By Michelle Hancock
Water For Life
Considering that water comprises about 85 per cent of the brain, one would think that we wouldn’t have to be reminded to drink our daily ration.
In our quest for the perfect diet, we often overlook what should be considered the fifth basic food group: water. If only it were as simple as turning on the tap and filling the glass.
More and more Canadians are becoming concerned with the quality of the water they drink and are looking for alternatives to untreated water. But with the diversity of treatment options available on the market, it is easy for consumers to get stuck up the creek, lost in a quagmire of sales pitches and system glitches.
Water for life
"Just as a flower or tree leaf withers and gets yellowish and dies because of lack of water, the human skin and body withers and dies for lack of water," wrote health practitioner Reza Kareemi in a recent article. And it’s true. The human body is more than 70 per cent water. The average person carries 45 to 55 litres of water at any given time.
Water is a component of virtually every bodily process, especially respiration, metabolism, digestion, perspiration, urination. It’s in our blood (83 per cent), our bones (22 per cent) and our muscles (76 per cent). Simply put, only air is more precious for our very survival. We can last longer without food than we can without water.
Eight glasses; that’s what the experts say we should be drinking daily. And yet, it’s not just a question of quantity. In 1989, 95 per cent of Canadians polled were concerned about water quality. That percentage hasn’t dropped amidst continued fears of contamination of our water supplies. In a worse case scenario, who wants to drink two litres of bacteria-infested, chemical-laden sludge on a daily basis? Most people don’t.
These consumer worries have spawned an industry determined to exchange assurances of cleaner water for cash. For buyers wanting to satisfy their thirst, the most popular options are bottled water, distillation, reverse osmosis, activated carbon, and block carbon filters.
Bottled water
In 1992, bottled water was the largest growing beverage in the country, worth an estimated $198 million. A 1998 study in the American Journal of Medicine revealed that bottled water consumption has grown by 400% in the past decade; one in five Canadian households now uses it. And yet, like other alternatives to plain tap water, controversy surrounds the bottled water industry.
Few regulations exist to protect consumers from misleading claims, so "pure," "natural" and "spring water" don’t necessarily guarantee liquid perfection. As tests commissioned by The Vancouver Sun in 1996 revealed, the unwanted presence of mould, yeast and carbon can be found even in brand name bottles.
Distillation
Distillation is less expensive than purchasing bottled water and involves heating water to 100 degrees C. As the water evaporates, most impurities are left behind including inorganic contaminants, and little wrigglies like bacteria and germs. The vapour is then condensed, producing a "soft water" that has been stripped of minerals.
Several disadvantages lie in relying on this method alone. Distillation units produce relatively small quantities of water and require a constant electrical charge for heating. More complex models depend on a secondary step, such as a carbon filter, to remove any residual gases or contaminants from the water.
Some experts debate the merits of soft water and argue that minerals alkalinize the water and are essential to good health. Dr. Zoltan Rona recommends using distilled water only during times of detoxification, as it is an active absorber that can pull toxins from the body.
Reverse Osmosis
In a reverse osmosis system, water molecules move through a semipermeable membrane that blocks the passage of larger-sized contaminants and dissolved solids. A typical reverse osmosis design fits under the sink and may be combined with other filtration methods for further effectiveness.
In this process, minerals are also too large to pass through the original barrier. As a result, reverse osmosis produces the same demineralized, soft water of distillation. Another downside: some upkeep is required to keep the system clean and running smoothly.
Activated Carbon
Also known as a granular carbon filter, this particular treatment is especially effective in absorbing organic chemicals. However, metal particles and minerals may be small enough to pass through the system. Carbon in a granular form is more prone to bacteria growth and requires changing periodically.
While activated carbon is usually cheaper than other models that offer multi-treatments, depending on how much water runs through this system, additional costs will pop up when it comes time to replace the filter.
Block Carbon
Generally more efficient than granular carbon, in a block carbon system, water flows through evenly distributed holes. The result is water that has been consistently treated. Chlorine and other organic chemicals are absorbed, and tiny solid particles are also trapped. Bacterial growth is also unlikely to occur, as oxygen cannot permeate the block.
Overall, a hybrid system that combines block carbon filtration and another treatment which removes heavy metals seems a good purchasing choice. Consumers in the process of investigating various systems should familiarize themselves with the specifics offered by each company.
H20 to Go
Considering that water comprises about 85 per cent of the brain, one would think that we wouldn’t have to be reminded to drink our daily ration. But as prominent H20 advocates like Feredoon Batamanghelidj, MD point out, dehydration is quite common.
A culture of coffee, tea and soft drinks lures us away from Mother Nature’s answer to conditions such as asthma, hypertension, ulcers, allergies and arthritis.
Sam Graci, author of The Power of Superfoods, encourages us to maximize our drinking efforts by habitually carrying a water container. By drinking through a straw, we consume much more than we would by using a glass. But, he cautions, drink water half an hour before and at least two hours after meals to ensure the proper digestion of food. "Increasing water intake too quickly can overwork your kidneys and digestive system," writes Graci.
Despite the controversy, despite the confusion, even science’s greatest straddler-of-the-fence would agree: water plays more of a role in good health than we might think.
