Water Works: The Good, The Bad and the Bubbly

You’ve got to notice that there’s an awful lot of bottled water out there. It’s from springs,  from clouds, distilled, artisan, purified, energized, sparkling… I immediately remind myself of Forrest Gump’s army buddy, Bubba, who had an endless list of all the ways to cook shrimp. The mind reels.

Rush Now to A Spring Near You

Most gurus claim that natural spring water is the best and I guess it’s hardly debatable since that’s the stuff coming straight from the source and all the rest seem to pale in comparison. But there’s a kind of craziness to it too. Spurred by the desire for fresh water, Find A Spring is a wildly popular site that allows people to find a spring at a ‘location near you’. You can go and get the stuff straight from the earth, bypassing plastic bottles in favor of healthier, sustainable glass vessels. It’s all BYOB and Do It Yourself.

I, unfortunately, am not so lucky when it comes to finding a nearby pure water source. Because, sadly,  living in New Mexico- the Land of Enchantment- only entitles me to three springs, all of which require considerable travel from where I sit now.  Not exactly enchanting. Certainly bottling my own living spring water would cost me a pretty penny and a serious time commitment, never mind the carbon footprint. What’s a girl to do? Maybe move to Idaho?

Enter: the grocery store.

Pure Water…?

The thing that gets me about all this water is all these companies trying to make themselves sound so pure and spring-like. And then you find out that the water’s been filtered and bottled in a plant in Newark, New Jersey where there’s not a natural spring – or anything even verging on clean water – in sight. Companies like Dasani and Aquafina are literally bottling purified tap water; 40% of bottled water companies can make the same claim. But they’re certainly not putting it out there in bold letters. Honestly, you might as well go with a Britta filter, use your own tap and save the environment too.

Actually, I’ve heard that some of the best tasting water is straight out of the tap in New York City. People pine for it when they leave. Who knows? Maybe it’s laced with excitogens. Of course, the way things are going on these days, it’s a distinct possibility.

Isn’t It All Raw…?

There’s a place in Maine called Summit Springs. Their claim to fame is Raw Living Spring Water without filtration or treatment. Sometimes there are even particles in the water to substantiate this claim. I read some articles written by people who are as down on this as they are on raw milk. You’ve got to be kidding. It’s just water with rocks in it; what’s the big deal? Well. the price of course. 12 bottles for $30.

Extra Benefits…

A few years ago, one of the students at our raw food classes brought her husband with her. He sold a special kind of water that was supposed to improve flexibility and strength almost immediately after drinking it.  His presentation was like a vaudeville act. He would make everyone try and accomplish these physical feats like touching their own toes, then have them drink a glass of the ‘magic’ water and do it again. There was a dramatic improvement in everyone’s abilities, bar none. The room exploded with applause and enthusiasm.  Placebo effect, maybe?

So, we all bought a case. Me too. I figured I’d use it for yoga. Surely, twisting yourself  into pretzels would be easy with that stuff.  I think we were all betting on it being fantastic for our sex lives.

Now I know that was, in fact, alkaline water.

Alkaline Water

Alkaline water is yet another fountain of youth story. By definition a substance is considered alkaline if it has a pH over 7. In many ways it could be considered ‘processed’ because nutrients are often added to create that alkaline pH. It’s supposed to support your immune system and have actual anti-aging and detoxifying properties as well as being an excellent colon cleanser. Supposedly if you consume high alkaline water after a workout it reduces your blood viscosity, meaning blood flows more efficiently. Maybe this is the reason everyone could touch their toes, all of a sudden. But let’s face it: it’s altered water.

Obviously not all water is created equal. And it seems like no one really wants it to be. For whatever reasons, everyone’s trying to do something to it.

Getting Chlorinated…

By the end of the 19th century, chlorine was being added to public water systems. In 1897, Maidstone, England was the guinea pig for chlorinated water. The experiment proved successful enough that the United States quickly adopted the practice. Chlorination had been proven to substantially reduce the spread of disease and water-borne ailments by eliminating the majority of pathogens in the water.

Unfortunately for all the good it seems to do, there’s a darker side to chlorination. Chlorine is now being linked to various cancers, reproductive issues, immune system problems and even heart attacks. It’s even been hypothesized that water chlorination could possibly be linked to the rise of food allergies in the world. I guess that’s the trade-off for getting rid of cholera, typhoid and dysentery.

Ultimately all the reasons that make chlorine the hero in the war against pathogens are the same reasons that make it detrimental to us. The mere fact that it kills pathogens does not translate well. Because when it’s introduced into the human body, it kills all the beneficial bacteria in our gut too. And that’s the part of us that literally operates our entire immune system.

Without these microbes in our gut, all kinds of diseases can raise their ugly heads. These can be as mild as gas, bloating and constipation or simutaneously escalate all the way to obesity, diabetes and even autism. We want to get the chlorine out before it gets in – to us, that is. By the time it’s accessible to us via our faucets, chlorine’s job is complete. It has no business in our digestive system.

So, how do we accomplish this?

You could definitely locate one of those springs. If you’re lucky it won’t be a long drive. Or hunt down a really good bottled water that actually does come from the ‘source’. Alternately, you can boil your water. Would it be raw then? There’s a question.

In the final analysis, there’s a simpler fix. Pour yourself a jug of water and let it sit uncovered on your counter (or in your fridge, if you prefer). Leave it like that for 24 hours. The chlorine outgases in that time and completely evaporates.

If all this seems too arduous, there’s always the water filter. A good one is well worth the price. It’s an investment in your best health.

A Little Seasoning…

Ultimately we want our water working for us at the highest level. Add a pinch of mineral laden Himalayan sea salt to your water along with a squeeze of lemon for a complete body boost. Of course this may sound weird because we’ve all been told at some point that salt water will make us sick. But the ionic minerals in a tiny bit of salt literally penetrate cells instantaneously to activate enzyme functions. What you get is the equivalent of a metabolic rise of hundreds of extra calories burned in a day. Finally, lemon is detoxifying and gets all the toxins moving out of your system.

Now, a warning – never do this with regular table salt. First of all, it has all the minerals stripped out of it. Secondly, it’s not raw at all because to demineralize it, it’s heated to thousands of degrees and all that does is take out everything our bodies are craving. Table salt is basically worthless. Throw it away.

Our bodies just don’t work without water. On average a human can live no longer than 3 days without it so that tells you something. Yet most of us don’t get enough.  Not to mention that what we’re often getting is less than optimal because it’s been treated or amended in some way that lends us no benefit.  In the end, no ‘snake oil’ claims are ever going to substitute pure water. So whatever you do, and however you find it, make sure that your goal is to get exactly that.