According to Dr. Robert Young, author of the pH Miracle for Weight Loss, “The human body is 70 percent water. You’ve got roughly 10 to 13 gallons of water in your body. Water makes up 75 percent by volume of your heart and muscles, 83 percent of your brain and kidneys, 86 percent of your lungs, and 95 percent of your eyes. Even 22 percent of your bones is actually water. Most telling of all, your blood is 90 percent water. You are, quite literally, what you drink. If you don’t drink enough — and most Americans don’t — or if you drink the wrong things, you will compromise your body and your health.”
It is said that 75% of Americans are not getting enough water a day. That means we are getting so little water that our body cannot even tell when it’s thirsty. Thirst is then mistaken for hunger which then leads to overeating. “Many people do find that if they have water before a meal, it’s easier to eat more carefully,” says Renee Melton, MS, RD, LD, director of nutrition for Sensei.
When our bodies are properly hydrated it has been clinically shown to boost our immune systems, reduce joint and back pain, and even boost energy and cut down on hunger. It even has a drastic effect on our metabolism “Your metabolism is basically a series of chemical reactions that take place in your body,” says Trent Nessler, PT, DPT, MPT, managing director of Baptist Sports Medicine in Nashville. “Staying hydrated keeps those chemical reactions moving smoothly.” Being even 1% dehydrated can cause a significant drop in metabolism. All of these benefits come from something we can get straight from our tap. So why aren’t more Americans drinking water?
The biggest complaint people seem to have is that they don’t like the taste of water. Since most of us don’t drink enough of it, our body naturally rejects the change. In fact, if you replaced all of the liquids you drink a day, and just drink water, you would find out that you actually drink a higher percent of liquid a day. Your body now recognizes this vital component and in turn, it’s telling your brain, “Hey! This is what we need! Send us more!”
The problem is most of us would rather drink a soda. Soda leads to obesity in adults and children. Statistics tell us that 18% of children in the United States are considered obese. Most teens are consuming two to four soft drinks a day. Now let’s take the lighter side of that. Two soft drinks a day are equal to twenty teaspoons of sugar. That amount of sugar from just two cans of soda would equal about twenty percent of our daily calorie intake and twice the recommended limit of calories per day from sugar. We also need to consider the health effects this is having on our children. “Soft drink consumption in children poses a significant risk factor for impaired calcification of growing bones.” Michael Murray ND and Joseph Pizzorno ND Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, Revised Second Edition
So not only are we opening the flood gates to obesity, but our children’s bodies will not be able to handle the strain. The cycle has to change and that change comes with us being better role models for our children.
Within the first few minutes of drinking soda, almost ten teaspoons of sugar are now in your system. That would be the entire recommended amount of sugar we need for the day. After a while your blood sugar increases and your body produces more insulin. Your liver then turns the sugar into fat. Then your body will have completely absorbed all of the caffeine which in turn raises your blood pressure and causes your liver to produce more sugar. About half an hour after consumption, you will feel a euphoric high, but that’s an adrenaline response because your body feels attacked!
In the end, when you finally evacuate the soda from your system it takes minerals from your body, Then you crash leaving yourself irritable and tired. Then we reach for another soda!
We have many choices when it comes to our water, but are we truly making the right one? Bottled water, while convenient, is expensive and most of it has been stripped of its nutrients and the plastic in the bottle is bad for the environment. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, bottled water is a four Billion dollar industry. That is leading to fifty Billion plastic bottles used by Americans per year and only about one-third of them are being recycled. The NRDC is urging consumers to cut back on the amount of bottled water we consume a year. The problem is then, where do we turn for our water needs. Most of us don’t trust our tap water, and water filters leave us with clean but dead and, oftentimes, acidic water.
The only health conscience and environment-friendly choice is a water ionizer. Not only do you save money and the environment using it, but you also put a higher quality of water in our bodies. Ionized water is full of the minerals and antioxidants that your body needs. This water works with our body instead of against it. Bottled and filtered water absorbs minerals from our blood, and tap water often has lead, fluoride, chlorine, etc, etc, etc.
These are just a few reasons why we should be turning water ionizers to get our water. It tastes better, you feel better, and quite frankly it’s better for us. Alkaline water comes closer to the kind of water nature intended our bodies to be consuming.
So, next time you are out grocery shopping, skip the soda aisle. Invest in a premium water ionizer system and you’ll save money and your body will thank you.
