By Ian Blair Hamilton

It’s a rhetorical question. We all know the answer – but in my experience the only time such a question seems to become important is when people don’t actually have five years of life left.

It’s often said that people spend more money on their health in the last two years of their life than the total of the rest of their life. In my experience this is so very true.

I don’t want to waste time telling you how naughty you’ve been to fail to learn about your own health. God knows we are all so “busy” just surviving in this crazy world that oftentimes health takes a backstage position until it fails. It’s like my son’s car. He simply doesn’t change the oil. He believes everything lasts forever. At age 26, so did I.

I have been asked many times to write down my understanding of acid and alkaline balance and its effects on health. This has usually been asked after I have spent an hour explaining it to someone, for the umpteenth time! So I’m going to give you my grand theory of everything about acid/alkaline balance now, and if you hear what I am saying, I know you’ll understand and act upon this most fundamental of all health secrets.

Why is acid/alkaline balance ‘fundamental’? Because this is about what happens at the microscopic level within our bodies; beyond the cellular level – at the atomic level. It’s all about electricity, and about what happens to create energy in your body at the atomic level. It’s about what doesn’t happen, what should happen, and what will happen if you follow what I am suggesting. Most people I talk to already know that we are too acidic, because of acidic foods, drinks, pollution, lifestyle, stress … almost everything is acidifying including watching the news at six.

We are told we need to alkalize, but what does that really mean? Many of us think that acidic water is just water with lots of acidic minerals in it, and alkaline water is water with lots of alkaline minerals in it – calcium, magnesium, potassium etc. But you can have acidic water with both acid and alkaline minerals in it; just more acids than alkalis, so it’s not quite as simple as you may have thought.

Why am I explaining all this? Because if you can really understand this, you can begin a new way of thinking about your own and your loved one’s health. The conventional approach to alkalizing something like water has been to take tap water, with its mix of acids and alkalis, then add more alkalis.

What’s wrong with that? You’re drinking a chemical cocktail – just to get your alkaline water.

But in this twenty minutes we’re going to go far farther than this small point.

Let’s assume that we have water with no minerals at all; distilled for instance. Then we add some calcium. Now we have alkaline water. The pH of this water may have gone from a neutral pH 7 to an alkaline pH 8; ten times more alkaline that pH 7. Most of us learned all this in chemistry class – as long as you weren’t looking out the window like me!

Do you know what pH stands for? It comes from French, and means “per Hydrogen”, which is a measure of the amount of Hydrogen in a liquid. Note; we’re not talking about the amount of alkalizing or acidifying chemicals in a liquid. No, we’re talking about the amount of hydrogen atoms. The chemicals or minerals just react with the water to create hydrogen atoms.

Why is this so important? Hydrogen fuels us. Hydrogen heals us. Hydrogen is our most essential nutrient. Hydrogen provides our life force! And pH equals amount of hydrogen in liquid, so it’s a measure, if you like, of available life force in a liquid.

Continued with Reverse Aging article by Sang Whang

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World Water Day March 22, 2009

Here at WellSpring WellBeing we care about the well-being of every living thing, every living being on our planet.

In 2009, the theme for World Water Day is “Shared Water – Shared Opportunities”.  Special focus will be placed on transboundary waters. Nurturing the opportunities for cooperation in transboundary water management can help build mutual respect, understanding and trust among countries and promote peace, security and sustainable economic growth.

Water Knows No Boundaries

I love the fact that the earth is 70% water…and it doesn’t know boundaries.  A river doesn’t suddenly stop flowing at a certain point just because it has crossed a man-made line that states the river doesn’t belong.  Water is shared by all and doesn’t discriminate based on where it flows.

Water is Love

How magnificent that water crosses borders and links us together.  In a world that seems to have worked hard to create borders, water is like love, it’s a constant, ever flowing, bountiful…and it’s meant to be shared by everyone.

Today, in honor of World Water Day, I give extra deep gratitude for water.  The water that nourishes us, sustains us, cleanses us, protects us, revitalizes us and truly gives us life.

The following excerpt is shared from the UN World Water Day website:

The world’s 263 transboundary lake and river basins include the territory of 145 countries and cover nearly half of the Earth’s land surface. Great reservoirs of freshwater also move silently below our borders in underground aquifers.

With every country seeking to satisfy its water needs from limited water resources, some foresee a future filled with conflict. But history shows that cooperation, not conflict, is the most common response to transboundary water management issues.

Over the last 60 years there have been more than 200 international water agreements and only 37 cases of reported violence between states over water. We need to continue to nurture the opportunities for cooperation that transboundary water management can provide.

We share the responsibility for managing the world’s transboundary waters for current and future generations.

Whether we live upstream or downstream, we are all in the same boat.

As you lift your glass of (IonWays Alkaline Ionized) water today…

• give gratitude for the ease of the water coming to you through your tap, alchemized by your Athena or Delphi

• give gratitude for the fresh water on this planet,

• send love to the water basins that flow freely without boundaries and

• send love into the hearts of humanity as we cooperate compassionately in all areas of our lives…especially where water connects us.

Click here to find events in your area celebrating World Water Day

Dangers of Plastic Water Bottles
P.W. McRandle

Whether you buy bottled water or conscientiously tote some from home, you’ll want to avoid swallowing chemicals along with it. Particularly for small children, whose bodies are developing, it’s best to steer clear of plastics that can release chemicals that could harm them in the long term. Below, the plastics not to choose (check the recycling number on the bottom of your bottle) and those that are safer:

Plastics to Avoid

• #3 Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) commonly contains di-2-ehtylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), an endocrine disruptor and probable human carcinogen, as a softener.

• #6 Polystyrene (PS) may leach styrene, a possible endocrine disruptor and human carcinogen, into water and food.

• #7 Polycarbonate contains the hormone disruptor bisphenol-A, which can leach out as bottles age, are heated or exposed to acidic solutions. Unfortunately, #7 is used in most baby bottles and five-gallon water jugs and in many reusable sports bottles.

Better Plastics

• #1 polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE), the most common and easily recycled plastic for bottled water and soft drinks, has also been considered the most safe. However, one 2003 Italian study found that the amount of DEHP in bottled spring water increased after 9 months of storage in a PET bottle.

• #2 High Density Polyethylene

• #4 Low Density Polyethylene

• #5 Polypropylene

Better Baby Bottles:

Choose tempered glass or opaque plastic made of polypropylene (#5) or polyethylene (#1), which do not contain bisphenol-A.

Best Reusable Bottles:

kleankanteen – (except with Ionized water, it destroys the ORP and pH – use glass)

Tips for Use:

• Sniff and Taste: If there’s a hint of plastic in your water, don’t drink it.
• Keep bottled water away from heat, which promotes leaching of chemicals.
• Use bottled water quickly, as chemicals may migrate from plastic during storage. Ask retailers how long water has been on their shelves, and don’t buy if it’s been months.
• Do not reuse bottles intended for single use. Reused water bottles also make good breeding grounds for bacteria.
• Choose rigid, reusable containers or, for hot/acidic liquids, thermoses with stainless steel or ceramic interiors.

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What about Plastic?

Dr. Don Colbert, MD, author of Toxic Relief

Some bottled waters contain more toxins than tap water and are not as closely regulated as tap water. Two of the biggest bottled water brands, Dasani and AquaFina, are reprocessed tap water from cities around the country.  About 1/4 of all bottled waters are from tap water. The other problem with bottled water is that it comes in plastic.  Studies continue to show that plastic is not as safe as people believe.

· The very worst plastic is polyvinyl chloride (PVC), it is a known carcinogen that emits pollutants from the moment it is created until long after it is discarded.  Studies show that PVCC leaches vinyl chloride and other pollutants, thus disrupting the hormonal balance, causing fertility problems and damaging cells, organs, and tissues.

· Another common ingredient in some plastics, bisphenol A, is used in reusable water bottles.  It can change the course of fetal development and cause abnormal chromosome loss or gain, which leads to miscarriage or disorders like Down syndrome.  It has also been linked to obesity.

· Nalgene water bottles and 5 gallon bottles also contain bisphenol A (number 7 bottles) Studies show the chemical leaches into the water at room temperature.

· Most water bottles are made from a plastic called PET or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate) This kind of plastic is considered safer than PVC, but it has been shown to leach plasticizer chemicals called phthalates  into the water when used repeatedly or when water is bottled for too long.  Phthalates disrupt the production of fatty acids and interfere with the production of sex hormones.  They may be safe if used within a few months of the date the water was bottled – check for an expiration date.

Avoid bad plastics

Use glass containers or bio-based plastic (made of all natural products like starch, cellulose, and raw rubber)  The safety of plastics will continue, for now the safest plastic to use are PET or PETE as long as they have not been heated and are not old or reused.

· PET or PETE: used  to bottle soda,  most  bottled  water,  cooking oils, juice, salad  dressing,  peanut  butter, and other  foods.

· HDPE:  milk jugs,  one gallon water  bottles, some bottled  foods

· PVC: cling  wraps,  Reynolds Wrap,  Stretch-tite, Freeze-tite (used by many grocery stores  for  meats), four ounce Wesson Cooking  Oil, Appalachian Mountain spring water, some  plastic  squeeze  bottles

· LDPE: food storage  bags (like  Glad and Ziploc)

· PP: deli soup containers, most Rubbermaid containers,  cloudy plastic baby bottles, ketchup bottles, other cloudy plastic  bottles

· PS: Styrofoam, some disposable plastic cups and bowls, and most opaque plastic cutlery

· “Other” resins, usually polycarbonate, which contains bisphenol A:  most plastic baby bottles, five gallon water bottles, clear  plastic “sippy” cups, some types of clear plastic cutlery, inner lining of food cans

· PLA – bioplastic called polylactic acid

Use and Storage of Bottled Water

Reusing your water bottle is terrible for your body; studies show dangerous levels of bacteria accumulate on and in the bottle as you reuse it.  The water may become so contaminated that, if it were tap water, cities wouldn’t use it!

Keep your bottled water away from cleaning compounds, paints, gasoline, or other household or industrial chemicals.  Do not store it in the garage or in direct sun light.

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“To understand water is to understand the cosmos, the marvels of nature, and life itself.”
~ Masaru Emoto in “The Hidden Messages in Water”

Our Mother Earth is 70 % water.  Our human bodies are 70 % water.  Coincidence?  I think not.  We are created in the reflection of our Mother.  How we care for her, we care for ourselves.

Are you familiar with Dr. Masaru Emoto’s work?

Dr. Emoto has committed his life’s work to discovering the mystery of water.  Dr. Emoto is an original thinker.  He applies his scientific knowledge…but it’s his passion, love and gratitude for life and humanity’s core spirit that inspires his work.  He has gained worldwide acclaim through his groundbreaking research and discovery that water is deeply connected to our individual and collective consciousness.

We had the honor of listening to Dr. Emoto speak while we lived on Kauai.  It was an intimate audience of 150 people who had come together around the spirituality of water.  Dr. Emoto presented and the engaged audience laughed, gasped and cried at the wonders that he shared.

Water has always been sacred to me.

On that day with Dr. Emoto, water took on an even deeper sacredness that I have carried with me ever since.

You’ve all heard the adage, “Where our attention goes, energy flows”?  It’s been that way for me with water.  I see water in everything.  Think about it.  What exists without water influencing it’s shape or mere existence in some way.

Dr. Emoto was the first to show us in his own unique way, with capturing images of water crystals, that our energy, our thoughts, our intentions, our prayers literally shape the health and vitality of the water.

Love Your Water…

Imagine it.  If this is true, and I believe it is, then consider this again…  The earth is 70% water.  Our bodies are 70% water.  Our every thought, intention, prayer, etc. literally shapes the health and vitality of Us, our planet and our bodies.  For many of us this is not new news…and yet, adding the visual of the water just adds to the immensity of the potential we have to shift our awareness, thereby shifting the creation of our experience.  At times it’s the simplest of epiphanies that create the biggest ah-hahs!

My cells just quicken with joy at the thought of it!  See??  I just positively altered my body and the earth’s body by having that thought of JOY!  It’s that easy.  I can do it over and over and over again!  So can you!

What kind of water are YOU drinking?

Within my love of water and my deeper understanding of its sheer importance I’ve become more aware of the vital nature of the water I’m putting in my body.  I realize that I can shift the quality of any water with my intentions…and why not start with amazing water which will give quantum amplification to the love and gratitude I already pray into the water.

After researching many systems and possibilities I’ve found the perfect match for my desire for amazing drinking water.  Dr. Emoto himself worked with this water; he was impressed and amazed by the intricacy of the water crystal it produced.  Here is a photo of the water crystal that created itself with IonWays Alkaline Ionized Water…

I would love for you to experience this water too.  Please enjoy your visit here and let us know if you’d like more info:  www.wellspringwellbeing.com.

To purchase a system, and for further information:  www.ionways.com/wellspring

In Love and Gratitude for Water…Be Blessed!

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Alkaline Water and Stomach Acid

By Sang Whang

Among the people who question the validity of alkaline water, the biggest question is, “What happens to the alkaline water once it reaches the stomach, which is highly acidic?” People who have some knowledge of the human body, including medical doctors, ask this question. Let me answer that question once and for all to erase any doubts about the health benefits of alkaline water.

In order to digest food and kill the kinds of bacteria and viruses that come with the food, the inside of our stomach is acidic. The stomach pH value is maintained at around 4. When we eat food and drink water, especially alkaline water, the pH value inside the stomach goes up. When this happens, there is a feedback mechanism in our stomach to detect this and commands the stomach wall to secrete more hydrochloric acid into the stomach to bring the pH value back to 4. So the stomach becomes acidic again. When we drink more alkaline water, more hydrochloric acid is secreted to maintain the stomach pH value. It seems like a losing battle.

However, when you understand how the stomach wall makes hydrochloric acid, your concerns will disappear. A pathologist friend of mine gave me the following explanation. There is no hydrochloric acid pouch in our body. If there were, it would burn a hole in our body. The cells in our stomach wall must produce it on an instantly-as-needed basis. The ingredients in the stomach cell that make hydrochloric acid (HCl) are carbon dioxide (CO2), water (H2O), and sodium chloride (NaCl) or potassium chloride (KCl). NaCl + H2O + CO2 = HCl + NaHCO3, or

KCl + H2O + CO2 = HCl + KHCO3

As we can see, the byproduct of making hydrochloric acid is sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) or potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3), which goes into blood stream. These bicarbonates are the alkaline buffers that neutralize excess acids in the blood; they dissolve solid acid wastes into liquid form. As they neutralize the solid acidic wastes, extra carbon dioxide is released, which is discharged through the lungs. As our body gets old, these alkaline buffers get low; this phenomenon is called acidosis. This is a natural occurrence as our body accumulates more acidic waste products. There is, therefore, a relationship between the aging process and the accumulation of acids.

By looking at the pH value of the stomach alone, it seems that alkaline water never reaches the body. But when you look at the whole body, there is a net gain of alkalinity as we drink alkaline water. Our body cells are slightly alkaline. In order for them to produce acid, they must also produce alkaline, and vice versa; just as a water ionizer cannot produce alkaline water without producing acid water, since tap water is almost neutral.

When the stomach pH value gets higher than 4, the stomach knows what to do to lower it. However, if the pH value goes below 4, for any reason, the stomach doesn’t know what to do. That’s why we take Alka-Seltzer, which is alkaline, to relieve acidic stomach gas pain. In this case, hydrochloric acid is not produced by the stomach wall, therefore, no alkaline buffer is being added to the blood stream.

Let me give you another example of a body organ that produces acid in order to produce alkaline. After the food in the stomach is digested, it must come out to the small intestine. The food at this point is so acidic that it will damage the intestine wall. In order to avoid this problem, the pancreas makes alkaline juice (known as pancreatic juice). This juice is sodium bicarbonate, and is mixed with the acidic food coming out of the stomach. From the above formulae, in order to produce bicarbonates, the pancreas must make hydrochloric acid, which goes into our blood stream.

We experience sleepiness after a big meal (not during the meal or while the food is being digested in the stomach), when the digested food is coming out of the stomach; that’s the time when hydrochloric acid goes into our blood. Hydrochloric acid is the main ingredient in antihistamines and that is what causes drowsiness.

Alkaline or acid produced by the body must have an equal and opposite acid or alkaline produced by the body; therefore, there is no net gain. However, alkaline supplied from outside the body, like drinking alkaline water, results in a net gain of alkalinity in our body.

Copyright 1997 by Sang Whang Enterprises, Inc.

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