Hydration: The Best Water for Your Health

Hay House Radio Episode Recap

• Episode Name: “Hydration: The Best Water for Your Health”

• Live Broadcast: March 20th, 2018 at 12:00 pm Pacific Time

Episode Replays: Tuesdays at 9:00 pm Pacific Time / 12:00 am Eastern Time, Saturdays at 2:00 pm Pacific Time / 5:00 pm Eastern Time, Sundays at 4:00 pm Pacific Time / 7:00 pm Eastern Time

Episode Summary Re-cap

We all know hydration is important, but why are the guidelines so confusing?

How much water is appropriate to drink? What type of water is best? Why don’t you feel hydrated, even though you’re drinking a lot of water? What’s the link between hydration, fatigue, and cravings? What are your water filter options? And what’s the big issue with tap water anyway? We answer all these questions and more!
Special Guest: David Getoff

David Getoff, CCN, CTN, FAAIM is a Board Certified Traditional Naturopath, a Board Certified Clinical Nutritionist, a Fellow of the American Association of Integrative medicine, an elected member of The American College of Nutrition, The International College of Integrative Medicine, The New York Academy of Sciences and the American Society for Nutrition and is the vice president of the 66-year-old nonprofit Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation.  He is also on the teaching faculty of the American College of Integrative Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey.

David is board certified in integrative medicine, has developed and produced over a dozen educational holistic health DVD’s on topics including cancer, heart disease, diabetes and detoxification and is the co-author of Reduce Blood Pressure Naturally.

David is on the scientific advisory board (non-paid positions) of a number of top manufacturers and is often asked for opinions as new products are being developed.

David is licensed in Nutrition in the State of New York, in Naturopathy in the State of North Carolina and has a waiting list private practice in El Cajon California.  He has also developed the 10-week course entitled Attaining Optimal Health in the 21st Century which he has been teaching to packed classrooms through the Grossmont/Cuyamaca College extended studies program and the Price Pottenger Nutrition Foundation every semester for the past 20+ years.  This 30+ hour course is now available to be purchased by the public on-line through the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation for those who do not live in San Diego County.

David has been a paid presenter at numerous scientific medical, nutritional, dental and organic agriculture conferences around the U.S. and has given many one and two day seminars on diet, supplements and detoxification. His upcoming book is called Abundant Health in a Toxic World.

Website | Facebook | Recorded Audio and Video Classes (available for purchase from the non-profit Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation)

Water, Water Everywhere, But What is Fit to Drink?

If you surf the web looking for articles about water, most them will tell you that you’re not drinking enough. If you ask experts how much you should drink, they’ll mostly disagree. And if you want to learn what’s in your city tap water or buy a water filter, you might feel like you need an advanced degree. Why is water so confusing?

I asked myth-buster, Naturopath and Board Certified Clinical Nutritionist, David Getoff to join me to cut through all the confusion.

How Much Water Should You Drink?

Experts will tell you to drink so many ounces of water per pound bodyweight, or to drink huge amounts per day. David’s philosophy is in alignment with mine: each person is unique and their water needs are also unique. David asked us to think about all the ways we are different, such as your stress levels, exercise, the other foods and beverages you consume, etc. For example, if you consume homemade raw juice (which he feels is vastly different than store-bought juice), you may be getting some hydration from this.

As a general guideline, David suggests drinking one to two quarts of water daily as follows:

• 8 to 16 oz. when you wake up

• 8 to 16 oz. 30 minutes before each meal

• 8 to 16 oz. 30 minutes to an hour before bed

Could I Be Drinking, but Not Absorbing Water?

Malabsorption is when the food you eat is not absorbed properly and therefore, not available to the body for nutrients. Just like the foods you eat must be absorbed for you to benefit from them, the water you drink must also be absorbed. This means you could be drinking plenty of water, but your body can’t absorb it.

You can experience dehydration from malabsorption of water for the following reasons:

Poor Quality Water

When it comes to water, the source is important. As you’ll see below, certain types of water contains toxins or the wrong elements to hydrate the body well.

Lack of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 fatty acids are EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), and ALA (alpha-linolenic acid). These essential fatty acids are found in many animal foods, like fish (especially cold water fatty fish like salmon), grassfed and pasture fed meats and poultry, nuts, seeds, and fats and oils (David recommends Carlson Cod Liver Oil).

Unfortunately, processed foods and processed meats (including meat and poultry from animals raised in factor farms with the wrong feed as opposed to their native grass and pasture) are full of omega-6 fatty acids. With so many people eating processed foods, they’re consuming an overabundance of omega-6 fatty acids. Instead of getting a 1:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, which is ideal for longevity, most Americans have a ratio between 12:1 and 25:1.

Here’s the problem: the cell wall of every cell in your body is less permeable when you’re eating an overabundance of omega-6 fatty acids. When this happens, your cell can’t let water in and detox poisons out. You need more omega-3’s to bring this back into balance.

Lack of Minerals

Minerals are often referred to as electrolytes. Think calcium, magnesium, potassium, and zinc to name a few. Deficiencies of these and other minerals are not at all uncommon. Studies show that worldwide, most people are deficient in minerals or have mineral imbalances. If your body is deficient in minerals, you may not be absorbing water. If you add exercise, or have high stress levels, you can create further mineral imbalances, compounding the problem. Adding minerals, like Anderson’s Sea MD to your water can really help. I recommend starting with 1 dropperful of Andersons spread out across all of your glasses of water for the day (e.g., 5-6 drops per 8 oz. cup of water). You may want to work up to 2 dropperfuls per day for more energy and a feeling of relief from stress.

Which Type of Water is Best?

• Spring Water – this water comes out of the ground as nature intended and is the best water to drink, if it’s been tested for purity. While the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) has tested your local spring, they only look at 3-5 things and you want to know more. For this reason, go to National Testing Labs for their water testing kit. If you are buying bottled spring water, David suggests you look for a pH of around 7.0 – 8.5. If the company doesn’t list the pH, it’s likely more acidic and below 7.0. You can also add minerals to your water (see above for Anderson’s Sea MD) to make it more alkaline.
• Bottled Water – If you are flying and buy bottled water for your trip, Fiji Water and Volvic water are great options. You may have to search for them and can usually find one of them at a Starbuck’s. Dasani, Nestle, and many other bottle waters are not spring water and questionable in quality.
• Distilled Water – Avoid this “dead” water, unless you need something to make homeopathic remedies, tinctures, or fill a fountain in your home.
• Tap Water – This term refers to your city or county water and can come from a variety of sources and what these sources contains varies from locality to locality. There are often many contaminants in this water because public water supplies are treated. Your public water supply may have fluoride, excess minerals, chlorine, chloramines, aluminum, lead, disinfectants, and other contaminants. This is why a filter is critical if you are drinking tap water.
• Well Water – Your well water comes from your tap from a source from an underground aquifer. If you have a well, you will still want to have your water tested. Consider David’s suggestion for a testing kit from National Testing Labs. If your water has contaminants, a filter may be necessary.
• Alkalized Water – Water ionizing or pH increasing machines tend to rip the water apart into something that is not found in nature. Additionally, this technology has not been around for long enough to assess the effect on human health (David likes 20 years of studies to feel comfortable).
• Ozone and UV Treated Water – Some companies go this extra step, which is fine. These processes get rid of extra bacteria, but that’s about it.
• Reverse Osmosis Water (RO) – this is the second best, after spring water, as long as you add minerals to it, like Anderson’s Sea MD (see above for recommendations). RO water takes everything out, which is great except that it also takes out all beneficial minerals. If you are buying these filters for your home, they are typically only countertop or under-sink as they’d be too pricey as a whole house filter.

Which Filter is Best for the Whole House, Sink, and Shower?

David recommends AquaCera Water Filters. Their AquaMetix filters are the ones he recommends.

A whole house filter is the best choice if it fits your budget and you own your home. If you live in an apartment or condo and you can’t put in a whole house filter, consider a point-of-use system like a countertop filter or under-sink filter. In this case, you’d likely want a shower filter as well.

Here is where we get into some challenges because most shower filters only filter our chlorine. Some city water systems use chloramines instead of chlorine and there are no shower filters on the market that block chloramines.

If your city uses chlorine to treat your water, David recommends the CQ1000 Rainshow’r shower filter. However, if your city uses chloramines, he has a hack that might work for you! Here’s the hack: Go to Home Depot and get a 10” x 2.5” water filter housing. Then get an AquaMetix Chloramine, Fluoride, Lead, Glyphosate and VOC Reduction Filter. You will have to have your plumber unscrew the showerhead and plumb this in for you.

To learn more about each type of water and water filter, including carbon block, structured water, and RO water, read: Water Facts, Water Fallacies, Structured Water, Water Filtration, Purification and Treatment Methods by David Getoff.

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Heather Dane On March 21, 2018   /   Articles, Hay House Radio Show, Healthy Lifestyle, Interviews