Drinking water can kill you.

Did you know that the best place to relax is near water?

After just 2 minutes of viewing water outdoors, blood pressure and heart rate drop. It's more calming to look at a lake, pool, or stream than trees or grass. Beaches are popular for a reason. Wider bodies of water bring more tranquility.

It’s clear we NEED water in lives. And today, we’ve going to focus on the hydration component of water.

"Drink more water” is advice that almost everyone reading this has heard at one point or another. But, often, it’s shit.

Drinking a lot of water is outdated advice that you have been told which actually doesn’t help you properly hydrate. If you aren’t drinking the right types of water, along with eating the right types of food, drinking water on end can actually be quite dangerous.

For starters, there is hyponatremia. Hyponatremia is basically when you consume too much water without intake of minerals, as well. This dilutes the sodium levels in your body, causing water to move into cells (including brain cells) and causing dangerous swelling.

This dilution causes your body to actually become over-hydrated, which leads to lack of performance and, potentially, even life-threatening situations. When your electrolyte (salts) levels are not high enough in the blood, symptoms include:

• Headache

• Muscular performance problems

• Confusion

• Nausea and vomiting

• Lack of energy

• Seizures

• Coma

• Even death and so much more

For these reasons, is beyond important to hydrate correctly, not just with water. Hydration, most simply, is a balance of water and salt. Osmosis is the process of water moving through cell membranes from a place of lower electrolyte concentration one of higher concentration.

When you over-hydrate, you can fill your cells too much and lead to the dangers I touched on earlier. This is why it is essential to not just pound water alone, you need some form of salt to help you properly hydrate. Hold this thought.

Before we get back to minerals, let’s chat about the water to consume those minerals with in the first place. Most people still use tap water as their primary source of water. But, in general, tap water tends to have some significant problems.

First off, it can be contaminated. Depending on the source, there’s usually a ton of pesticides and chemicals like chlorine that lead to health problems.

Then comes heavy metals. Many pipes are aging and lead to problems like heavy metal contamination. These heavy metals are very hard for your body to get rid of and lead to all sorts of health problems as well. Check out these relatively average water pipes.

Pop your zip code into EWG and you’ll see that our tap water in the US is awful. As an example, here’s what you would see for Austin, TX:

With 71% of the country drinking tap water (and with 95% of all tap water tested having exceeded the limit for at least 1 carcinogen), toxins in your water are likely one of the biggest threats to your health. 

A recent study found that nearly half of US tap water is contaminated with forever chemicals, though this number is likely higher (as they only tested for 32 of the 12,000+ types of PFAS).

And it’s getting worse. The average water utility pipe in the US is 45 years old, and current federal limits on common contaminants are often 10-100x higher than scientifically established safe limits. For example, in the land of the free and the home of the brave, acceptable levels of glyphosate in tap water are a mere seven thousand times (yes, 7000x) higher than that of the EU. I assume “freedom to poison thy people” was one of the amendments or something. 

Andrew Huberman even spoke out against tap water in this recent podcast, which discusses how disinfection byproducts (DBP’s) are found in tap water supplies and that “It's very clear that DBPs have been shown to disrupt ovarian function, spermatogenesis, and fertility outcomes."

He also talks about the dangers of fluoride, which is actually ADDED to municipal water supplies, saying "Fluoride negatively impacts thyroid-stimulating hormone and so-called T3 levels... even just 0.5 mg/L of water can disrupt thyroid function." Fluoride is pumped into most tap water to keep our teeth strong, or at least in theory. But, one of the main problems with fluoride is that it has adverse effects on your brain. It can lead to cognitive and memory issues including many neurological problems, watch out.

These chemicals found in tap water can also get in your stuff through your shower, through your food (if you wash it in the sink), via restaurant tap water… 

This stuff is bad, and if you really want to scare yourself, just google around and learn more about the phthalates, PFAS, and other chemicals present in US tap water. Yay! 

So, what do we do instead?

The best possible way to source water would likely be filling directly from an untouched spring (like one of the ones here). That said, because this is impossible for most people, you can also order unprocessed spring water from AliveWaters or Tourmaline Spring.

Outside of sourcing spring water, having an at-home water filter is quite important. A Brita or the filter in your fridge isn’t going to cut it, and you probably need something more like a ZeroWater (most affordable) or a Rorra (which launches soon). If you’re really into improving your water, I’d recommend getting a whole-home water filtration system: Ophora, Radiant Life, and Aquasana all have solid options. If you’re not opting for a whole home filtration system, I’d at least recommend getting a shower head filter (cheaper, more expensive). If you are purchasing a filter, however, make sure it does get rid of all the toxins INCLUDING fluoride.

Once your water is filtered, it is time to go back to mineral discussion. Filtering gets all the toxins out of the water but it also reduces the minerals. It is important to remineralize your water at least some of the time to make sure you are getting enough electrolytes.

If you are going to remineralize your water, which I recommend, make sure you use a mineral salt with a full slate of trace minerals. All of those ones you don’t recognize are still important to you.

Bottled water is also a great alternative to drinking from the tap. My first rule of thumb would be to COMPLETELY avoid plastic bottled water. The microplastics and other toxins will certainly sink into the water you are consuming and, therefore, your body.

Most commercial drinking water labeled as “spring water” is pumped out of aquifers, ie wells. No bueno. Always buy your spring water bottled in glass. Glass bottles will always be more pure than their plastic counterparts and you can literally taste the difference. Which glass bottles, you may ask? Well that depends on sourcing and mineral content.

The company I’ve used for glass-bottle spring water is Mountain Valley, while other companies include Saratoga, Castle Rock, Aqua Panna, Eldorado, and Simpson Spring. 

Mountain Valley does not have crazy high mineral content but it does contain good trace minerals. It is naturally alkaline and comes from a natural spring in Arkansas. And I think it tastes delicious.

Acqua Panna could be the winner in the world of glass-bottled mineral water. It is from an estate outside of Florence, and the water flows through a 14-year journey in the hills of Tuscany before it is bottled at the source.

There are many other options for glass-bottled mineral waters so I would say to just make sure that it is those two things: Glass and Mineral-filled.

Next comes the question of carbonated vs. still. Does it matter? There are many other options for glass-bottled mineral waters so I would say to just make sure that it is those two things: Glass and mineral-filled. Next comes the question of carbonated vs. still. Does it matter?

Many sparkling waters contain added sodium, magnesium, and calcium. This, as we discussed earlier, is a great thing. Sparkling waters can also be digested easier for some, and is often more filling feeling than normal water.

Sparkling water also helps flush toxins out of our bodies. The carbonation helps with circulation and flushing toxins to the kidneys faster so they can be filtered out. Overall, sparkling water is a great tool to have on your belt for whenever you may want it.

Finally, let’s go back to hydration. You now know how to properly hydrate with water that has good mineral content. What if I told you you can be perfectly hydrated without touching water at all?

Hydration is often thought of as something where you have to drink ample water. But this can also be accomplished without a sip of pure H20. Fruits, milk, coconut water, broths, teas, and more can be extremely hydrating.

These provide the natural water your body needs along with the minerals you crave. Fruits are extremely hydrating, as is milk and everything else previously mentioned. Water is great, but these options can be awesome to help achieve proper hydration.

There is much more to be said about water and its role in human health, but this is a good start.

• Add minerals to your water whenever you can, using products like LMNT, Liquid I.V., or a pinch of Himalayan sea salt.

• Tap water is toxic and should be avoided as much as possible.

• Try and source your water from a natural spring.

• Filtering your water with a quality product is the bare minimum.

• Only buy glass bottled water with natural minerals. 

• Re-hydrate with water, as well as fruits, vegetables, and milk.

In general, there is a lot to know about drinking water. Water has many powers and many limitations. Know them to never have problems hydrating again.

Ho hum: just another day in The Great American Poisoning. Take care of yourself out there! 

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- Ryan