Health Benefits of Drinking Water

In tonight's Urban Homemaker phone conference, Marilyn Moll spoke with Deanna DeLong about the health benefits of drinking water and the importance of drinking water free of contaminants.

First, here is Deanna's book:  “Drink Water for Life“.

I can tell you this, when I hung up afterward, I went straight to the kitchen for a big glass of water!

Deanna used to use a water pitcher filter, but when she had the water in her house tested for lead, there was over twice the normal amount.

See which water filter I recommend here:  Why we ditched our reverse osmosis water!

She drank less than 1 glass of water per day for years, as a child she never drank water unless it was in juice because where she grew up it was barely drinkable. Then she read the book, “Water for health, for healing, for life“, and she went from drinking 1 glass or less per day to drinking 10-8 oz. glasses every day! Now in last 15 years, she's never missed one day of drinking 10 glasses, and these days she drinks almost 15 glasses of water a day. “However, everything in life has a price. The price for good health is the fact that you have to spend more time in the bathroom!”  (Note:  I've also heard you CAN drink TOO much water, so do more research on this first!)

“About 10 years ago, the changes in my body prompted me to write, Drink Water For Life. Now I share the message with hundreds of people: without exception, when water intake increased, really positive things happen in your body.”

• Our body is 60-75% water – all metabolic functions take place in water. If not taking in enough, our body recycles its own sewage. Everyday a healthy hydrated adult loses 12 glasses of water out the soles of the feet, when we breathe out, out through our skin, in the urine. If not taking that in, then these functions slow down.
• Within a week of increasing her water, she was thinking clearly and had more energy. Those were the first two changes she noticed right away. The brain is 90% water, and it helps us to think clearly.
• Symptoms of not drinking enough water: #1 headache, #2 fatigue, and #3 depression.
• Deanna said she suffered from allergies her whole life. The first year after drinking more water she had minimal allergies.
• Her husband David was a lifelong asthmatic. It took 3 years of drinking plenty of pure water for asthma symptoms to decrease; now he has hardly any.
• Water keeps you warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
• The heart is 75% water. If we're not getting enough, the blood is more sluggish, which could cause higher cholesterol, high blood pressure, and hardening of arteries.
• Our kidneys are constantly filtering blood and they send the waste out in the urine, so if we don't have enough water, they can't clean the blood properly. Instead of toxins being eliminated, they stay inside us.
• She said many digestive ailments are cured or improved with drinking more water. Gastritis, heartburn, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, acid stomach, and constipation especially. She knew a lady who for 25 years had only been able to go once/week and was drinking a half glass of water a day. She'd tried everything the docs suggested. After one week of drinking 10 glasses of water per day, everything started to move! She obviously felt so much better!
• Our bones are 22% water, and it cushions the joints. She talked about a man with terrible ligament pain in the groin if he sat more than half hour. He was 6'5″, weighed 225# and was drinking 2 glasses of water a day. When he began drinking a gallon a day, the very next day the pain was gone. “I ran into him the other day and he told me he's been totally pain free for 8 weeks! It was just dehydration.”
• The vertebrae in our backs are cushioned by water, back pain is common in those who don't drink enough.
• Enough water is very important when pregnant – amniotic fluid replenishes itself often and needs extra water. Low levels of toxins in water, like chlorine, lead, pesticides, herbicides, etc., are more dangerous for baby – an NSF certified filter is very important when pregnant. Morning sickness, premature labor & delivery are often due to dehydration.
• When nursing you need a ton of fresh clean water.
• Sometimes our bodies may need even more water depending on what we might be dealing with – if you have health issues such as diabetes, cancer, or fibromyalgia, increase intake to maybe a gallon a day.
• If you feel yourself coming down with a cold or virus, drink more water. It lowers your immune system if you're dehydrated.
• The more you exercise, the more you need to drink – increase intake to 2/3 oz./pound of body weight.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU'RE GETTING ENOUGH WATER?

An easy test: if your urine is clear, you're getting plenty. If it is yellow, you're dehydrated, if it is orange, you're really dehydrated.

WHAT ABOUT ELECTROLYTES / MINERALS?

Deanna recommends adding extra sea salt to your water or food if you drink more than 10-12 glasses of water/day. She also buys packets of electrolytes over-the-counter at the pharmacy. It's important to keep your potassium and sodium in balance!

Since Kent & I put in a whole-house carbon filter a few years ago (to get out the Chlorine and other contaminants), and a Reverse Osmosis system (to get out the Fluoride and more contaminants), I was concerned about the natural minerals we were no longer getting in our water. I was told by Sally Fallon and also read it in various places, that just as Deanna says, more sea salt in your diet can replace what is lost from not having it in your water.  (Update:  Why we ditched our reverse osmosis water.)

CAN YOU GET TOO MUCH WATER?

Marilyn commented on how a lot of people worry that we can drink too much water. Deanna says that if you have heart disease or kidney issues – definitely monitor water intake with your doctor. Everyone else needs more water.

CAN'T WE JUST LISTEN TO OUR BODIES AND DRINK WHEN WE'RE THIRSTY?

That's what I always thought, but Deanna says that when we don't drink much, your thirst reflex shuts off. “For 50 years I just wasn't thirsty. But the more you drink, the more you'll crave it.”

HOW MUCH SHOULD WE REALLY DRINK?

Deanna recommends you take your weight and divide by 2 – drink a minimum of that many ounces each day. For example if you weigh 160#, divide by two = 80oz./day = 10 cups a day.

One thing I just realized I should've asked last night but didn't think of it then: in her opinion, should we count the other liquids we're drinking each day toward the total recommended amount, or is that in addition to other liquids? Since healthy milk and lacto-fermented beverages (more on that in future posts) are so important, I'm assuming you count those as part of your total recommended daily fluid intake.

WATER VS. OTHER BEVERAGES LIKE COFFEE, TEA, POP, JUICE, ALCOHOL, ETC.

We already know that soda pop is a bad choice because of all the high fructose corn syrup or fake sugars. Deanna says that if your beverage has caffeine, it will dehydrate you, so if you drink 1 cup of coffee, you'll lose 1 1/2 cups in the bathroom, so drink extra to make up for that. Same with alcoholic beverages.

She recommends children are very limited in their juice intake, as it is the #1 cause of obesity. She said her daughter took her 18 month old to the doctor and told him that she gives him about 2 oz. of juice a day in a cup with the rest filtered water. He told her to stop, because she was teaching him that he always has to have flavor in his water.

TAP, REVERSE OSMOSIS, BOTTLED OR FILTERED WATER?

According to Deanna, tap water has over 2000 contaminants in it and the government only regulates 80. (Go to the Environmental Working Group site to see what is in your water.) “They've done great studies on water in the U.S., and especially on contaminants. The government sets limits, but the limits are not very good. Exposure to contaminants increases the risk factors for a variety of diseases. Buying the best water filter is the best thing you can do.”

She says that RO — Reverse Osmosis — is the least effective technology for contaminate reduction, solid carbon is the best. (But solid carbon can't take the Fl out, only RO!) Solid carbon filters are also best for filtering pharmaceutical contaminants. The EPA doesn't test for it. She recommends the book, “Altering Eden, the Feminization of Nature” by Deborah Cadbury.

Bottled water is expensive and poorly regulated. It is sometimes worse for you than tap water.

Distilled water is the least effective technology because volatile chemicals are not removed from water (unless it's combined with a solid carbon filter) and it is more expensive.

Here's more about why I wouldn't buy our current, expensive RO system.

WHAT ABOUT FLUORIDE?

Some people think Fluoride is more dangerous than anything else in water, and I happen to agree. I was married to a dentist for 20 years and thought it was a good thing, but now I'm totally against it. Read this book and make your own decision, it speaks strongly to arguments that we hear both for and against: The Fluoride Deceptionby Christopher Bryson. You have to call your utility to find out if your water has it or not.” She says that some children are having mottled teeth (big brown spots) from the Fluoride, among other health issues. If you want the Fluoride out, you have to add a Reverse Osmosis unit to your filter.

See my post about this:  Dental Fluorosis: Look what I did to our son.

SHE EXPLAINS HER BOOK IN A NUTSHELL:

“Drink lots of water, eat a well-balanced diet, get plenty of sleep, exercise daily.”

QUESTION AND ANSWERS

Marilyn opened it up for questions:

• I tested the ph in my water recently and it was too acidic – what can I do to change that and can it create health problems?

Deanna: “You are correct to want to adjust ph issues, but be guarded, there are scams out there – water systems who claim magic. If you're on a well, there are well companies that will help you. If you're on city water, it's more difficult. First, increase the greens in your diet. (Avocados, green salads, green veggies, etc.) In 3 1/2 weeks I went from 6.8 on ph to a 7.2 by going green. I didn't do anything to my water. The other thing to try is to put a bit less than 1/2 t. of sodium bicarbonate in your water to get the ph in your blood more alkaline. (More than that and it could cause diarrhea.) This is a low-cost way to do it. The healthiest range for ph is 7.1-7.2 (test your saliva), but that depends on water utility, how soft the water is, and the source. Also, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice will tend to move your body more toward being alkaline, even though they're both acidic, start with 1/2 t. and see how it helps.

She recommends the book, “The ph miracle” by Robert Young. “His philosophy is sound except he's pushing a $4000 ionizer – it's a joke, but his basic info is good.”

• The next question was from someone wanting a portable RO or solid carbon filter system for her RV.

Deanna said there are systems for RV's, but not a portable type that you can take in and out.  Update:  this company has portable water filters!

• A caller wondered when you should offer babies water?

“At 6 months it's appropriate, but be very careful it's free of contaminants as children are more susceptible to them. When weaned, babies need more water than adults because #1 they're on the go all the time so they're burning through more water, #2 they're growing and this increases water requirements. Offer it a lot and they'll get used to drinking it.

• I had asked about one thing that I wondered throughout the conference – how natural it is to drink as much water as Deanna is recommending? Did God really intend for us to drink water all day long?

Deanna said that she used to wonder that, too, but after seeing how many people have benefited from increasing their water intake through the years, now she's convinced at how important it is. She's had many of her own health issues resolved by drinking enough pure water, and has heard many stories of others with the same results. She no longer has sinus infections or back pain, her skin is clear, her wrinkles are gone, and she has more energy. “I don't want to go back to being dehydrated!” (Marilyn was surprised that she is almost 65 and said she doesn't look it at all!)

After listening tonight, I do know that I need to dramatically increase my own water intake, whether I'll get up to what I should, I don't know, but I'm going to try and see what happens!

Marilyn & I both want to stress that anything you hear on the phone seminar, or read here in the notes, is not a substitute for consulting with your doctor, this is just information. If you've read all the way down to the bottom, wow, I'm impressed! Thank you!

I'll conclude with a poem Deanna's husband made up: “In this advice, we are most sincere, you should drink water until you pee clear.” 🙂

Now go get a glass of water!

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