498 Alkaline Water [19 November 2018]

I have wanted to write about the acid-alkaline balance for years but didn’t feel I understood it well enough. A recent article by Dr. Joseph Mercola on mercola.com, “Alkaline Water or Hydrogen Water” covered one aspect of the topic.

Alkaline water is made by a device that separates the water into acid and alkaline fractions by electrolysis. Promoters tell you to drink the alkaline water and feed the acidic water to your plants. They claim that the alkaline water will alkalize your (too-acidic) body providing many health benefits including prevention or treatment of arthritis, cancer, and other chronic diseases.

In his article Mercola points out that these health claims are not substantiated by research. Most studies show no benefit and the few that do were poorly designed. Mercola explains that because it isn’t buffered, alkaline water is neutralized by the stomach acid, not the other way around.

Mercola isn't the only one that believes alkalized water is overrated. Ryan Andrews of PrecisionNutrition reviews the evidence for several health claims and rates the evidence for it - mostly "weak" or "speculative".

Perceived benefits by the users could be attributed to the minerals in the water (mostly calcium, potassium and magnesium) or the placebo effect, but it turns out that it is the dissolved hydrogen (H2) gas produced during electrolysis. Mercola and his guest, hydrogen expert Tyler W. LeBaron, then discuss the research on the health benefits of molecular hydrogen gas. I encourage you to watch the entire fascinating interview.

Studies of supplemental antioxidants have had mixed results with some studies showing significant harm. That’s because while free radicals are harmful to the cell’s membranes, mitochondria and DNA, some are also used as signaling molecules in the cell. H2 is a potent antioxidant but selectively goes after the most toxic radicals like hydroxyl and superoxide. More importantly, H2 enhances production and activation of our cells’ other cyto-protective antioxidants like glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and catalase, but only as needed. Learn more about hydrogen water research at the Molecular Hydrogen Institute website.

Mercola ends by explaining the difference between hydrogen (H2) water and 3% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and showed that H2O2 cannot convert into H2. He emphatically warns “never ingest hydrogen peroxide”– it should be only used externally or for household cleaning.

It was refreshing to see Dr. Mercola warn against a natural health fad that has little research to support it. Evidently he doesn’t sell alkalizing water filters!

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

497 Water Memory and Homeopathy

I first wrote about Homeopathy nine years ago [#36 Homeopathy, 2 Nov 2009] and explained its two paradoxical principles: that “like cures like”, and the more dilute the remedy, the stronger its effect.

Because these principles are opposite of conventional medicine, homeopathy is often maligned as having a placebo effect at best. An example is this quote from a Scottish “bioethics expert”: Homeopathy is utterly implausible. Homeopathic preparations are so thoroughly diluted that they contain no significant amounts of active ingredients, and thus can have no effects on the patient’s body.

Surprisingly, some water science physicists believe there is a plausible explanation for homeopathic medicines. They have shown that the preparation of homeopathic remedies – successive dilution and shaking – does indeed alter the structure of the water in such a way that it can carry medicinal information. Two Nobel Laureates and other eminent scientists recently presented at a London conference titled New Horizons in Water Science – The Evidence for Homeopathy?

Brian Josephson of the U. of Cambridge said that liquid crystals, which can maintain an ordered structure while flowing, support homeopathic theory. He went on to explain that biomolecules (such as hormones) also function at very dilute solutions and can operate at a distance by electromagnetic signaling rather than chemical bonding. Josephson poked fun at critics of homeopathy, saying that chemical analysis of homeopathic remedies tell you no more about their properties than chemical analysis of a CD will tell you about the music on it.

Vladimir Voeikov from Moscow State University described decades of research in Russia on the biological effects of ultrahigh dilutions. Dr. Gerald Pollack, professor of bioengineering at U. of Washington, Seattle, and author of The Fourth Phase of Water, presented his research on the crystal-like structure of water on membrane surfaces. The other Nobel winner Luc Montagnier ended his presentation by saying “It [homeopathy] is not pseudoscience. It’s not quackery. These are real phenomena which deserve further study.”

I don’t begin to understand the physics of water memory but if these scientists insist that there is something to it, it would be sheer arrogance (and ignorance) on my part to claim otherwise.

Source: mercola.com Water and Homeopathy, Oct 31, 2018

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

292 The Blue Dot Tour [3 Nov 2014]

My brother and I went to hear Dr. David Suzuki last month when he was in Saskatoon with his Blue Dot Tour. The tour is named for the appearance of planet Earth from space – a pale blue dot in the vast cosmos. Seeing the Earth from this perspective has made us realize that this planet is our only home and that all living things on it – people, animals and plants – are in a sense our family.

We live in one of the most beautiful countries on Earth with abundant fresh water, natural spaces and wildlife. But we are falling behind in protecting these resources, which make up a large part of our identity as Canadians. Much more than that, the environment is what sustains our very life – the air we breathe, water we drink and food we eat. To ensure a healthier and more secure future, we must balance environmental protection and economic development.

Suzuki claims that more than 20,000 Canadians die prematurely every year due to environmental pollution. More than 110 countries recognize their citizens’ right to live in a healthy environment, but not Canada. One of the goals of the Blue Dot Tour is to work towards including this right – to fresh air, clean water and healthy food – in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Some of my relatives have no respect for Suzuki and consider him a hypocrite because he travels by jet and owns a large home. But he is not opposed to resource development or wealth, just development at the expense of air, water, and soil quality. To me the hypocrites are the industry leaders who lobby for the right to pollute the air, water and food, but still expect to breathe clean air, drink pure water and eat wholesome food. If environmentalists shouldn’t drive a car, then owners of polluting industries shouldn’t eat, drink or breathe!

Visit bluedot.ca for more information on this tour and join the movement. I did and you can too.

P.S. I’m pleased that Ascenta Health, my distributer of NutraSea fish oil supplements, is a major sponsor of the Blue Dot Tour.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

077 Are Your Cells Thirsty? [23 August 2010]

A newborn is 75% water by weight; a young adult less than 60%; and seniors even lower. The reason isn’t that we need less water as we age but that our thirst sensation weakens so we drink less. A dry mouth is the last sign of dehydration, so we can’t depend on our thirst to indicate our need for water. In his 1992 book (3rd edn. 2008) “Your Body’s Many Cries for Water” F. Batmanghelidj, MD makes the argument that many of our diseases are at least partly the result of what he calls “unintentional chronic dehydration”. See www.watercure.com

Here are but a few of our bodies’ many cries for water:
• morning sickness in early pregnancy – sign of thirst
• chronic pain – dehydration increases intensity of pain signals
• peptic ulcers, gastritis and “heartburn” – are relieved quickly with water
• rheumatoid arthritis pain – dehydrated joints are painful
• back and neck pain – vertebral discs require hydration
• headaches including migraines – may be caused by dehydration
• stress and depression – hydration increases ability to cope with stress
• chronic fatigue – often responds well to hydration
• high blood pressure – sodium retention is a reaction to dehydration
• high cholesterol – is a result of dehydration
• asthma and allergies – dehydration activates histamine
• memory loss – dehydrated brain cells can’t function normally
• overweight – dehydration contributes to both fat gain and water retention
• wrinkles & aging skin – well hydrated skin looks and feels healthy

It appears that there isn’t much that being dehydrated can’t make worse or that drinking more water could improve. Perhaps the glass of water we use to take our pills, whether prescription or supplements, is doing us more good than the pills!? Puts a new meaning to the phrase “drink to your health”!

This article is intended for educational purposes only; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

027 Chlorine and Heart Disease [1 September 2009]

Many possible causes of arterial plaque – and therefore most heart attacks – have been theorized. These include high cholesterol, saturated and trans fats, processed foods like refined sugar and flour, homogenized milk, stress, and (facetiously) speaking English.

The first recorded heart attack occurred in England in 1912. Shortly after that, medical students performing autopsies started finding arteries lined with a strange thick white coating they had never seen before. By the 1930s this finding became common in many countries around the world (with the highest rates in English speaking countries, hence the joke). What had changed to affect so many people over so short a span?

One suspected culprit, trans fats found in shortening and margarine, wasn’t commonly used until later. Same for homogenized milk which first appeared in 1932. There is no research to back up the case for processed foods. Our grandparents in the 1800’s ate diets high in saturated animal fats, and who are we to say they had no stress! And there is little research to back up the case for processed foods.

A credible case has been put forth for chlorine in our water supply. The timing fits. Water chlorination was developed in England during a cholera outbreak in the 1850s and its use spread quickly. By the 1920s it was widespread in municipal water systems across North America. Curiously Roseto, a small town in Pennsylvania which used a mountain spring for water so didn’t chlorinate, has an exceptionally low heart attack rate; when people moved away their heart attack rates became “normal”. More convincing are controlled studies with chickens and pigeons showing that birds given chlorinated water developed elevated cholesterol, atherosclerosis and heart disease; the other groups given unchlorinated water were disease free. Poultry producers have learned to feed their chickens unchlorinated water; the lesson has yet to be applied to humans.

In our bodies, chlorine creates free radicals, and destroys vitamin E and essential fatty acids. Chlorine reacts with cholesterol in the blood to form yellow fatty deposits. Chlorine also attaches to arteries where it is attacked by white blood cells which then attract calcium and fat to form plaque.

Unquestionably chlorine is effective as a bacterial control in the water supply, so what can we do? One strategy is to replae it with a system using hydrogen peroxide, ozone or ultraviolet. Another strategy is to filter it out prior to use. Unfortunately chlorine is absorbed as much by showering and bathing as by drinking, so the entire water supply must be filtered. Either way adds to the expense of water treatment, but what hs been the cost of a century of chlorination?

For more details, see http://watercarenaturally.co.nz/chlorinateed-water and www.purewatergazette.net/chlorinationfox.htm

This article is intended for educational purposes only; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.