Prevent disease at the source

According to Dr. Hidemitsu Hayashi, Director of the Water Institute of Japan, "To eliminate the pollutants in a large stream that is contaminated at its source, we must work on the problems upstream at the headwaters -- the source of the pollution -- not downstream where we can only try to treat the evidence of damage caused by the pollution. Ionized Water's contribution to preventive medicine is essentially upstream treatment."

What IONIZED WATER Does

The Ionized Water unit produces two kinds of water with different redox potentials, one with a high reduction potential and the other with a high oxidation potential.

Ionized water is the product of mild electrolysis which takes place in the ionized water unit. The production of ionized water, its properties, and how it works in the human body are described in the next section. Ionized water is treated tap water that has not only been filtered, but has also been reformed in that it provides reduced water with a large mass of electrons that can be donated to active oxygen in the body to block the oxidation of normal cells.

There is no substitute for a healthy balanced diet, especially rich in antioxidant materials such as vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and other foods that are good for us. However, these substances are not the best source of free electrons that can block the oxidation of healthy tissue by active oxygen.

Antioxidants block dangerous oxidation

One way to protect healthy tissue from the ravages of oxidation caused by active oxygen is to provide free electrons to active oxygen radicals, thus neutralizing their high oxidation potential and preventing them from reacting with healthy tissue.

Research on the link between diet and cancer is far from complete, but some evidence indicates that what we eat may affect our susceptibility to cancer. Some foods seem to help defend against cancer, others appear to promote it.

Acids and Bases

An acid is a substance that increases the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in water. A base is a substance that decreases the concentration of hydrogen ions, in other words, increasing the concentration of hydroxide ions OH-.

The degree of acidity or alkalinity of a solution is measured in terms of a value known as pH, which is the negative logarithm of the concentration of hydrogen ions:

pH = 1/log[H+] = -log[H+]

What is pH?

On the pH scale, which ranges from 0 on the acidic end to 14 on the alkaline end, a solution is neutral if its pH is 7. At pH 7, water contains equal concentrations of H+ and OH- ions. Substances with a pH less than 7 are acidic because they contain a higher concentration of H+ ions. Substances with a pH higher than 7 are alkaline because they contain a higher concentration of OH- than H+. The pH scale is a log scale so a change of one pH unit means a tenfold change in the concentration of hydrogen ions.

Importance of balancing pH

Living things are extremely sensitive to pH and function best (with certain exceptions, such as certain portions of the digestive tract) when solutions are nearly neutral. Most interior living matter (excluding the cell nucleus) has a pH of about 6.8.

Blood plasma and other fluids that surround the cells in the body have a pH of 7.2 to 7.3. Numerous special mechanisms aid in stabilizing these fluids so that cells will not be subject to appreciable fluctuations in pH. Substances which serve as mechanisms to stabilize pH are called buffers. Buffers have the capacity to bond ions and remove them from solution whenever their concentration begins to rise. Conversely, buffers can release ions whenever their concentration begins to fall. Buffers thus help to minimize the fluctuations in pH. This is an important function because many biochemical reactions normally occurring in living organisms either release or use up ions.

Oxygen: Too much of a good thing?

Oxygen is essential to survival. It is relatively stable in the air, but when too much is absorbed into the body it can become active and unstable and has a tendency to attach itself to any biological molecule, including molecules of healthy cells. The chemical activity of these free radicals is due to one or more pairs of unpaired electrons.

About 2% of the oxygen we normally breathe becomes active oxygen, and this amount increases to approximately 20% with aerobic exercise.

Such free radicals with unpaired electrons are unstable and have a high oxidation potential, which means they are capable of stealing electrons from other cells. This chemical mechanism is very useful in disinfectants such as hydrogen peroxide and ozone which can be used to sterilize wounds or medical instruments. Inside the body these free radicals are of great benefit due to their ability to attack and eliminate bacteria, viruses and other waste products.

Active Oxygen in the body

Problems arise, however, when too many of these free radicals are turned loose in the body where they can also damage normal tissue.

Putrefaction sets in when microbes in the air invade the proteins, peptides, and amino acids of eggs, fish and meat. The result is an array of unpleasant substances such as:

Hydrogen sulfide
Ammonia
Histamines
Indoles
Phenols
Scatoles

These substances are also produced naturally in the digestive tract when we digest food, resulting in the unpleasant odor evidenced in feces. Putrefaction of spoiled food is caused by microbes in the air; this natural process is duplicated in the digestive tract by intestinal microbes. All these waste products of digestion are pathogenic, that is, they can cause disease in the body.

Hydrogen sulfide and ammonia are tissue toxins that can damage the liver. Histamines contribute to allergic disorders such as atopic dermatitis, urticaria (hives) and asthma. Indoles and phenols are considered carcinogenic. Because waste products such as hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, histamines, phenols and indoles are toxic, the body's defense mechanisms try to eliminate them by releasing neutrophils (a type of leukocyte, or white corpuscle). These neutrophils produce active oxygen, oddball oxygen molecules that are capable of scavenging disintegrating tissues by gathering electrons from the molecules of toxic cells.
Problems arise, however, when too many of these active oxygen molecules, or free radicals, are produced in the body. They are extremely reactive and can also attach themselves to normal, healthy cells and damage them genetically. These active oxygen radicals steal electrons from normal, healthy biological molecules. This electron theft by active oxygen oxidizes tissue and can cause disease.

Because active oxygen can damage normal tissue, it is essential to scavenge this active oxygen from the body before it can cause disintegration of healthy tissue. If we can find an effective method to block the oxidation of healthy tissue by active oxygen, then we can attempt to prevent disease.

Whenever we attempt to determine whether there is life as we know it on Mars or other planets, scientists first seek to establish whether or not water is present. Why? Because life on earth totally depends on water.

Environmental science students from Keene State College spent a semester researching the bottled water industry, and found some shocking results.

According to Mullens, the products of many bottled water companies is straight from the tap. "In some cases the sources are simply spring or ground water sources within communities. In other cases bottled water has been extracted simply from tap water," said Mullens.

They encourage people to realize they are paying a very high price for water that that they could simply get from their faucet at home. Additionally, by buying tap water in a bottle, they are creating environmental problems due to the plastic bottles that are being thrown away.

"People are paying tremendous amounts of money for bottled water which is convenient, but it's not providing anything in terms of quality," said Mullens, "They are paying large amounts for something they can get out of the tap for free. You don't hear people getting outraged at that, you hear people outraged at prices at the pump for oil, but you don't hear people reevaluating what they're spending money on in terms of something that could be free to them."

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