I often like to talk about things we can do for our health that don't require us to turn to the depths of the amazon or to the latest expensive medical breakthroughs hence my recent post about the healing power of intermittent fasting. So today, I would like to talk about the most underestimated super substance on our planet. Water.

Maybe it’s overlooked because it comes right out of our faucet, and the market has yet to figure out how to wrap it up in juicy sales labels such as free range, organic and macrobiotic.

And although we drink it daily – it is still considered by most a tasteless, boring beverage that needs to be carbonated, flavored, fermented or have been served from a far-away Antarctic glacier to be sexy enough for commercial viability.

But after doing a bit of an obscure deep dive, I realized water is way weirder and cooler than we think. For one – modern geochemical evidence suggests that water was actually delivered to earth by astroids and space rocks. I'll leave the details to the astronomy people, but it did peak my interest to keep researching, which is where I found something closer to my field. Did you know that water can be “wetter”? As in more hydrating? As in more or less absorbable by the body depending on its surface tension? Did you also know that there are things you can do to manipulate that state of wetness?

We've taken water for granted to such a deep extent, that I'd like to do a little thought experiment. Imagine your mom's dog has been a super hero since you were born, and you're kind of over it. Aqua The Super Dog. You use him to do your dishes, wash your clothes, and every day of your life he makes sure you don't die. You use him to go sailing in the summer, and snowboarding in the winter. But because he's always around, sometimes annoyingly drooling from the ceiling – you forgot how super he actually is. Maybe you even forgot that Aqua can exist in three different states, he's able to morph back and forth and allow you to fly weightlessly inside of him (otherwise known as swimming) while in another you can glide across him gracefully like an ice ballerina (otherwise known as ice skating). In it's third state, Aqua breathes, hot relaxing eucalyptus infused air on you, cleansing your lungs and skin of any impurities (otherwise known as steam).

Modern technology has made water so easy to access that we've taken it for granted. We forget that we used to have to carry it from the rivers, sometimes for miles. Now we turn on our faucet, and can easily clean our dishes, wash our clothes, and take a warm luxurious shower with the pull of a lever. Imagine any day without access to water, and the luxury is drained from any such activity. Luckily, water is the most abundant compound in the universe because it is composed of the first and third most abundant elements: hydrogen and oxygen. The human body is comprised of roughly 70% water. The Earth is covered by 70% water. The mineral composition of the oceans is also remarkably similar to the mineral composition of our blood. Which is probably why there is nothing more healthy or beautifying than water. It is literally the pillar of life.

There is a caveat though. We are careless with hazardous waste – and though there are civic filtration systems in place, I wouldn't trust what comes out of your faucet to be clean enough to drink. So before I go into the specifics of how to make your water more absorbable, if you have not done so already, I suggest you invest in a filter. If you have questions about what kind is best, I would suggest you check out this website.

Now that you've been alerted to the amazingness of water. Here are five ways to hydrate your body .

1. FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLE JUICE

Scientists measure the “wetness” of water by something called dynes, the surface tension of water. The lower the dynes the better, the more able it is to penetrate into cells. Blood for example is around 48 dynes, city tap water 73 dynes. Freshly squeezed vegetable and fruit juice has very low surface tension. Some claim that the benefits people experience from juicing is partly due to the low surface tension and the increased hydration. So, in short, if you want to optimize the absorbability of your drinking water, try adding a bit of fresh squeezed lemon juice to it. That alone will change the structure, and have a huge effect on how its received by your body.

2. CELLFOOD

Cellfood is available at Whole Foods or online. It is a 1oz bottle concentrate and you just put 8 drops in a glass of water or in your water bottle. Basically without getting into the science of it, it splits water molecules within the body and releases an abundance of oxygen and nutrients, cleaning out your cells, and feeding them with nutrients. Your literally being nourished, hydrated and detoxed at a cellular level.

3. MEGAHYDRATE

We all know how hard it is to remember to drink throughout the day. Not to mention the frequent trips to the bathroom if you do happen to drink enough. Well it seems Patrick Flanagan found an answer. He is the inventor of Megahydrate, who won Scientist of the year award in 1997, and is credited with over 300 inventions. He holds advanced degrees in nanotechnology, chemistry, bio-sciences, and medicine. According to Patrick, his supplement “MegaHydrate® is the key that unlocks the potential of water as the medium for nutrient replenishment and waste removal at the cellular level. In a state of dehydration, body cells cannot assimilate nutrients and remove waste. In addition to hydration, MegaHydrate® is the most powerful known antioxidant food. Since it is a “pure” antioxidant that does not turn into a free radical itself, taken daily, MegaHydrate® delivers far more Hydrogen ions than by eating several pounds of raw fruits and vegetables. In summary, Megahydrate not only hydrates you many times faster than just drinking regular water, it also floods your body with hydrogen and an incredible amount of antioxidants that repair your cells and inhibit the aging process.” You can take it in pill form, or add an 8th of a tea spoon to your water every morning. Honestly, what I love about this supplement is that I can drink four or five glasses of water, and feel like I drank an entire gallon.

4. VORTEXED WATER

New scientific findings have revealed that most of the water we drink is actually scientifically classified as “lifeless”, due to the lack of oxygen and minerals, and most are acidic and have loose molecular structure. Whether it's tap water, filtered water, purified water or distilled water, their macro cluster size can hardly penetrate into our cell membranes, which has a tiny narrow path. So no matter how much water or beverages you drink, very little of it is actually absorbed, and most of it is flushed out of the body - resulting in a “drought” inside of our cells. The only way to achieve full absorbtion is to capture water in it’s natural flow state like from a river or from the juice of fruit or vegetables. The third option is … you guessed it! A Vortex Machine! What the heck is a Vortex mashine? It’s a machine that mimicks the circular motion of water in its natural state, and thereby restablishing its optimal absorbability.

Benefits of drinking micro Cluster water include:

• Weight Loss

• Vibrant and smoother complexion

• Relieve Dehydration and hangovers

• Increase potency of herbs

• Remove toxins in your body

5. ALKALINE IONIZED WATER

Another way of creating alkaline, micro cluster water are Water Ionizer machines. They have been popular in Japan and Korea for decades and technology is becoming exponentially better. It uses electricity running over titanium coated plates to electrically separate water into alkaline and acidic water. Alkaline water is used for drinking, and acidic water can be used as antiseptic and for beauty treatments or to disinfect cuts, scrapes, and as an astringent and toner for skin. Hopefully this blog has inspired you to take a closer look at not only how much water you consume, but what kind of water it is.

Now that you know how to optimize your hydration through the 5 methods I talked about in this blog, it’s time to try a couple of them and see if you feel a bit more glowy and energized! Please let me know if you have any thoughts about water in general or specific methods of keeping hydrated!

Until next time,

Dr. Alexes Hazen