth help eliminate bad breath, mouth inflammation and gum problems.
Sometimes when patients drink their 64 ounces of water daily and yet have dehydration symptoms I ask them if they are urinating a lot. If the answer is yes and it seems like the water goes right through them then I try to figure out what type of minerals they need to add to their water to help their cells actually absorb and use the water instead of just going right through their system.
What I have found muscle tests the best for this type of dehydration is one of four things: trace mineral drops, homeopathic rehydration drops, electrolyte packs or Himalayan salt.
Trace mineral drops are from a company called Trace Minerals Research. These drops have over 60 different minerals in them, the majority being magnesium, The minerals help the pH balance of the body so the cells then absorb the water and use it. If you test for them the only draw back is that they don’t taste great.
Rehydration is a homeopathic remedy from a company called Energetix that helps the cells absorb water and besides dehydration symptoms it is wonderful to use for dry skin; bloating; headaches; stiffness in muscles and joints; and mental sluggishness.
Electrolyte packs -first of all they are easy to travel with. There’s lots of different companies out there but I like Dr. Price because in one packet they have over 72 different trace minerals in them and they don’t have all the sugar or even fruit sugar known as fructose in them like the other companies. It also doesn’t have food coloring.
Sometimes adding a pinch of Himalayan salt to every glass of water is the best way to go. It’s just a pinch so you shouldn’t taste the salt and it's easy to do when home but not as easy when out and about, that’s where the packets come in handy. Himalayan salt contains 84 trace minerals and is a great source of electrolytes. I use Himalayan salt when making my own gatorade. Simply put in a saucepan juice of 2 lemons, 2 Tablespoons Manuka honey and 1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt over medium heat until honey and salt dissolves. Then pour mixture into 6 cups of cold water in a big Mason jar. Shake to combine then chill drink in fridge until ready to drink.
If you feel like it's too much work to make your own gatorade then grab coconut water for the electrolytes. My favorite brand is Harmless Harvest but it does come in plastic!
With dehydration, patients usually test for one of the four remedies: trace mineral drops, homeopathic drops, electrolyte packs or Himalayan salt. The testing depends on what type of minerals the body is missing. That’s why I love muscle testing. I don’t have to guess, the body tells me through the biofeedback.
Movement is another thing that will help us stay hydrated. I just recently learned about it in a book called Quench from Dr. Dana Cohen. Movement can be in the form of exercise which you think dehydrates us but it actually helps push water into the fascia of the body instead of staying superficial. From the fascia, the water then goes into the organs and muscles of the body so that the cells can absorb it. What I found fascinating reading the book was that even micro movements counted as helping move water into the body. Micro movements can include turning of the head and shoulder circles but also includes such little movements as fidgeting can make a difference. Studies show that fidgeting actually improves the longevity of a woman's life up to 43% by pushing water into the body. The book specifies for better health you really want 360 degree, full range of motion, so every tissue in your body has in and out flow to remain supple and healthy.
I just talked about water going into the tissues but outflow is also important and that's where the lymphatic system comes into play. Our body is made up of 80 trillion cells that sit in about 60% water. Besides the water that needs to move so do two other types of fluids: blood and lymph. Blood feeds the body while lymph cleans the body, cells eliminate their wastes into the interstitial fluid, which becomes part of the lymph. If lymph fluid is not moving out properly then cell, tissue and organ function will become sluggish, compromising the health of the body. Imagine a fish living in a dirty fish tank, likewise our cells living in a toxic environment will not resist too long and will degenerate. What if we put the drainage system in motion to get rid of cellular waste and create the ideal condition for lymph to flow again? That's why micro movements can be so helpful. Blood has a pump called the heart but lymph doesn't have a pump and relies on our muscles to contract to move. All lymph fluid has to move out of the tissues towards the heart. During this movement toxins and germs get filtered in lymph nodes before dumping into the blood stream near the heart. Besides exercise and micro movements, dry brushing can help and so can lymphatic drainage therapy.
By dropping the volume of retained lymph fluid that isn't moving this special type of therapy can also reduce the risk of impeded circulation. Lymphatic drainage therapy has the potential to improve your immunity and is really beneficial post-surgeries and postpartum. We use the Lymphstar Pro Fusion machine which is an electronic instrument that is amazing at moving the lymph at a deep level. It uses low grade electrons to move the lymph and also improve microcirculation and general circulation by the massage therapist running bulbs across the skin. When the glass bulbs sticks to the skin there is lymphatic congestion and when the glass bulb smoothly glides over the skin there is no congestion. If the bulb sticks then the massage therapist slowly goes over the area until it no longer sticks.
If this blog was not enough tips on how to stay hydrated or you want more step-by-steps the Quench book comes with a Quench Plan with even meal plans to get the most hydration out of your food too!