UPDATED: March 4, 2025
Welcome to the Healthy Living Is Good Medicine Newsletter, a free publication covering a wide variety of health-related topics, with timely original articles intended to help people lead healthier and more fulfilling lives.
Water, the Source of All Life on Earth
Water covers most of planet Earth's surface, and it is essential for all forms of life. There are organisms that don't need air or sunlight to survive, but they all need water, at least at some stage of their lives. Water contributes to about 60 percent of the weight of an average human adult. Our bodies, and our lives, literally depend upon a continual supply of fresh water.
Glucose, our body's main energy source, is produced in nature by chlorophyll-containing plants through a biochemical process called photosynthesis, in which water and carbon dioxide are combined in a reaction that’s driven by the energy of sunlight. Every cell in our body requires energy, which comes from the metabolism of glucose when it is converted back to carbon dioxide and water. In a very real sense, our bodies are composed of water and stardust, and run on the energy of starlight.
Water Pollution
In 2021, an entire community's drinking water on the island of O'ahu in Hawai'i was impacted by a 19,000 gallon jet fuel spill that the Navy attempted to cover-up. After sickening Red Hill residents, the Honolulu Board of Water Supply had to shut down the affected underground water sources indefinitely, creating a water shortage for Honolulu.
There is a saying in Hawai'i: “Ola i ka Wai,” meaning “Water is Life.” Only three percent of the earth’s water is fresh, and less than one percent supports all life on land. Fresh water is truly precious, and we must learn to appreciate, protect, and conserve it, lest we perish from this earth. Please endeavor to not waste a single drop, and modify your behaviors accordingly.
Hawai'i's Red Hill catastrophe reminded me of Erin Brockovich, the famous environmental activist who built a case against Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) over the groundwater contamination they caused in Hinkley, California. Large- and small-scale water pollution continues to take place everywhere.
Contamination of groundwater by the winter use of road salt has become a major problem for our northern states, and raw sewage spills are not uncommon during times of heavy rain or flooding. What are the pollution problems that might be affecting your neighborhood?
A new study estimates that the sources of drinking water for up to 23 million Americans could be contaminated above regulatory thresholds by six wastewater-derived PFAS “forever chemicals.” The contamination comes from a diverse array of consumer and industrial sources. These waste discharges have been known to impact drinking water quality despite advanced treatment technologies.
Because microbial contamination of our planet's surface is ubiquitous, people should never drink water directly from open sources, such as lakes, rivers, and streams. Boil, filter, or chemically treat any surface water before drinking. Even if you're camping high in the mountains, you will need to decontaminate surface water, including spring water. The only exception to drinking surface water would be freshly fallen snow, which should first be melted and preferably warmed before consuming.
Spring water flows through soil and rocks, and comes into contact with underground organic material that's a breeding environment for bacteria and other microscopic organisms. Without proper decontamination, it can make people very ill. Crystal-clear, refreshingly cold water making its way to the surface of a mountain spring can seem irresistible on a hot day, but that water could be heavily laden with pathogens.
How Much Water Should We Drink?
Since every living cell in the human body contains water, maintaining an adequate state of hydration is vitally important for our health, mental status, and indeed, for our very survival. An adequate fluid intake can reduce the risk of kidney stones, constipation, and exercise-induced asthma.
As little as two percent dehydration can cause weakness and fatigue, and impair concentration, alertness and short-term memory. It becomes difficult for people to survive for more than three days without fluids, but if you’re lost at sea and dying of thirst, don’t drink seawater, as that will only hasten your demise. Life rafts often carry a solar still that can produce fresh water from seawater.
Dehydration can be deadly, but so can drinking too much water. As is usually the case, too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Water intoxication can result when healthy people consume large amounts of water during heat spells or prolonged periods of exercise, especially if concomitant electrolyte intake has been inadequate. This causes water to move into brain cells which makes them swell, producing increased intracranial pressure.
Symptoms can include headache, confusion, irritability, disorientation, and drowsiness, followed by difficulty breathing and muscle weakness, twitching, or cramping. Cerebral edema can eventually produce seizures, coma, and death. Drinking excessive amounts of water also lowers the concentration of sodium in the blood. That can cause problems with the conduction of electrical impulses in the heart, resulting in arrhythmias and cardiac arrest.
While avoiding too little and too much, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all prescription for how many glasses of water a day a person should drink. If you are healthy and your kidneys are functioning properly, you would likely die if you were able to actually drink more than 20 liters of water in a single day, so don't drink anything near that amount.
Besides the unhelpful guidance of “more than zero and less than 20 liters,” how much water should we be drinking for optimum health? You can ignore the old advice of eight cups a day, and the latest advice of 13 cups for men and nine cups for women. The correct answer is (drumroll, please): Whatever your thirst tells you! Trust your body, because thirst is an extremely powerful sensation.
The only thing that the science tells us (so far) is that increasing your water intake beyond what is driven by thirst can reduce the risk of kidney stones. According to a well-regarded study, drinking enough water to produce more than two liters of urine a day was associated with a significant reduction in kidney stone recurrence. Other than that documented benefit, there is no reason to drink more water than what’s dictated by thirst. You cannot "detoxify" your body by drinking more water. All you'll do is pee more often, and who needs that?
For more about your kidneys and their role in water homeostasis, see:
When to Drink Water
It is best to drink water throughout the day. Increase your water intake to compensate for losses from perspiration when exercising, running a fever, being in a hot environment. Water losses from respiration can take place in a dry environment and at a high altitude.
More water is necessary when you increase your protein intake, or are taking diuretics. Be aware that caffeine and alcohol have diuretic effects. Sodium losses through perspiration, as well being produced by certain diuretics and hormones, will need to be replenished through increased dietary salt intake. Drinking tomato juice is far better than any of the so-called "sports drinks."
Waiting until you feel thirsty before drinking means that you have already become a little dehydrated. It is best to drink enough water to stave off thirst and maintain an adequate urinary output. If your urine is clear or pale yellow, you are well hydrated. If it is darker yellow, you ought to step up your water intake.
A benefit of drinking water before meals is that you will not eat as much, so use water to help with portion control. It is also better to drink water before eating, rather than after the meal, to decrease dilution of stomach acid and digestive tract enzymes. Take time to chew your food well before swallowing. That will increase the food's surface area that’s exposed to digestive enzymes. Eating slowly will also help you to eat less, and for most people, that would be a good thing to do.
The Taste of Water
Pure distilled water is tasteless, as is its closest natural counterpart, rainwater. If you want to harness nature's still, catch rain directly in clean glass containers. Collecting it from rain gutters is not as good, because it will pick up contaminants along the way.
If you dislike the taste of your tap water, there are a number of remedies that don't involve distillation. Aerating your drinking water by shaking it in a closed container, or pouring it into a glass from a height, can help to improve its taste.
You can remove chlorine from your city's tap water by passing it through an activated carbon (charcoal) water filter. Boiling water for 20 minutes will also remove all of the chlorine. Another way is to leave a jug of water uncovered at room temperature for at least 24 hours. Exposure to sunlight will accelerate the evaporation of chlorine.
Some municipalities treat drinking water with chloramine instead of chlorine. Both disinfectants can can potentially disrupt the gut's microbiome by altering its bacterial composition. Catalytically activated granular carbon filtration is one of the few methods that can successfully remove chloramine from drinking water, but the filtration rate must be slow enough for it to be successful. Check with your water department to see if they are using chloramine rather than chlorine.
As ground water moves through soil and rocks, it dissolves minerals such as calcium and magnesium, making the water “hard.” If your tap water is hard, there are ways to soften it. If you have a well that produces hard water, or contains organic contaminants from decaying vegetation in the aquifer, you already know what you need to do in order to purify it. That can become quite costly, but at least you won't be paying a monthly water utility bill.
Municipal Water Quality
Nearly all coal-fired power plants contaminate nearby groundwater with unsafe levels of toxic pollutants. PFAS “forever chemicals” are found in the blood of over 95 percent of Americans. PFAS contamination was found in more than 20 percent of private wells and 60 percent of the public wells sampled in 16 eastern states in a USGS study.
New EPA rules set limits for six PFAS (PFOA and PFOS ) chemicals in public water supplies across the nation. Water providers will have three years to begin routine testing for PFAS and disclose results if the levels are too high. Water utilities will have an additional two years to install treatment if PFAS levels exceed the EPA limits. It is estimated that six to 10 percent of U.S. water systems currently have PFAS levels above the new limits.
If you are concerned about the purity of your tap water, there are expensive filtration systems that can purify it. A less expensive option is a distillation unit that you can purchase or make yourself. It will remove all of the inorganic impurities, including fluoride, and most of the organic ones.
Bottled Water
Thanks to government standards for drinking water quality, in most parts of the country you may be better off drinking tap water than consuming bottled water. However, if your tap water is delivered through lead pipes, or you live in a place like Flint, Michigan, then that's a whole different story.
Bottled water is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and there may be state regulations as well. The FDA provides oversight to ensure the water you purchase is filtered properly and is free from bacteria and other contaminants. However, it does not monitor bottled water for PFAS, pharmaceuticals, and microplastics. Bottled water is usually sold in plastic containers that may contain BPA, another chemical worth avoiding. If you drink bottled water, the best you can buy is distilled water sold in glass containers.
Bottled water has been found to be the biggest source of microplastics in human tissues, and drinking filtered tap water is the best way to reduce our exposure. Researchers have found that a liter of water bottled in plastic containers has an average of about 240,000 plastic particles, most of which are super-tiny nanoplastics that can make their way into all our organs, especially our brains:
While on the subject of microplastics, beware of nylon tea bags, which can release more than 11 billion microplastic and 3 billion nanoplastic particles from a single bag. If you want bagged tea, buy tea in bags that are made from biodegradable cellulose. The best way to make tea is with loose tea leaves. A 2024 study found that tea leaves can remove heavy metals that may be present in the water. The longer the steeping time, the better.
I advise against drinking carbonated (sparkling) or mineral water. Acidification of sparkling water produced by the dissolved carbon dioxide can contribute to the erosion of tooth enamel. It becomes even more acidic if a citrus juice or citric acid is added for flavor. The inorganic solutes in mineral water can potentially increase the risk of kidney stone formation.
Some bottled waters have salt added, which will increase thirst, and water sales. Some well-known bottled water brands have been recalled because of dangerous contaminants such as benzene. Bottled mountain spring water can come out of the fire hydrants of some rare mountain communities, where the public water supply draws its water from bacteria-free springs, but who wants to pay for bottled tap water?
Alternative Beverages
The actual hydration benefit of drinking different kinds of beverages only depends upon their water content and how much liquid you drink. There is no beverage that is more hydrating, drop-for-drop, than plain water. Beyond that, it's only a matter of taste.
If you still need to improve the taste of your drinking water, make some herbal tea with boiling water, let it steep for five minutes, then drink it after it has cooled. I advise against making “sun tea” because bacterial growth can take place at ambient temperatures. Coffee, geen and black teas, and cocoa, are also popular beverages made with water.
Drinking all of those beverages at room temperature is preferable to challenging your mouth and stomach with very cold or very hot drinks. Our paleolithic ancestors did not chill or heat their drinking water, and we have not yet evolved to deal with internal temperature extremes.
Frequently drinking hot coffee or tea has been associated with the development of esophageal cancer. Aim for the “Goldilocks just-right” beverage temperature range for people's health. 140°F (60°C) is considered the upper safety limit for drinking hot beverages. If something is too hot for your hands, please don't put it in your mouth.
Milk is something that I discourage adults from drinking, and recommend that people also stop drinking fruit juices, sodas, sweetened drinks, and sports drinks, due to their high glycemic and/or osmotic loads. The best available evidence suggests that consumption of beverages containing sucrose (cane or beet sugar) and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) increases the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Drinks containing artificial sweeteners should also be avoided.
Alcohol (ethanol or grain alcohol) is an especially unhealthy drink, even when consumed in small quantities. It can also be acutely toxic and cause death when rapidly ingested in quantities that exceed the body's capacity to detoxify it. In sub-fatal doses, ethanol damages the liver, pancreas, heart and neuroendocrine system.
Comedian W.C. Fields was proud of his alcohol addiction. Asked why he drank so much liquor, Fields responded, “Because I get thirsty, my boy.” When asked why he didn't just drink water, Fields replied, “Because the fish screw in it!” Fields died from a massive esophageal hemorrhage secondary to cirrhosis of the liver. He was 66 years old.
Now that you know that alcohol, even in small amounts, is bad for you, if giving it up is something that you want to do, you’ll find a way to do it. However, if quitting alcohol is not something that you want to do, you’ll just find ways to make excuses, like W.C. Fields did.
Water Shortages
Human activity is destroying the natural resources upon which we depend. An estimated 12 million tons of plastic waste enter the world's oceans every year, wreaking havoc upon the marine life food chain that is a vital part of our food supply.
On land, agricultural runoff and industrial waste continue to pollute rivers and lakes, as well as the underground sources of drinking water upon which more than half the U.S. population depends. Animal wastes from chickens, pigs, and cattle can percolate deep into the soil, polluting aquifers.
Commercial irrigation of vegetable crops using water contaminated with farm animal feces occurs far too often, but is not usually recognized until there are widespread outbreaks of food-borne illnesses. Unlike beef, which is frequently inspected by the USDA, the riskiest part of a fast-food burger is its lettuce, tomato, and onion, due to infrequent FDA produce farm inspections. The FDA has finally published a revised rule covering pre-harvest agricultural water requirements, but how it will play out in practice remains to be seen.
Shrinking reserves, increased consumption, and rampant pollution combine to produce an ever-increasing scarcity of water that's safe to drink. With fresh, clean, potable water becoming an increasingly precious commodity, monied interests are exploring new ways to profit from water shortages.
As that trend continues, we can expect to see a variety of investment vehicles that capitalize upon the growing demand and the profits generated by businesses that deliver drinking water to the marketplace. Consequently, with money buying political influence, there has been growing political pressure to privatize municipal water supplies.
While the U.S. is generally considered a water-rich country, decreasing rainfall due to global climate change, plus record levels of human consumption, have created regional and local water shortages. The Colorado River and its tributaries supply water to millions of people in Southern California, Arizona, and Nevada, who are now facing severe shortages.
Aquifers are being depleted, endangering long-term water availability for states such as Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas. Water usage conflicts between agricultural industries and environmentalists are becoming more frequent. Some crops, such as almonds, require enormous amounts of water and may soon become unsustainable for California growers.
River and stream diversions for agriculture and the construction of dams for flood control and the generation of hydroelectric power have proven disastrous for many salmon and steelhead fisheries. The conflict over dam removal illustrates one of the many complex trade-offs involved in the production of clean energy and its unintended consequences.
The global water crisis is a much larger and even more pressing issue. Inefficient irrigation practices, lack of investments in water infrastructure, and heated conflicts over water rights all contribute to water shortages. Worldwide, one out of four people don't have access to safe drinking water, leading to waterborne diseases that cause millions of deaths each year.
Changes in precipitation patterns, more frequent droughts, and the retreat of glaciers due to global warming are contributing to water scarcity in many regions. Half the world's population is currently experiencing water scarcity, impacting agriculture and food production, and leading to food shortages and famines. At the same time, the world's population continues to increase, exceeding the carrying capacity of the environment and creating an ever greater demand for the planet's limited resources.
Drinking water scarcity is exacerbated by the pollution of groundwater due to the runoff of agricultural chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers, and contamination with industrial chemicals as a result of accidental spills and illegal dumping. There are now about 20,000 uncontrolled hazardous waste sites in the U.S. that have been identified, and more sites continue to be discovered.
Drinking Water Scams
During the last few decades, there has been an alarming increase in the sale of expensive (>$5k) “anti-oxidizer” machines that claim to produce ionized, acidic, or alkaline water. Cult-like, multi-level marketers are touting alleged health benefits that they and their customers claim to have experienced. Please do not be taken in by these “holy water” scams. There is nothing magical or healing about these adulterated waters.
Promoters of this pseudo-scientific quackery are the modern equivalent of old-time snake oil salesmen. Not only are their promotional arguments non-science, they are quite literally nonsense, as anyone who understands basic chemistry and physiology can understand. There is no legitimate scientific evidence for the alleged benefits, so customers are expected to take the bogus claims on faith alone.
Although scientifically testing such claims is possible, that has not been done. The responsibility for demonstrating safety and efficacy always rests with the manufacturers, but why would they want to expose the falsity of their claims? The loophole they exploit is that the machines are not marketed as medical devices, so there are no legal requirements for testing.
True believers may have experienced placebo effects. If they didn't experience any benefits, they'd feel like idiots for wasting their money, so they are psychologically primed to do so. Any actual benefits could be attributed to people being better hydrated. After all, if you spent big bucks on one of these machines, you’re going to want to get your money’s worth by using it a lot.
Many of the faithful become distributors themselves, and if they happen to be someone you know, please don't believe their personal testimonial. Anyone participating in a multi-level marketing scheme has an inherent conflict of interest, and is therefore an unreliable source of information.
The Bottom Line
We are continually preyed upon by businesses that run roughshod over people's health in their relentless pursuit of profits. The challenges we face, if we want our food and beverages to be as healthy for us as possible, is learning to love what is actually good for us, and avoiding what isn’t. That can require a rehabilitation of our taste buds, after many years of manipulation by the food and beverage industries.
Fortunately for many of us, there is a widely available, drinkable substance that is so much healthier than any other beverage. It is made of molecules consisting of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen (aka "dihydrogen monoxide"). I highly recommend developing a taste for water in its purest form, unflavored and unaccompanied by any other chemicals. By doing so, I’ve come to prefer it over all other beverages. Shall we drink to that?
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