Establishing that you are properly hydrated helps ensure you have the energy and fluid you need to optimize detoxification and drainage via your liver, kidneys, lymphatic system, and colon.
Water is life. The human body is made of 60% water. Humans need to be adequately hydrated for their physiological systems to function. Additionally, water helps blood to maintain the consistency it requires to flow freely and transport oxygen and nutrients to every cell of the body.
Essentially, drinking clean water is foundational to our health! Think about how much water you consume over the course of a day, month, and year! We want to make sure there are no additional, harmful toxins coming in with that water.
These contaminants are often deemed acceptable in small amounts. However, these are very difficult to detox and place a cumulative strain on your detox, digestive, and endocrine systems. The rising rates of fertility issues, low testosterone, early onset puberty, disease, and more, point to the importance of limiting disruptive toxins in our environment and water!
Chlorination: Adding chlorine or chlorine compounds to water effectively disinfects it, killing bacteria and viruses. This method is widely used in municipal water treatment.
Reverse Osmosis: Water is forced through a semi-permeable membrane that filters out most contaminants, including particles, bacteria, and chemicals. This method is effective for reducing a broad range of impurities.
Distillation: This process involves boiling water and then condensing the steam. Distilled water is free from impurities, making it very pure.
While there are many options for water filtration, distillation is our favorite. Many filters like the ones mentioned above filter out some compounds but not others. This is better than nothing, but of course we want water to be as clean as possible. Generic plastic water pitchers and filters usually fail to filter out radioactive elements and heavy metals, to name a few. The Therasage TheraH20 pitcher and Clearly Filtered Pitchers are a good option for those wanting some protection from water contaminants, but are also on a budget. Brita filters do not remove heavy metals and pathogenic bacteria. A Berkey filter removes most but not all heavy metal and uranium. If filters are not replaced frequently, it can lose its effectiveness in removing fluoride. It’s a great option for families on a budget, and can be a helpful step in the journey towards getting a distiller. If you are looking into purchasing a certain filter, do lots of research and look for third party testing to confirm what it does and does not remove.
When distilling your water it is important to add minerals back into the water as distillation strips the minerals out. This applies to other methods as well, such as Reverse Osmosis. We recommend Concentrace Mineral Drops (1/2 tsp or 40 drops), Celtic Sea Salt (1/2 tsp per quart of water), or CT Minerals from Cellcore Biosciences (if tolerated). For those who tolerate CT-Minerals, we recommend 1-2 capsules dissolved per gallon. Other mineral-rich additions to water can include coconut water, lemon or lime juice, Master Mineral drink, or electrolyte powders like Dr. Bergs, ReLyte, or LMNT. SaltStick can also be used for sodium!
You can buy gallons of distilled water from the store while you save up. You can then run this water through a water filtration pitcher, such as the TheraH2O to remove any remnants of plastic from the jug. Phthalates and BPA are the main concerns around plastic. You can ensure that a plastic is phthalate and BPA free by looking at the recycling triangle symbol found somewhere on the container, usually the bottom. Absolutely avoid the number 3 when possible. This number denotes a toxic form of plastic, containing polyvinyl chloride.
Another option is to see if you have a local water purification store where you can go and refill bottles/jugs of water. You can guy glass jugs for water and refill them at the store to avoid the plastic jugs at the grocery store.
Just like anything, do your best with the resources you have! We’re always working towards improvement- not perfection! Drinking distilled out of plastic jugs is not “ideal” but is so much better than drinking unfiltered tap water.