Part 24 (2/2)
How Did This All Begin?
THE TRADITION OF PUTTING ADDITIVES in water by dumping questionably safe chemicals in the water started unwittingly with the addition of chlorine to water to protect us against waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and hepat.i.tis. Unfortunately, chlorine is a volatile chemical that likes to combine with the various industrial pollutants dumped into waterways. When chlorine combines with certain other chemicals it forms a cla.s.s of toxic chemicals called tri-halo-methanes (THMs). Some examples of THMs are carbon-tetrachloride and chloroform. If this were not enough, the dumping and was.h.i.+ng off of pesticides from the land brings many other chlorinated hydrocarbons into our waters, such as DDT, PCBs, and dioxin.
The pollution situation is so out of control that in monitoring cancer rates in Philadelphia, one researcher was able to correlate the different rates and types of cancer in the population with the specific river the people lived near. According to Steve Meyerowitz, in his book Water, the Environmental Cancer Prevention Center found that residents drinking from the west side of the Schuylkill River had 67% more deaths from esophagus cancer than those on the east side. Those drinking from the Delaware River on the east side suffered 59% more deaths from cancer of the brain, 83% more malignant melanoma, and 32% more colorectal cancers than those on the west side. This is just one of many studies linking specific water pollution to an increase in cancer rates.
The increase in specific cancers, and cancer in general, to epidemic proportions in the United States and other industrialized countries is not a question of mere negative psychological ”cancer-producing att.i.tudes” held by isolated individuals. It is difficult to a.s.sess the precise degree to which our polluted waters are causing disease, genetic mutation, developmental abnormalities, and birth defects; however, no one today could coherently argue that this isn't a frightening and very real problem.
An herbalist friend of mine once said, ”Pay attention to your elimination or it will eliminate you.” Unfortunately, we are barely paying attention to our collective process of elimination. Even when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets standards of quality to protect our drinking water (as it did in 1979 by limiting THMs in drinking water to 0.1 parts per million), according to Water, the waterworks operators sue the EPA to rescind its protective standard. Meyerowitz points out that a congressional study in 1982 showed that many waterworks operators simply ignore the standards anyway. It seems that whenever the question of health versus profit comes into play, the choice by those in charge of disposal and storage of toxic wastes seems to be profits over health. For example, The New York Times, in October 1984, described one congressional survey in 1983-84 on the disposal of toxic wastes that concluded that less than 20% of 6,500-plus disposal and storage sites were actually in compliance with the law, and that the EPA had been deficient in upholding standards for protecting underground water supplies. Another New York Times article in November 1984 described a General Accounting Office investigation in 1983 that found 146,000 violations of the 1980 Safe Drinking Water Act. The New York Times article pointed out that the EPA had only referred 21 cases for enforcement in the history of the Act. The Natural Resources Defense Council, in a letter from its executive director, John Adams, reported that one-third of the United States' large wastewater dischargers were in violation of the Clean Water Act.
The point of this information about unrestrained water pollution becomes obvious. Since governmental agencies are not able to, or are unwilling to, enforce the laws to protect the quality of our water, and business people are choosing not to act responsibly for the greater public health and well-being, it follows that we need to take individual responsibility to protect ourselves from polluted and toxic water. The best way to do this is to take control of your own drinking and cooking water, and if you can afford to, your own bathing water as well, since toxins can be absorbed into the body through the skin.
The book Diet for a Poisoned Planet mentions a water testing company that I also recommend for a complete a.n.a.lysis of your water supply: Watercheck National Testing Laboratories, Inc., 6555 Wilson Mills Road, Cleveland, Ohio, 44143, phone: 216-449-2525. They can test for the following contaminants: microbiological, coliform, inorganic chemicals-metals, inorganic chemicals-other, organic chemicals-trihalomethanes, organic chemicals-volatiles, pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, and PCBs.
When someone asks if it is worth it to pay attention to water, I cite a California Department of Health Study that showed that California women who drank bottled water or filtered water had significantly lower rates of spontaneous abortions and babies with significantly less birth defects than those who drank tap water. Though there might be other factors responsible, who wants to take a chance when life itself is at risk?
Finding Healthy Water.
ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF WATER are bottled, spring, and mineral water; filtered water; distilled water; and water purified by various types of purifiers, such as ozone purifiers, carbon block purifiers, and reverse osmosis systems. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Bottled, spring, and mineral water that is packaged in plastic containers absorbs chemicals from the plastic into the water. The plastic taste in the water can be detected without much difficulty. If one is going to buy water from stores, it is much better to purchase water in gla.s.s bottles. Mineral water and spring water differ in that the mineral waters often come from therapeutic springs and generally have more minerals than spring water. Water that has 500 parts per million dissolved solids is defined as mineral water.
Some of the mineral waters are naturally carbonated and others are synthetically carbonated with carbon dioxide. In the human body, carbon dioxide is a waste product of cellular metabolism which, when combined with water in the system, makes carbonic acid. This carbonic acid makes our system more acidic. For some people it also creates gas and bloating. In other words, carbon dioxide in water is not particularly healthy, although it is considered fas.h.i.+onable.
Some mineral waters may be extremely high in a particular mineral or several minerals that could potentially create an imbalance in some people if consumed in sufficient quant.i.ty over time. One of the biggest problems with bottled water is that one really doesn't know what's in the bottle or if the bottle has been mislabeled to appear as if it is spring water. Some bottlers treat their water with ozone, deionization, or even chlorine in order to purify it. Some ”spring water” is simply purified, city tap water. In India, I stopped drinking bottled water because, as a physician, I saw too many people who got sick after drinking bottled, ”purified” water, which in some cases was just untreated water put into a clean bottle. Trying to stay with more well-known name brands is a good idea, but not a 100% guarantee of anything. In the mid-'80s, Perrier caught some unscrupulous individuals bottling New York City tap water and selling it as Perrier water. It is best to read the label and choose a company with a solid reputation. Brands labeled ”drinking water” may be just tap water, although almost all bottled water is highly filtered. Look on the label to see if the water has been drawn from a spring or an artesian well.
Compressed, activated, charcoal block filters are an inexpensive way to get protection from the carbon-based organic pollution, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, PCBs, cysts, heavy metals, asbestos, VOCs (volatile organic chemicals), and THMs in our city water. They also eliminate chlorine and foul odors. They do not, however, absorb inorganic mineral salts such as chloride, fluoride, sodium, nitrates, and soluble minerals. For this reason, they are best for city water systems but not for well water systems, which have a potential to be polluted with high amounts of nitrates from agricultural wastes. A concern regarding granular charcoal filters is their tendency to be a gathering ground for bacteria, yeasts, and molds, and their inability to remove pollutants found in some drinking water. Some of the more sophisticated charcoal filters do have a reverse wash system in an attempt to compensate for this. Another problem with charcoal filters is that the charcoal can break down with age or from hot water and release the contaminants back into our drinking water. The best way to avoid this is to pay attention to any change in taste, smell, or color of the water, or a reduction in water flow rate. Duane Taylor, a water expert from North Coast Waterworks in Sonoma County, California, suggested in a personal communication that the main problem with charcoal filters is that the user does not replace the filter often enough. He recommends purchasing a filter unit that will stop the flow and make the user change the filter when its filtering capacities are used up. If one does not have such a filter, then he recommends changing the filter at 75% of the manufacturer's suggested lifetime. If one waits until there is a taste change, decrease in rate of flow, or smell to the water, the filter may already be dumping contaminants back into the water. Activated carbon is rated on its ability to remove iodine and phenols. The iodine number should be greater than 1000 on the measuring scale, and the phenol number should be 15 or less. Another important consideration for carbon filter effectiveness is the contact time of water with the filter. The slower the flow rate and the more carbon there is in the filter, the better job the filter does.
Reverse osmosis (RO) is one of the best systems to get pure water without using up a lot of energy. Reverse osmosis units (ROs) are able to remove bacteria, viruses, nitrates, fluorides, sodium, chlorine, particulate matter, heavy metals, asbestos, organic chemicals, and dissolved minerals. They do not remove toxic gases, chloroform, phenols, THMs, some pesticides, and low-molecular-weight organic compounds. When combined with an activated carbon filtration system, however, they can remove the entire spectrum of impurities from the drinking water, including organic and inorganic chemicals. Many RO units now have pre- and postfilters which take care of any residual impurities that the RO unit does not take out.
In RO, the water to be filtered is forced through a semipermeable membrane by the moving elements from more concentrated to less concentrated solutions. The membrane is permeable to pure water but not to most of its impurities. If conditions are right for sufficient water pressure and the water is not excessively hard, almost no energy is needed for the operation of RO systems. A pressure pump is needed if the total dissolved solids are greater than one thousand parts per million. The water is as pure as distilled, yet it is not heated as in distilled water and therefore not destructured, which is a great advantage. Sometimes a pressure pump is needed for extremely hard water, and this does require electrical energy. The main problem with an RO unit is the fragility of the semipermeable membrane. Some membranes can be destroyed by chlorinated water, highly alkaline water, or temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. If the water is chlorinated, a cellulose membrane is needed. A polymer membrane can be used if the water is not chlorinated.
In my home we use an RO unit, and we have had the membrane break in less than the expected three years. For this reason, it is good to check the water supply regularly. Newer and stronger membranes are now available on the market, but we are still in the habit of checking the water purity every four months and/or whenever there is a change in the taste. While RO units are similar in appearance and claimed performance, there are many complex, interdependent choices regarding pretreatment, membrane selection, and post-treatment systems. To select a system that fits your water filtration needs and to develop the best maintenance plan, it is best to talk with someone who has some in-depth knowledge of the many factors involved. If properly done, an RO unit may be the most energy-efficient and best way to protect your water. In the past, RO units required a lot of water to work properly, which is a disadvantage, particularly during times of drought. Some of the newer models have now been designed to operate with a minimal water usage.
Water distillers, although generally more expensive, remove most everything from the water, including bacteria, fluoride, nitrates, radionuclides, and organic and inorganic toxins; heavy metals, such as lead, mercury, and cadmium; and soluble minerals, such as calcium and magnesium. Some toxic organic compounds, such as THMs and dioxin, have the same as or a lower boiling point than water and therefore are not filtered out by the distillation process. Some of the more expensive distillers have built-in pre-boiler or postboiler filters as options which eliminate this problem. There are two major drawbacks to water distillers. One is that they are energy-intensive and expensive unless one has a solar water distiller. The other problem is that distilled water is dead, unstructured water so foreign to the body that one actually gets a temporarily high white blood cell count in response to drinking it. It is, however, possible to revive this dead, destructured water by the use of a product called Crystal Energy which will be explained below.
Water Ionization.
ALTHOUGH WATER IONIZATION is not necessarily a filtering system for toxins, the water ionization technology based on j.a.panese research is a revolutionary health breakthrough. The ionized water replicates the ”living qualities” of high-alt.i.tude mountain spring water. Water ionizers perform three functions: (1) They micro-cl.u.s.ter the water molecule complexes into smaller units, which increases water intake into the cells by six-fold. (2) They separate water into alkalinized water for drinking and acid water for was.h.i.+ng skin and hair and wound healing. (3) The ionized alkaline water is filled with billions of -OH ions that act as powerful anti-oxidants that destroy free radicals. j.a.panese and some American hospital research has found ionized water useful for the treatment of cancer, diabetes, intestinal problems, liver problems, and other chronic diseases. Alkalinized ionized water can play a powerful role in reversing the chronic degenerative results of an acid system. Some ionizers have charcoal filters built in for removing toxins; others don't. I am presently researching the least expensive and most powerful home system. (Please see our website for updated information.) Water ionization could be one of the most important health breakthroughs in our era.
Structured Water.
AKEY TO UNDERSTANDING WATER is the concept of structured water. As was well-doc.u.mented in Spiritual Nutrition and The Rainbow Diet, the more structured water there is in one's biological system, the better the enzyme systems carry out their metabolic processes and the easier it is for vitamins and minerals to be a.s.similated into the cells. Another way to understand the concept is that the more structured the water is, the higher its SOEF energy.
Structured water means that the molecules in the water are more fully organized. When the water becomes structured, individual water molecules become grouped into high-energy, liquid crystalline units or crystal-like sh.e.l.ls. In structured water, the actual bond angle of the two hydrogen and one oxygen atom in a basic water molecule is different than unstructured water. According to Patrick and the late Gael Flanagan, the most stable water crystal cl.u.s.ter has eight molecules. Intermixed with these liquid crystal structures are free, individual water molecules that are not bound to any other water molecules. When water is highly structured, it contains a high percentage of these liquid crystal units. Most water in healthy biological systems is highly structured. In lakes, streams, and oceans we have mostly unstructured or bulk water. As water is cooled to the freezing point, the number of liquid crystals is increased and it becomes so structured that it forms an ice crystal.
The general findings of several researchers suggest that the more structured the water, the more life energy it can hold. The more structured the water in a biological system, the better the individual cells function. This seems to be true for all levels of our biological systems where water exists, such as in the blood and in interst.i.tial and intracellular fluids. The research cited in Spiritual Nutrition and The Rainbow Diet suggests that the more structured, intracellular water there is, the more balanced and concentrated intracellular ions there are, such as calcium, pota.s.sium, and sodium. Nuclear magnetic resonance studies reported by Carlton Hazelwood have shown that the intracellular water of cancer cells has significantly less structured water than normal healthy cells. Norm Mikesell has reported that when there is a decreased amount of intracellular structured water, the healthy intracellular ratio of sodium to pota.s.sium is disrupted. He concludes, as I do, that a decrease in intracellular structured water is a.s.sociated with a decrease in the general quality of health.
When the living organism takes in ”bulk” water, it must first structure the water so it can be utilized by the system. High-energy colloids, or particles with a high electrical charge, act as ”energy seeds” that attract the free water molecules to form liquid crystal hydration sh.e.l.ls. There are many types of colloids in nature. The most stable of the colloid systems are those found in living organisms. They are coated by neutrally charged polymers made of alb.u.minoid or fatty acid-type materials. The Flanagans point out in their book Elixir of the Ageless that this type of colloid is the same type found in the famous Hunza water, which the local people drink from their natural glacial streams. Some believe that this colloidal water of the Hun-zas, who are known for their life spans of up to 130 years, is the key, or at least one key, to their incredible health and vital longevity With precise instruments the Flanagans have verified that water can be structured by sunlight, crystals, magnets, or the energy from our hands. They also found that this structured effect would persist as long as the water was not disturbed in a turbulent way such as pouring into a gla.s.s to drink or by actually drinking it. Fortunately, they were able to invent a colloid solution, based on their understanding of the Hunza water, that would structure water in such a stable way that it would not be disrupted by various forms of mechanical means, electrical disruptions, or even microwave ovens.
In their research the Flanagans also found that the surface tension of the water was an excellent measure of the free energy of the water molecules. The more zeta potential, or free energy, a liquid has, the lower the surface tension. Unstructured water, such as distilled water, has a surface tension of 73 dynes/centimeter. Carrot juice, which has the lowest surface tension of all the juices (no data is available on wheatgra.s.s), has a surface tension of 30 dynes/centimeter. After sitting overnight its surface tension rises to 68, and after 24 hours it reaches the 73 dynes of unstructured dead water.
The most healthy liquids are those which have the highest zeta potential or free energy. They are the most structured. A high concentration of anions (negative ions) in water is also a.s.sociated with health because anions increase the zeta potential of the blood, the interst.i.tial fluids, and the intra-cellular fluids. In Elixir of the Ageless, research is presented to show that when cations (positive ions) are introduced into fluid systems, this diminishes the activity and function of our biological colloids, and hence decreases the zeta potential. When this zeta potential is decreased, our biological systems, which depend on the integrity of the fluids, begin to function sub-optimally In carrot juice, when the zeta potential is decreased and the colloidal particles lose their charge, the carrot colloidal system loses its integrity and collapses. The physical evidence of this collapse is the ”goop-jell” that we often see in carrot juice several days after it has been made. When we talk about the blood's colloid system collapsing, one can visualize this carrot juice goop as an example. A colloid collapse in the cells and extracellular fluids impairs the transfer of nutrients into the cells and the excretion of toxins from the cells.
When the zeta potential decreases in the blood, the red blood cells tend to aggregate, blood viscosity or thickness increases, and the red blood cells lose their discreteness. This process can readily be seen with a special microscope known as a dark field microscope. This sludging effect has been a.s.sociated with general poor health and lack of oxygen in the tissues. In summary, what decreases biological colloid activity, and therefore zeta potential, also seems to be a.s.sociated with a lower energetic cellular functioning of the living organism. This obviously creates a lower quality of health.
Factors That Decrease Zeta Potential.
THE NEXT STEP IN OUR DISCUSSION is to use our understanding of structured water, biological colloids, and health to determine what factors decrease biological colloid activity, and therefore zeta potential. The Flanagans have found that ELF (extremely low frequency) signals from hair dryers, TV sets, computers, was.h.i.+ng machines, and clothes dryers all decrease colloid stability. They have also found that any type of food processing, such as cooking, microwaving, and food irradiation, breaks down the protein coatings of the biological colloid particles in the fluids of the food. The result is the destruction of the zeta potential of the foods. The zeta potential may be referred to as the ”life force” in enzymes and live foods, as well as a measure of their SOEFs.
Cooking foods causes a destructuring of the biological fluids in our food. In essence, cooking causes a death of the colloid energy system in the food. Devoid of its colloidal life force, the food is essentially dead. Live food, on the other hand, has a high zeta potential and colloid structure.
It is important, then, to be aware of what factors can destroy the zeta potential of our biological colloidal system. According to the Flanagans' research, aluminum can cause severe destruction of the colloidal property of our biological fluid systems. Aluminum is used in some baking powders, antacids, deodorants, cookware, and canteens. The aluminum cans used in the soft drink and beer industries may leach aluminum ions into the liquid, despite the plastic lining inside. Aluminum silicate, as found in natural clays such as bentonite, is the only aluminum that the Flanagans found to be safe. Perhaps the biggest problem a.s.sociated with aluminum is its use in water purification plants. According to the Flanagans, most purification systems add too much aluminum. The result is that the excess aluminum ions end up in tap water. The munic.i.p.al water systems also routinely add cationic mineral salts which show up in the tap water. A high amount of cations (positive ions) in the water of any sort also destroys zeta potential. Aside from the aluminum cans, beer itself, because it contains large amounts of cationic minerals, drops zeta potential. Although beer is the worst offender of the alcohols because it is packaged in aluminum, even small amounts of alcohol will cause a coagulation of the liquid colloid system in our body. A high-salt diet will also diminish the zeta potential of our blood and other biological fluids.
The best approach to maintaining a high zeta potential in our fluid colloid system so that our life fluids stay in a highly structured, high-energy, healthy state is to take in fluids and foods that increase the zeta potential rather than decrease it. The best diet for this is one abundant in live foods, especially if they are high in structured water (high zeta-potential colloid liquids) and anionic electrolytes. Raw fruits and vegetables and fruit and vegetable juices fulfill this prescription.
After this brief but involved survey of colloidal chemistry, one begins to see that there is a natural order to things that makes life simple and healthy. If we choose to live according to the natural laws of nature, a high zeta potential is maintained without having to be biochemistry experts. One who eats raw foods and drinks structured water doesn't have to worry about zeta potential.
The Flanagans developed a stabilized, high-zeta-potential liquid crystal colloid product. Because it is made of microscopic-sized crystal colloids, they call it Crystal Energy. With eight drops per gla.s.s of water, this product reestablishes the zeta potential of the liquid, even if it is dead, unstructured, distilled water. I recommend adding this product, at one teaspoon per gallon, to distilled water or reverse osmosis water to restructure it. The Flanagans' research using a dark field microscope showed that within five minutes after drinking a gla.s.s of this liquid crystal water, red blood cells will unclump.
By maintaining a high zeta potential in our blood, our interst.i.tial fluids, and our intracellular fluids, we are less likely to have the zeta potential of our biological colloid systems disrupted or destroyed by the myriad of zeta potential destroyers to which we are exposed in our environment. The more energy in our system, the higher are the SOEFs, and the better organized and therefore healthier are all our biological systems. This is true on the level of DNA/RNA replication as well as for all the cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems of the body. Even the cellular mineral balance becomes more ideal.
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