Drinking water

Drinking water of a high quality, without toxic chemicals like fluoride and pathogens like E. Coli is perhaps the greatest factor in improving human longevity. Typhoid and cholera alone have taken tens of millions of lives.

More difficult today is the affect of chlorine, fluoride and microplastic particles.

Written by Dr. Barrie Lewis, DC

What does the research say?

It goes without saying that water is important; we cannot live more than a few days without it. But just how much do we need?

And what about quality? Is the water from the tap in Chicago the same as the stuff that I drink in Holland?

Decidedly not, most Americans would be the first to agree. Four years of living in Illinois convinced me that they pump theirs straight from a sewerage farm called Lake Michigan whereas the Dutch are masters of everything to do with clean water. They have to be as 60 percent of the Netherlands lies beneath sea level.

So if you are seriously interested in healthy living, and the quality of your water is awful, then you might think of a filter; and an UV irradiator.

This page was last updated by Dr Barrie Lewis on 10th June, 2023.

Drinking water

This page on drinking water weighs a few myths and suggests some cheap and nourishing fruity teas that you can make at home.

Could you for example, enjoy just one glass in the morning and another mid-afternoon? It is disturbing and astonishing how many people drink absolutely no water unless it is sweetened and flavoured.

The wisdom of the ages suggests that we drink too little clean water. It's probably correct.

But the anecdote going back some eighty years, started by a medical doctor who suggested we should be swallowing 8 glasses per day turns out, according to new research that it was simply his opinion; and not based on any solid evidence.

In short like many medical stories, it is pure myth.

There is little evidence that drinking the recommended 8 glasses of water per day improves your well-being, say scientists from the University of Pennsylvania.

Kidney experts, Drs Negoianu and Goldfarb, explained that drinking extra water may be a waste of time. Google the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology to confirm this statement.

Persons suffering from certain specific diseases do benefit from more water, as it clears certain substances like urea and sodium; this may apply to ordinary people, but there is no proven evidence.

Toxins

It has been claimed that consuming lots of drinking water clears toxins, keeps organs in better condition and improves skin tone; and prevents you from putting on weight. The researchers say there is not one published study proving the benefit of drinking so much for ordinary healthy people. It’s probably a myth.

In chiropractic we recommend everyone drink more water, so that tissues remain fully hydrated. Good clean water, not the garbage that comes out of sewerage plants like Lake Michigan; oh, dear, better be careful, I may be sued.

That doesn't mean you have to drink an extra 8 glasses a day. Personally I drink at least 5 of water a day, and numerous cups of very weak tea with fruit. But that too is just an anecdote, without any real justification. I simply like it.

Athletes

It is well known, of course, and proven that athletes should be drinking water; but how much more? Amongst other things too little makes their skin tight and "leathery," but there is not one study confirming this need for ordinary people.

More controversial is whether that water is loaded with simple sugars; like glucose and fructose. Prof Tim Noakes, MD, in the chair of sports and exercise at South Africa's premier Cape Town University has come full circle from being an advocate of "carbo-loading" to a keto fan.

Veteran of some 70 marathons his latest book, Waterlogged, concerns over-hydration in the athlete. He advocates that you should "drink when you're thirsty."

Should we be carrying water-bottles when running? Noakes says, "definitely not."

Chiropractic help

Headache

Another myth is that drinking more water helps headaches. One small trial did not produce statistically significant data. There is of course plenty of research proving that a chiropractic adjustment will help cephalgia.

Well 70% of headaches come from the upper neck.

• Read more about Chiropractic management of Head Neck pain … 
• What causes headache casefile
  

Weight loss?

Certainly there is no evidence that drinking more water will decrease your appetite, and help you lose weight. There is simply no research showing that it helps; it is purely anecdotal and has no solid basis in science.

However that should not be construed to mean that drinking more water does not help! It's just not been proved.

For some solid ideas from our free weight loss programs, click here. Step number one is to completely and utterly delete the word diet from your mind; none of them work. Some do have a few good ideas. Rather learn about the meaning of glycemic index and then you'll get the pounds off naturally and normally. 

Drs. Negoianu and Goldfarb concluded that there is no clear evidence to indicate that consuming extra water is good for our health; they also stressed that there is no proof of a lack of benefit either.

There is simply a lack of evidence in general, they wrote.

Absolutely don't start your children on the notion of colas and artificially flavoured drinks stuffed with sugar, sweeteners and chemicals. Drinking water and weak teas are just as fine for your children as for you.

For more information about water, click here. Read this page with your kids. You and they will enjoy.

• WATER FOR KIDS

Pure water and Auto-immune diseases

Whilst cleaning up our water supply has been one of the greatest public health achievements of the Twentieth Century, a fascinating new study is that our too-pure drinking water is possibly the cause of many auto-immune diseases.

And doctors are now treating patients by deliberating putting parasitic worms in the drinking water of suffering patients.

Instead we choose to drink rainwater from our roof rather than the chlorine and asbestos-laden stuff that comes down our ancient concrete pipes from the utility.

It certainly has some bugs in it, though no E. Coli. After five years we have had absolutely no adverse effects.

Infantile Colic

Is your baby suffering from Infantile Colic? Do you know what the Rule of Three is?

• COLIC CHIROPRACTIC.

More water and less fruit juices may be part of the solution; they have a very high glycemic index and set your child firmly on the route to obesity and diabetes.

Mesothelioma

One of the most deadly, incurable diseases is a cancer called mesothelioma; it caused by exposure to asbestos fibres. If breathed in, it causes lung tumours; if swallowed, bowel neoplasms. Choose the water you drink carefully. 

Many of the old pipes carrying water to our homes are made of a asbestos-concrete mix. Recently one cracked outside our home where we have retired in South Africa.

Looking down the lumen of the pipe, all one could see was a shroud of asbestos through which our drinking water filtered.

It's for this reason that we have put in a reservoir to harvest the rain, and to preserve the planet. Drinking water that has passed through these pipes is simply madness. This week I will be visiting a friend with large bowel cancer. I wonder if it's mesothelioma, or caused by chronic constipation?

• Over the counter remedies for chronic idiopathic constipation should start at the greengrocer according to the scientists.
  

Our opinion?

I confess to enjoying both tea and coffee. About two cups of each. When half the world's scientists are saying that they are full of anti-oxidants, thus good, and the rest are claiming they are full of caffeine, thus bad, then I delude myself that it is okay.

In this lovely painting by Lorraine Harrison it would seem that the teapot and the coffeepot are in fellowship, in agreement. Drink more water not colas loaded with either sugar or chemicals.

I am not strongly convinced of this, but I THINK that bottled coffee, like instant everything-else, is probably not good. They use xylene to extract the caffeine, and traces remain. It's toxic stuff. And bag-tea tastes so awful that I stick to the loose leaves, despite having to dispose of them.

My rule is treat anything that is processed by the food industry with a tad of suspicion. Mostly they seem to screw it up; that's my conspiracy theory.

So drink more water, but don't get neurotic about the eight glasses per day. And consider other delicious ways to get it down.

A little chopped piquant fruit such as mandarin, lemon or plum in a pot of very weak tea is delicious. Kept hot, or cold, in a thermos makes it available for hours. Best strain off the leaves after ten minutes though, otherwise it gets bitter.

In summer, squeeze half a lemon (or less) and a teaspoon of raw honey into a couple of litres of water. Keep in the refrigerator, and enjoy it all day. Drinking water need not be drudgery.

Keep a glass of drinking water on your desk all day. That's what I do.

Healthy living tips

Healthy living tips points out that one of the best sources of water is actually the fruit and salads we enjoy. They are 90% pure drinking water.

Peruse our healthy living tips page periodically when you a spare half hour; if you have time.

We make time for the things that are important to us. And care for our bodies is surely more sensible that some sitcom, not so? It's all about the choices we make; if we do this, then we can't do that, so take your pick.

Latent heat fusion

Latent heat of fusion has been a fascination of mine since high school days. Without it life on earth would be virtually impossible. The first ray of sunshine on the Alps, Rockies and and our Drakensberg would turn the ice and snow into a flood.

It's the magical polar nature of water that enables us to make an MRI scan like this.

People come to Jesus Christ for all sorts of bizarre reasons. It was the polar nature of water, and in particular the Latent Heat Fusion that finally convinced me in the existence of a Creator. To believe otherwise was just far too far-fetched and improbable. 

A slipped disc like the one above at L4-L5 generally causes pain and tingling down the side of the leg and towards the web between the great toe and the second toe.

If severely pinched you won't be able to lift the big toe. Bread and butter for the Chiropractor but each case is a challenge and when severe these slipped disc rules have to be followed to a T or it will not heal. And you do know what that means; spinal surgery.

LINKS

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