Welcome to ‘News to ENRICH’ blog post #5. Today we are talking about the quality of the water we drink, as part of the first category of the Ladder of Needs. (If you have missed the structure of the Ladder of Needs, you can go to the first blog post or click here!)
We all know that water is an essential element on Earth and it covers 70% of Earth’s surface, our body consists of 70% water and water is mainly a combination of two elements, hydrogen and oxygen (H2O).
We also know that it is important to replenish our body with water to avoid dehydration. The quantity of intake per day depends on the temperature we live in, activity we do and other aspects, but generally experts recommend around 6-8 glasses of water per day of a clear water. That is assumed the water is similar to a natural source of water (not soda, tea or coffee!).
Interestingly, most of the people in the world drink water when they physically want to, i.e. when they feel thirsty. That is when the brain receives a message from the blood cells that the hydration of the body was reduced and needs replenishing. According to the research, that is already quite a serious dehydration. Sometimes, the feeling of thirstiness gets fulfilled with consuming other drinks like flavoured water, sodas or tea and coffee and that is when our brain gets confused. It receives a signal that it is full of liquid but the body is still dehydrated. You can notice this looking at your skin. If it’s dry you are severely dehydrated. Dry skin is a big alarm bell to look into hydration you receive throughout the day.
So what water is good for you? Below are some types and some of the watch-outs:
Tap water
Tap water is municipal water that comes out of the faucets and has been treated, processed and disinfected. It is purified generally with chlorine. One of the by-products from using chlorine in our drinking water is potentially dangerous to our health. I don’t know where exactly you are at the moment but I bet your tap water has been chlorine treated and has some traces of heavy metals including lead and copper. But at the same time it lacks minerals that are necessary for our health. Mineral deficiency can lead to insulin resistance, migraines, high blood pressure, constipation and even heart beat irregularities! Tap water also has an acid pH factor (6-7) which is not great for our health as it adds to the acidity of the diet we have. As much as you can, I would keep away from tap water.
Bottled water (plastic)
We see bottled water everywhere and we seem it’s ok to drink it. Yes, if a plastic bottle is kept in conditions so that chemicals from the bottle do not enter the water itself. Very few people know that it’s potentially dangerous to keep plastic bottles with water in the sun inside a car due to the car glass magnifying effect that heats the plastic of a bottle and thus chemicals may be released into water. If it’s kept in a cool environment you reduce the risk of cancer. So all holiday-goers, if you buy plastic bottles with water, keep them away from the sun or heat!
Mineral rich H2O
This is the best water to drink. It contains clean, rich with naturally occurring minerals. It can be a well water (that comes from a hole in a ground that taps into a water source), natural spring or mineral water (that comes from a spring in a ground and bottled at source). According to an independent research one of a good-quality mineral water is Evian (comes from French Alps), for example.
Filtered water
In choosing filters make sure you check that they remove any particles that are larger than 1 micron in size. This way, the water still contains minerals but you get a cleaner product. Also, if you have a choice of filters go with ozonation rather than chlorine. Ozonation does not change the mineral content of your water. This would be my second-preferred option after mineral-rich water.
Well, that’s it for today. Hope you have a lot to think about and re-think how you consume water and liquids in general. In the next newsletter I will share with you tips on how to make easy changes with your water to make it super-healthy!
Until next time, stay ENRICHed!