Health begins with water. Since the body is made mostly of water (about 70%), all body functions are dependent on water. I guess you could call water a universal solvent. Most nutrients with the exception of fats are dissolved in water, transported in the water-based blood system and used by water-filled cells. And, because the cells are filled with water, the water lubricates, them, like cartilage and muscle cells. It also keeps cell walls pliable and receptive to nutrient inflow and waste outflow.

These facts point to the crucial nature of proper hydration for a healthy body. It is even more important as we get older as will be explained soon. Every organ in the body depends on water to function properly and efficiently. When we are not hydrated properly, or we are dehydrated, even a little bit, our bodily functions become labored. Over time, our health can become challenging. It is very subtle at first, then symptoms begin to appear.

The US National Research Council has guidelines that suggest that we require one milliliter of water for every calorie we consume. That translates to approximately one half of your body weight in ounces of water consumed daily. Some scientists and medical community advisers claim that amount is too conservative, that we should drink more. For someone who is obese, very overweight or suffering from a chronic disease, they should be drinking 1 quart (32 ounces)of water for every 30 pounds of body weight.

If we look at body functions, there are four obvious ways that the body loses water; defecation, perspiration, respiration and urination. In addition, the body's digestive process uses a huge amount of water which can further dehydrate the body if there are not sufficient water reserves. Efficient digestion is also aided by drinking sufficient water between meals to flush the digestive tract and provide enough water for bodily functions.

Obviously, the quality of the water that we use to remain healthy or regain our health is very important. For most people it means the water should be clean and safe to drink. What most people don't know is that in order to be healthy throughout life the body needs to be as near to a neutral pH as possible and the blood absolutely needs to be between 7.35pH and 7.45pH or we die. That means the fluids in our body need to be reinforced with alkaline, ionized water.

Most of the foods that people eat form acidic ash and waste in the body, so to neutralize it we need to drink alkaline ionized water.

Another component of health that is crucial to us is negative ions. Alkaline, ionized water is full of negatively charged particles which our bodies crave. Without negative ions our bodies decline and age. Eventually our health is eroded and our organs slowly lose their efficient function.

It seems that the "struggle" for health is our attempt to rid our bodies of the positive ions we acquire from our "unnatural" diet and to get enough negative ions into our bodies. Traditionally our Paleolithic ancestors used to eat a predominantly raw food diet supplemented with river and creek water that babbled over the rocks and down waterfalls, thus becoming negatively charged and highly oxygenated.

Sadly our diets have reduced to pulling up to the local drive-thru and drinking out of cans and bottles. These habits have created a society of overweight acidic bodies full of positive ions and ill health.

Fortunately the process is simple to reverse. Even if your health is OK now, you should be motivated to remain healthy throughout your life. A few changes to your lifestyle will give you valuable "life insurance."

In the early 20th Century, the Russians discovered that negative ions were very good for human health. They postulated that if they could create negative ions in water that it would create an easier avenue to health. Through experimentation, the first water ionizers were created. The challenge even today is the bonds that water molecules form are weak. Water ionizers break up the large clusters of water into smaller clusters but they do not hold the ionic microcluster structure permanently once they are formed. So the best way to drink alkaline, ionized water is fresh from a machine that creates it. At best, it can be put into a glass bottle and it will hold its charge and microclustering for two days provided the water is filled right to the rim of the bottle. After that, the weak bonds separate and reform into larger cluster molecules and they lose their negative charge.

Even today, Dr. Emoto has shown that water has memory and can be "programmed." The concept of alkaline, ionized water, is more and more becoming a household word as people realize the benefits of drinking this special water.

It is estimated that 75% or more of North Americans are dehydrated enough that it affects their health in a negative way. And, with that dehydration there is an acidic inflamed body. It may be "silent" inflammation now, but it will eventually rise up into the radar range and become pain or symptoms. It doesn't seem to matter that people drink lots of water, it matters more what kind of water they drink.

In a University of Washington study, it was found that many people interpret their thirst as hunger. By giving those in the study a glass of water when they felt hungry, it stopped the hunger pangs in 98% of the people surveyed.

For the average North American, there are one or more toxic chemicals stored in their fatty tissue from drinking treated tap water. That is not even including toxins from the foods we eat, what we put on our skin and hair, what we clean our houses with or environmental pollutants. In the US, 53 million people drink water from municipal water supplies containing potentially dangerous levels of chlorine and fluoride derivatives and by-products, lead, fecal bacteria, fertilizers, pesticides, jet fuels, pharmaceuticals and other impurities associated with cancers and various sorts of metabolic dysfunction and diseases.

I remember a study a few years back where they took hair, blood and urine samples from a famous artist who ate organic, used "natural" products, drank the best water he could find, uses as few chemicals as possible in his art and he wore natural fibers. There were 48 toxic chemicals found in his body. He was really conscious about being a "back to earth" guy and quite shocked at the toxic levels in his body. Alarming, don't you think?

Because most of us are dehydrated by various degrees, our daytime level of fatigue could be directly related to dehydration and our diets. The typical slump seems to be between 3 and 4 pm, where we reach for that sugary snack or the coffee. If we only knew that by drinking two glasses of alkaline, ionized water after lunch, we could feel much better. Water is so important that only a 2% drop in your body's natural water level can bring on mental confusion, short term memory loss, inability to focus and sluggishness in doing simple math calculations, sequenced procedures and interpretive skills.

Also, with regards to your health, recent research shows that 8-10 glasses of alkaline, ionized water per day may significantly reduce pain levels, even in backs and joints for up to 80% of sufferers. Research is also showing that if the average person drank at least 5-16 oz glasses of alkaline, ionized water daily, that is plain alkaline, ionized water, not mixed with anything, their risk of getting breast cancer can be decreased by 79%, colon cancer by 45% and bladder cancer by 50%.

How does it work? The properties of alkaline, ionized water are unique. Drinking this water provides a quick supply of available oxygen - making the water an "antioxidant." In other word, the water has an extra electron attached making hydroxyl ions which are negatively charged. These hydroxyl ions in the ionized water seek out and neutralize free radicals. This is very important, since free radicals are what damage our cells and bring about disease and premature aging. When the hydroxyl ions, as an antioxidant have neutralized the free radicals, the result is a body that is energized, vitalized and oxygen rich. Alkaline, ionized water helps balance the body's pH by reducing excess cellular and body acidity, helping the body to dissolve and excrete acidic waster products more easily.

The electrolysis process that produces the alkaline, ionized water, not only produces an excess of electrons, it also reduces the cluster size of the molecules from 13 to 14 (which is regular tap water) to 5 to 7. This can happen because of the weak bonds that the water has with molecules around itself. These smaller clusters have a lower molecular weight, making the alkaline, ionized water more easily absorbed by the body. The smaller cluster size is also better able to deliver nutrient to all the cells, tissues and organs and accelerates metabolism as more and more acidic waste is eliminated from the body. So, take your vitamin and mineral supplements with alkaline, ionized water for greater absorption. Conversely, take your medications with neutral water. Normally only about 30% of your medication is absorbed by the body because of our acidic and plugged up condition. Alkaline, ionized water will increase the absorption of your medication and you may get too much.

A normal average North American diet will produce high levels of acidic waste in the body from 97% of what is eaten. We simply don't eat enough alkaline foods, fruits and vegetables. These acids, if they are not neutralized, can cause inflammation and free radicals. They can kill healthy cells by stealing oxygen and damage them by stealing electrons. Alkaline water and food will not only dissolve these harmful acids, but they will help remove them from the body by allowing them to pass safely through the kidneys and bowels and not be stored in our joints, organs, blood vessels and fat cells.

The qualities of high alkalinity, more oxygen and lower molecular weight act as a powerful cellular detoxifier, helping the body maintain or restore its health and should be part of everyone's daily regimen. Research in Japan since the 1950's indicate that most chronic conditions are a result of increased waste, acidity and the resulting impaired body function and immune system.

If you are looking to feel younger, more flexible, vital and alive, or even stay that way, then the answer is clear. Try alkaline, ionized water!