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The Best Advice I Will Ever Give You

by Ross on April 24, 2009

This is the best piece of advice I have ever been given, and I swear it is the single, best bit of advice I will ever give you or that you will ever read on this blog.

It is simple, it is easy to put into practice and it is very, very affordable (possibly free).

Before I do, I really, really want you to keep an open mind, put any preconceptions aside, stick with me and just take this advice for what it is. You may have heard it before, but I want I really don’t want you to just roll your eyes and tut and say ‘I’ve heard this before’.

This is a fundamental.

You should listen/read with an open mind and be ready to absorb the information because, unless you drink 3-4 litres of good quality water every day then you need to be reminded of this stuff. Sometimes we really need to re-focus and re-learn the basics, because we can become nonchalant about them, even though we know they are so vitally important. So read on, and take note. Who knows, you might just take one thing out of this article that makes all of the difference.

I hope that makes sense.

How Hydration Can Totally Change Your Life
Water makes up 75% of your total body weight. But I don’t really care about that. I’d been trying to research and start this article for about 3 hours and rewording around and rewriting all of these water facts that really didn’t seem to mean anything. They had no impact.

This did:

a 5% drop in body fluids will cause a 25-30% loss of energy in most people

In fact, even mild dehydration can slow our metabolism down by 3% - when you consider this, you can see why rehydration can support weight loss!

Proper hydration is so important to every function of the human body (if fluids drop by just 15% we die) and dehydration is at the root cause of such a ridiculous number of symptoms. From thirst to depression to cancer to obesity to fatigue to bulimia to digestive problems to skin problems and so on. This is not to say that dehydration is the only cause, but the above is just a small selection of the symptoms of repeated, daily dehydration.

But on the more positive side:

Being hydrated can change everything. Just the simple act of drinking enough water, on a daily basis, can have a profound effect on your life.

It certainly will help you to lose weight, as the water clears acid toxins from your system and boosts your metabolism. Our body’s cry for thirst is also often mistaken for hunger, leading to overeating.

Here are some more facts to show you how important hydration is:

A six-year study published in the May 1, 2002 American Journal of Epidemiology found that those who drink more than 5 glasses of water a day were 41% less likely to die from a heart attack during the study period than those who drank less than two glasses.
Drinking the equivalent of 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%.
Drinking the 2 litres of water a day decreases the risk of breast cancer by 79%
In fact, one of the biggest impacts that our alkaline water diet course is having on people is that it is making them properly hydrate themselves.

It is so simple, but the reason why I think we often don’t give enough importance to hydration is that it is so simple. It is hard for our brain to connect such a profound effect with something as simple as drinking a proper amount of water each day.

So I am not going to argue the point too much - I think 99% of you will agree that drinking enough water on a daily basis is absolutely a good thing. So let’s get into the three most important questions:

How Much?
What is Good Water
How Can I Make it a Habit?!
How Much Water Should I Drink
The easy answer is 3-4 litres per day. I know this sounds a lot, but it isn’t really. And I also know that you might be thinking, that is too much for me, I’m only little, so the official calculator is:

1 litre of water per 40lbs (18k or 2.85stone) of body weight

For example, 12st = 4.2 litres per day

This, I have found, accurately works out to between 3-4 litres for most people each day. And if you stick to this, every day, I promise you there will be a massive increase in your health, energy, mental clarity and vitality.

But not any old water will do…which brings me onto:

What Should I Drink?
When we talk about drinking 3-4 litres per day, it is important to make this water as good, high quality and clean as you possibly can. To be honest, while drinking 3-4 litres of tap water will still hydrate you and give you some benefit, getting good, clean water is so important and so much better.

My definition of good water is:

Mineral-rich, toxin-free, filtered water with a pH of above 7 (preferably 9)

When the water fits this description you will really see a difference. I am sure that most of you will agree that toxin-free, mineral-rich water is a good thing, but what about the alkaline? Well, this is a blog post in itself (in fact, it is probably a summary of this entire blog), but I will cut and paste this excerpt from my interview with Ravi from sethigherstandards.com as I describe it well!

Your body HAS to keep the pH of your blood, cells and other fluids at just slightly alkaline (pH 7.365) and it will do ANYTHING it has to in order to maintain this pH balance. To do this, your body calls upon its store of alkaline buffers, which it draws upon to neutralize the acids we ingest or create through bodily processes. This store of buffers is very easily depleted because most of us eat and drink such strong acids. To put this in context, the pH scale is logarithmic - so pH 6 is 10x more acidic than pH 7, meaning pH 5 is 100x times more acidic than pH 7 and pH 4 is 1000x more acidic. Coke has a pH of between 2 and 3. So you can see how a diet filled with meats, dairy, fizzy drinks, alcohol etc would quickly deplete these buffers.

And when we deplete these buffers and still ingest more acids…what happens? The body is forced into drawing upon the alkaline minerals it has to buffer which causes havoc in the body - for instance, if the body is constantly drawing calcium to neutralize the acids we consume then the symptoms of osteoporosis emerge (hence the recent research articles linking cola consumption with osteoporosis).

This is just one example. Another outcome is that the body also hangs onto excess fat to protect our body/organs from the damage caused in an acidic state. Another outcome is that we ingest high levels of sugar, the sugar ferments in the blood, creating more acids, which creates acid wastes, which feeds the sugar which has fermented into bacteria, yeast, fungus which create more acid wastes etc and a vicious cycle of acid creation further depletes the alkaline buffers resulting in skin conditions, yeast infections, mood and emotional problems, diabetes and a whole heap of other symptoms.

By eating 70-80% alkaline foods we not only take this stress away from the body, but we also flood our body with vitamins, fiber, minerals, nutrients, good fats, proteins, antioxidants etc. which build the blood, cleanse our system and ultimately make us feel great.

Still, the simple explanation is the one I prefer - eat lots of great, fresh foods and treat treats as a treat.

So when we infuse our body with acid free, mineral-rich and alkaline water we help to flush out these toxins, rehydrate our system, detoxify ourself of yeasts, fungus and molds and actually raise the pH of our internal environment. Our diet and modern lifestyle will always lead us to consume more acid than alkaline and so by giving our body this gift of alkaline water, we help to neutralise the acids and retain our balance at 7.365.

To give more context, here is a great quote from Dr Young from his facebook page of all places (here is my facebook page if you’re interested!):

Beer is just another form of urine. That’s why it smells and some-what tastes like urine. The pH of beer is around 5 and the pH of coffee is around 5.5. The pH of pH Miracle Water is 9.5 which is 50,000 times more alkaline than beer or coffee. I am sure you are aware that you can keep a cancerous cell alive in beer or coffee indefinitely. They love an acidic pH because cancerous cells are acidic cells.

Beer is 1000 times more alkaline than diet soda. Your own urine is 10,000 times more alkaline than diet soda. I am sure you’re not going to drink an acidic beer, let alone drink your own urine. Diet soda is an acidic poison in a bottle or can. It is full of acidic sugar, (artificial or natural) carbonic and phosphoric acid. Give up the acidic diet soda and have an alkaline day with alkaline water and green drinks!

Making Water That Fits This Criteria
There are three main methods to make mineral-rich, toxin-free alkaline water:

Using a distiller
Using a water ioniser
Adding alkaline ingredients to the water
Using a Distiller: using a distiller is a very efficient and effective method of purifying and alkalising your water. As noted by Dr. Weil:

the process of distillation kills and removes virtually all bacteria, viruses, heavy metals, and other organic and inorganic contaminants. Once distilled, the water is as pure as water can reasonably be.

What a recommendation! He also does a great job here of dispelling the incredibly inaccurate myth about distilled water leaching minerals from the body (ridiculous I know).

Distilled water is water that has been turned to steam and then condensed back into water. This process, as noted above kills all impurities, removes acid toxins and makes the water pH neutral/slightly alkaline. In my opinion, this is the very best type of alkaline water filter.

Using a water ioniser

Water ionisers are, unsurprisingly, products that ionise water. The water is ionised (electrically enhanced) by running it over positive and negative electrodes. This separates the water into alkaline (70%) and acidic (30%). This is exceptionally beneficial as the alkaline water is then used for drinking, while the acidic water can be used on the outside of the body as it is proven to kill many types of bacteria.

These are more expensive that distillers but are FAR more user friendly, as they simply attach to your tap and produce water at a pH of your choice instantly, as soon as you turn the tap on!

We are getting some amazing feedback from our customers. Click here for more info on water ionisers.

Adding alkaline ingredients to the water

The third method is to add ingredients to the water to increase its alkalinity. I would only make these alkaline water additions to water that had already been put through an alkaline water filter, however they can be handy in an emergency when there is only mineral or tap water to hand.

Lemon Water: I have already blogged lemon water to death, however, I will mention it here as it really is an alkalising superstar. By squeezing lemon juice (or lime juice) into water you immediately give it a healthful kick. Lemon water is very alkaline and is great in helping to detoxify the liver and kidneys.
pH Drops: these are an excellent way to dramatically increase the alkalinity of the water. These drops offer intense alkalinity and only a few are needed for an incredible boost to the alkalinity of your drink. There are several types around but I would only really recommend Dr Young’s PuripHy or pH Ion’s pH Booster
What Else Can I Drink

Alongside this lovely water, I recommend you to drink: herbal tea, vegetable juice and green drinks. Try to stay away from fizzy water though as the carbonation process makes the water have a pH of about 5.

BUT IMPORTANTLY - I don’t want any of this to hold you back. I don’t want you to think ‘great - I’m going to get really hydrated, but just after I do x, y and z and buy x, y and z.’. No excuses. Start hydrating NOW.

How to Start Hydrating - and make it a habit
I know it is difficult. Not only to start consuming this volume of water, but also to simply remember to drink this much water throughout the day.

Here are my top five tips for making this a habit.

Carry A Big Bottle: this is the best tip - because it makes sure you always have your water on you to sip. I personally like to have a big 1 litre bottle at all times (here is a nice energiseforlife.com bottle you can order!) and when I do this I always drink my 4.2 litres!
Set a Reminder: this isn’t something you will have to do forever, but I recommend you set an hour reminder on your phone or watch to beep and remind you to have a big gulp or a glass of water every hour. It is amazing how often you suddenly realise it is lunchtime and you’ve not really had anything to drink!
Substitute: for every other drink you go to have, be it a tea, coffee or juice - substitute in water. You will be surprised at a) how good it makes you feel and b) how much of a pat on the back you can give yourself afterwards. This simple tip can lead to some really good, positive reinforcement that yes, you can say no and it makes you even more healthy!
Always Have Water At Your Desk: simply having a bottle at your desk at all times means that when you do remember you can tuck straight into it, rather than thinking “oh yes, water, now let me just finish this email first”
Finally - know your outcome and plan your route to success. Here is a daily hydration schedule you can download (sorry it is low res at the minute - there is a high res on the way). You can use this to build up your new hydration habit over the next five weeks, so that at the end of week five you are hitting your hydration target day in, day out. And if you have been hydrating for five weeks I can PROMISE that you will feel a profound difference in your health and wellbeing.
If nothing else - your body uses up 2.5 litres of alkaline water per day in its activities to simply keep you alive - please at least put that back in!.

I hope this resource helps you. I would love to hear from you in the comments below - whether it is a question - or another tip to help keep the hydration habit going. Or if you have a story that can inspire someone else - then let us know!

Have a great hydrated day
Ross