The AMAZINGNESS of Water

Jul 22, 2024

8 min read

What TRUE HYDRATION is all about

TLDR: True Hydration is about DRINKING water & MAKING water.

We need to DRINK at least 10 cups of water per day. We also need to incorporate daily lifestyle habits that support our body’s mechanisms for MAKING metabolic water, i.e. we need to become ELECTRON GATHERERS.

Bottoms up!

Drinking Water

"We are beginning to understand dehydration manifests itself in as many ways as we in medicine have invented disease conditions. We in medicine, not knowing that dehydration becomes symptom-producing, and lack of water in the body is pathology-producing - we have labeled states of dehydration, and complications of dehydration, as disease conditions... When the body has been calling for water, it has become [standard practice in medicine] to give it toxic chemicals."

Dr. F Batmanghelidj (author - Your Body's Many Cries for Water)

This quote by Dr. B revolutionized the way I look at every single presentation (i.e. symptom). Allergies? Dehydration. Asthma? The body’s incredible drought-management system kicking into high gear to combat dehydration. Joint pain? Deep dehydration. Neurodegenerative conditions? Dehydration! Constipation? Yep, you guessed it - Dehydration.

You catch my drift…

Dr. B spent decades working with patients and hydration and he wrote a number of books on the impact of water and its ability to mitigate and even reverse a number of diseases, ranging from chronic pain, to respiratory conditions, obesity and autoimmune diseases. A great place to begin the deep dive is here. He was meticulous in his explanations for why he believed most diseases doctors were attempting to treat were really simply the result of chronic unintentional dehydration. In fact, he suggested that perhaps the way modern medicine was looking at diseases is analogous to the way the blind men “looked at” an elephant, in the parable Blind Men and an Elephant.

(image from this article)

I adapted this image and Dr. Batmanghelidj’s interpretation in this infographic:

Indeed, Dr. B saw time and time again that by simply increasing the amount of clean, filtered water a person drank, the more efficiently their complaints diminished or disappeared. This and making sure there was adequate salt intake. The minerals and trace minerals in sea salt or mountain salt are essential for proper absorption and usage of water.

He also painstakingly catalogued the different ways in which the human body actually lets us know that more water is needed. These “water shortage signals” don’t even include thirst. In fact, by the time we actually feel thirsty, we’re deep into dehydration territory! Instead, these water shortage signals actually respond to anti-histamines. Suggesting a key, central role of histamine in the context of dehydration. I confirmed this first hand when, years ago, my child was in the throws of bronchial constriction and all I had to give at 2am was a sublingual, homeopathic “allergy” tab. I was trying desperately to avoid another albuterol nebulization, since the last one had only been a couple hours prior. The tabs worked! At the time I briefly wondered “why? if this is more reactive airway/asthma, not pollen allergy?” But my kid was now sleeping and I needed to sleep so I ran with it. Now, as I emerge from my water deep-dive this week, I get it! Our bodies are so amazing!

And so here’s the skinny (if you need more details, I’ve put together a masterclass on Asthma and Allergies through a Quantum Lens that is be available as part of our Masterclass Replays series, below):

When we’re dehydrated, the body's prime directive is to protect the blood volume, and maintain that blood pH of 7.4, at all costs. In order to do this, an initial step is to halt all flow of excess water from the capillaries into the interstitial spaces and into the cells. This in turn triggers release of histamine. WHY? Because histamine is THE controller of water levels throughout the body! If it senses less than ideal hydration levels, it cranks up its production and begins to enact "water preservation" measures so that blood pH, brain function and saliva production are maintained. Excess histamine levels present in many different ways, including pain, hypertension, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, autoimmune diseases like Lupus and RA, asthma and allergies.

Turns out it’s not that difficult to become dehydrated if we’re not paying attention. Did you know that we recycle the equivalent of 40,000 cups of water every day, in order to power all the basic cellular functions that need to happen so we stay alive?! Furthermore, we lose between 6 and 10 cups of that water every single day when we breathe, through urine and sweat. The only way to replenish those 6-10 cups is by drinking water. Every Day.

This is what happens when we don't replenish those 6-10 cups of water lost in a 24-hr period each day:

"It is now clinically and scientifically clear that the human body has many other distinct ways of showing its general or local water needs. Depending on where there is water shortage - drought - many localized complications, such as asthma, are produced.”

(from the book: ABC of Asthma, Allergies and Lupus, by Dr. F. Batmanghelidj).

Dr. B. goes on to describe what he considers the 4 main categories of the body, which act as powerful indicators or consequences of DEHYDRATION:

1. Perceptive Indicators -

As soon as our body registers lower-than-necessary water levels, it rings bells designed to get our attention and tell us we need to replenish water reserves.

These "bells" sound in response to histamine and they look like extreme tiredness, feeling flushed, Irritability, anxiety, low libido, depression and unhealthy cravings.

2. Crisis Calls of the Body for Water -

If we don't heed the sound of these bells, the body activates "louder alarms" in hopes of catching our attention and making us "do something about it".

These "alarms" sound like heartburn, dyspepsia, rheumatoid joint pain, back pain, migraines, leg pain when walking, fibromyalgia, colitis pain, constipation, anginal pain, and morning sickness in pregnancy.

3 & 4. Drought Management & Water Rationing Programs

In today's day and age, most of us completely "sleep through" these loud alarms and the body is forced into engaging some pretty intense drought management and water rationing programs to WAKE US UP!

What modern medicine has labeled as "diseases", like asthma, allergies, hypertension, diabetes, and assorted autoimmune diseases, are nothing more than our bodies ensuring essential functions, such as strict blood pH maintenance, saliva production, heart and brain health are maintained for survival.

The good news? Managing and even reversing these conditions may be as straight forward as drinking more water. Not juice. Not coffee or other caffeinated beverages, not alcohol. WATER!

And so, a good rule of thumb is to aim for about 10 cups of water and 1/2 tsp of salt per day. Many of us are already there. But many may not be. So here’s a roadmap to how one might begin to implement this (again, adapted from Dr. B’s work):

A simple plan for ensuring we have the right amount of water on board throughout the day: upon waking, drink 2-3 cups of clean, filtered water to counter any dehydration that takes place while we sleep. Then, drink 2 cups of water 30 minutes before each meal, and one cup 2 1/2 hrs after each meal. place a granule of coarse salt or a pinch of fine salt on the tongue and absorb it via the oral mucosa. Look for any signs of too much salt (such as puffy feet, fingers) and adjust accordingly. Keep in mind that swelling and water retention are also signs of dehydration! So you may need to increase water intake. (see below for other reasons why even though we may be "drinking enough" we're still dehydrated).

Why are water and salt so effective at relieving and even reversing symptoms of chronic pain, asthma, allergies, and more? Because water and salt are both natural anti-histamines! In fact, water is essential for sustained activation of the adrenergic system (adrenaline). And adrenaline is a natural inhibitor of histamine overactivity! (think epi-pens).

The thing is, when we go in and try to bring down histamine levels with synthetic anti-histamines, steroids and bronchodilators, we’re coming in through the side door and shutting histamine up while still not doing anything about the root cause: DEHYDRATION.

By drinking water, we’re effectively “killing all the disease birds with one stone”. Well, maybe a slight exaggeration, but still… Hydration is such a low hanging fruit! Can’t hurt and might most definitely help!

And remember, hydration is also the elephant in the room. Its time we start to acknowledge it!

Making Water

Just as a baker lovingly tends to their sourdough starter, or the crunchy homesteader nurses their fermented kombucha elixir, in order to craft amazing 3-ingredient bread (flour, salt and water) or delicious fermented tea, our bodies delicately craft structured water at the cellular level, using good ol’ bulk H2O that is already there. This bulk water is like that sourdough starter or that kombucha SCOBY. It’s the starter water that yields charged water, essential for all our energetic processes, from protein folding/unfolding, detoxification and proper heart health and brain electrical conduction to faster-than-the-speed-of-light transfer of information in our fascia (here, here and here).

The process of becoming structured (a.k.a. metabolic, 4th phase, EZ water, quantum coherent water) is essential for the proper and efficient functioning of our cells, enzymes, proteins, and mitochondria. When bulk water comes in contact with a biological surface (e.g. cells, proteins, organelles), the water molecule is said to charge separate. The hydrogens and oxygen reorganize so that a hydrogen is pushed out and the remaining Hs and Os rejoin forming a hexagonal ring of semi-liquid/semi-solid, gel-like water that is negatively charged. The hydrogens that were “kicked out” align in a positively-charged string, on the outer bounds of the negative gel water, effectively forming a battery of potential energy. It is this potential energy that is believed to fuel all functions inside cells. Including the making of ATP!

In fact, ATP isn’t “the energy currency” of the cell. Electrons are! Even the production of ATP in mitochondria necessitates electrons and their effective tunneling through the Electron Transport Chain (ETC) respiratory proteins. Without electrons to power the ETC and concentrate protons to rotate the ATPase motor, no ATP can be made.

This water our body makes is often referred to as metabolic water. Metabolism, by definition, is a set of chemical reactions in living organisms that sustain life.

Metabolic water, therefore, is a key ingredient in these life-sustaining chemical reactions.

Indeed, metabolic water, by virtue of having a net charge (typically NEGATIVE), is uniquely poised to donate electrons or protons where needed. As Mae Wan Ho describes it: "it is a redox pile (as in battery)", playing key roles in electron giving and taking-away, depending on what the system needs at any given time, and at any given location.

The bigger this electron pile, the more potential energy in the system.

More ELECTRONS

More ENERGY

better-functioning cells, organs and systems

Optimal Health

The process of charge separation of water is also fueled by sunlight and a grounded connection to the Earth, as well as movement and the proper mindset.

Elevate Your Hydration Game

In order to get and remain truly hydrated we must elevate our game. We do this by ensuring we have clean, filtered H2O for drinking AND we live a life that supports our electron-gathering abilities.

Here are some ways you can become an efficient “electron gatherer”:

Spend as much time outside, under all of the light of the sun, as possible.
Harness additional, sources of infrared light/heat, such as hot showers, saunas, cold thermogenesis and movement.
Get bare feet and/or hands on dirt, grass, sand, concrete, tree trunks, etc.
Prioritize fats in the diet - you get more electron bang for your caloric buck when you eat fats over carbs.

An important part of being an efficient electron gatherer is mitigating electron loss. We are surrounded, in this day and age, by some sneaky electron thieves, such as:

Limit exposure to, and participation in these activities as much as possible, to truly support true hydration for optimal health and well-being.

In summary

DRINKING ENOUGH CLEAN, FILTERED, RE-MINERALIZED WATER is just the beginning. Drinking good water is paramount for health - Absolutely! However, TRUE HYDRATION is about more than drinking the water. TRUE HYDRATION that happens at the cellular level is essential for optimal health. And this cellular hydration is all about ELECTRONS!

True, thorough and proper hydration involves DRINKING clean, filtered, mineralized water AND living a life that allows our body to MAKE 4th phase water inside cells (aka cellular hydration, or hydration at the cellular level).

In closing, I invite you to check out Dr. Batmanghelidj’s books: