Most people are aware of the importance of drinking water to maintain good health. Yet, many do not drink sufficient amounts of water to keep their body adaquately hydrated.

Water is directly or indirectly involved in every metabolic process that takes place in the body. Without sufficient intake of water, to replace water that is used or lost, the body will become dehydrated and perish in a few days time.

How much water should a person drink daily? It is Commonly accepted that an adult should drink 8 to 10 glasses of water a day. Other sources recommend a person drink half their body weight in ournces of water every day.

Weighing 160 pounds, if I use this second method to calculate my own water requirements, I should drink 80 oz. of water every day. For myself, using either of the recommendations is going to have me drinking approximately the same amount of water, 8 to 10 glasses. Using the second method of determining daily water needs, A heavier person is recommended to drink more water.

My grandmother used to say "Before you can work, you have to prime the pump". (For those that may be unfamiliar with the old hand operated water pumps, it was neccessary to first pour water into the pump before the pump could work. This was called priming the pump. When the person was through getting water it was important to leave a pitcher of water by the pump for priming next time.) My grandmother would start each day with a glass of water; She lived a long healthy life, living to the age of 93.

Like the pump, our body can not function without water. Starting the day with a glass of water is a good habit to develop, it replenishes the fluids that the body loses during the sleeping hours. (Through perspiration and moisture loss from breathing, the body loses about a cup to a cup and a half during the night while sleeping.)

One of the premises of contributing factors for the cause of some fibromyalgia symptoms is due to chronic dehydration at the cellular level. A byproduct of cellular respiration is H2O, or water. However, if sufficient oxygen is not getting to the cell for cellular respiration to take place, the amount of water produced at this level is decreased which contributes to the problem of dehydration.

The body of a person that burns 2800 calories a day doing work, will generate almost a cup and a half of water as a byproduct of cellular respiration. At the cell level, the body combines oxygen from the air that we breathe with hydrogen from the food that we eat, thus forming water.

One of the products used in the program is alkaline ionized water, sometimes called "microwater". You can learn more about the benefits of this water in the article "Welcome to Microwater" by Dr. Hayashi.

In his book "Alkalize or Die", Dr. Baroody, N.D., D.C., Ph.D. Nutrition, C.N.C. writes:

One property of alkaline ionized water is an abundance of free electrons in the water, as measured by a small negative electrical charge on the water. This was measured using an ORP meter. It is interesting to note that Dr. Cathcart M.D. recommends massive doses of vitamin C for people with CFIDS, not for the vitamin C but for the electrons carried by the vitamin C.

The microwater machine is the most expensive product used in the program. At its current $995 retail price it accounts for over 60% of the total cost of the program that was used to reverse symptoms of fibromyalgia in those that have followed it.

Unfortunately, fibromyalgia has devestated many people financially as well as physically. For them, the cost of a microwater system is almost prohibitive. One option is to share the cost of the unit with another person or with a support group.

Colleen, one of the ladies that successfully reversed symptoms of fibromyalgia following this program, came to our location each week and would fill gallon glass containers with water that she would drink throughout the week. She did this for over a year until she had saved up and purchased a unit for herself. (If you live in the Salt Lake City, UT area you are welcome to come by for some water. No charge.)

A few tips on drinking water...

• Drink 8 to 10 glasses of water a day.
• Do not count other fluids that you may drink throughout the day.
• Start each day with a glass of water.
• Drink a glass of water about 15 to 20 minutes before you eat.
• Do not drink water with your meal.
• Drink a glass of water before you go to bed.
• Don't sip water throughout the day. When you go to the trough fill up.

Drink water before your meals when your stomach is empty. The body absorbs some water in the stomach, the greatest water absorption occurs in the small intestine, and finally, the colon absorbs much of the remaining water from the chyme, solidifying and forming the stool.

The body does not actively absorb water, the body actively absorbs sodium and then, through osmosis, water is pulled into the body along with the sodium.

When we eat food, the pyloric valve at the bottom of the stomach closes to prevent passage of the food until it has been broken down in the stomach. If we drink water at this time, with food in the stomach, the water will be retained in the stomach. The pH of the water and the amount of water taken in will be kept in the stomach and affect the overall pH level in the stomach and may effect the ability of the gastric acid to breakdown some of the food.

Drinking water with the meal may generally not be a problem, though it probably is best that it is not done. However, in a person that is low in gastric acid, it is important to allow the available acid to do its job of breaking down food, unhindered by the added alkaline pH of water. You may want to review the information in the article on acid reflux.

Drink a glass of water about 15 to 20 minutes prior to the meal. Make sure that the water is not too cold as the cold temperature will slow the digestive system. Drinking water when the stomach is empty allows the water to pass quickly through the stomach into the small intestines. The water taken in then helps to add to the mucosal lining of the stomach which protects the stomach from the gastric acid.

In the article "Groundwater and Human Health" by Harold D. Foster, the author sites a number of studies that link soft, low-pH water to increased mortality rates from cardiovascular disease. The author also states: "Soft water, deficient in calcium and magnesium, has also been linked to elevated rates of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (Caddell, 1972), diabetes (Foster, 1987b), cerebrovascular disease (Foster, 1987a) and cancer (Allen-Price, 1960; Foster, 1986)".

Alkaline ionized water is a harder water, due to the greater concentration of calcium, magnesium, and other other alkaline minerals in the restructured water compared to the tap water that is input into the unit.

There is an adage that goes: "Gold which buys health is never ill spent". After reading the book "Reverse Aging", I purchased a Microwater Series One unit in 1994 for $1300. I have not had any problems with the unit. Drinking alkaline ionized water is an integral part of the program that has helped people reverse symptoms of fibromyalgia.

There is only one way to protect yourself from the high costs of health care. Stay healthy. If you are not now in good health, do what you can to regain your health and then do what it takes to stay healthy. Drinking plenty of good water is important to maintaining health. There is no better water suited to helping the body stay hydrated than alkaline ionized water.

There are a few different manufacturers of water ionizers and prices range from as low as $500 to as high as $1300. I've compared the water output from the Microwater Series 1 to a couple other units. The Microwater Series 1 compared more favorably measuring ORP and pH.

What about oxygen alkaline drops? The few that I have tested did raise the pH, the water was more alkaline. However, the measured ORP was a positive charge. This is not what you want. The negative electrical charge is an indicator of its antioxidant property.

Something to experiment with.
In the morning. (But you may be able to do this at any time of the day.) Get a glass of water. Standing in front of the sink, take a mouthful of water. Do not swallow the water but hold it in your mouth for about 10 seconds then spit it out into the sink. Repeat this two more times, taking water into the mouth holding for the count of ten and spitting it out. Observe how the stomach responds to the expectation of receiving the water. Then drink the glass of water. (I can't remember where I read about this technique.)

Recommended reading:
"Reverse Aging" by Sang Whang
"Alkalize or Die" by Dr. Theodore Baroody
"Acid & Alkaline" by Herman Aihara
"Your body's many cries for water" by Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj

You can purchase these books from your local health food store or on the internet at amazon.com if you are interested in learning more.

Sang Whang, the author of Reverse Aging, also has a site that he markets the Microwater Series 1 unit. He also has some articles that are worth reading in the " Science and Health" section of his web site. The articles can be accessed by clicking on the links on the left side of the page.

For more information go to www.google.com and do a key word search on alkaline ionized water, or water hardness and mortality. I think that you will find some interesting information.