This year’s edition was filled with excitement due to the many unexpected events in the early stages.   Lance Armstrong of Radio Shack didn’t drop out of the race, but his chances were finished early due to crashes.  Christian Vande Velde of the Garmin/Transitions team was also an early victim of a Stage 3 crash.  Then there was the disastrous chain malfunction for Andy Schleck of Saxobank that effectively allowed Alberto Contador of  Astana to breeze through to win the overall GC classification and its yellow jersey.  Mark Cavendish of Columbia HTC once again showed that he is the undisputed sprint specialist in the world, as he collected five sprint stage wins including the prestigious final stage in Paris.

Canadians are not known  for chest pounding, self congratulations.  However, as a Canadian, the highlight of the tour for me was the incredible performance of Ryder Hesjedal of Victoria, British Columbia.  Ryder has an incredibly powerful engine and was expected to once again support Garmin teammates Christian Vandervelde in the GC competition and Tyler Farrar in the sprint competition.  When the two highly esteemed team members dropped out of the Tour, Ryder was given the green light to see what he could do.  Ryder responded to the challenge far better than anyone could have imagined.  During the climb of the famous Col du Tourmalet during Stage 17, while the cycling world was focused on the attack by Schleck on Contador, Ryder silently pushed through the mist unnoticed to finish 4th in the Stage and grab the 8th position in the overall GC competition. Ryder improved his position to 7th overall during the 52 km time trial during Stage 19 to complete the competitive segement of the Tour.  

The TDF is the premier cycling event in the world and attracts all the top teams and riders.  Finishing 7th put Ryder ahead of many legendary names in the world of cycling and will make him a household name in Europe among the millions of cycling fans.  The 7th place finish was completely unexpected and was the best showing by a Canadian since Steve Bauer finished 4th in 1988.  Every Canadian cyclist is proud of Ryder today.

Now you may ask:  “What has Ryder Hesjedal got to do with water?”  If you are a cyclist, or a cycling fan, you will know how important proper hydration is to the athletes.  You see the athletes constantly taking on water and the announcers talking about the importance of proper hydration.  The following quote from Hesjedal’s longtime trainer, Juerg Feldmann, portrays how important water is to the athletes when he said in a telephone interview from Victoria this week: “If Vande Velde could ride, Ryder would be one of the top water carriers in the Tour de France.”

I wish I could say that Ryder was using ionized water during the Tour.  It would have been true if I had been more persistent.  One of the athletes that I sponsor is the World and Olympic triathlon champion Simon Whitfield.  Simon, like Ryder is also from Victoria, and they train together in Maui during the winter.  Last winter, Simon asked me to contact Ryder so that Ryder could use ionized water as part of his training.  I tried repeatedly to reach Ryder but was never able to hook up with him.  I did speak to Ryder’s Mom, who gave me Ryder’s contact information, but I was unable to reach Ryder in Spain where he trains the rest of the year.  I wish I had been able to hook up with Ryder as the water has helped many of our top athletes. Perhaps Ryder could have improved on his already incredible performance.   Maybe Ryder will find this article and look me up. I would be happy to teach him about the water and get him hooked up with a sponsor to provide him with a machine for his training.

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When I retired in March 2010, I was free to start writing again without worrying about who might be reading my articles.   Now I can exercise my right of free speech.   Very powerful, but also a dumb business decision.  It seems that I’m as busy as ever, but without the money.   The good news is that at least I’m busy at our cottage and I get to spend a lot more time with my family.  

When I retired, I was able to start writing again.  With the help of Bernard Chan, a friend, great guy, and fellow water advocate, who understands the internet  a thousand times better than I do, this blog has taken off.  Since I began writing again in March this site has had 9,000 visitors from 100 different countries.  It is hard for me to believe that people from 100 different countries have tuned in, but it just goes to show how important water is to people, no matter where they live. 

My sincere thanks to anyone that has taken time to read and share this blog with others.  I can only do so much myself with writing.  The growth has to come from you.  Those of you that leave comments actually contribute to the blog because you often stimulate discussion or provide me with research ideas.  I’m grateful for all the help I can get.

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People spend a lot more money than they think on their fluid intake.  How do I know?  It started with the question: “How long would it take to pay for a good quality water ionizer if you stopped drinking other liquids.

The human body requires water… lots of water.  The average adult should drink about 2 litres of water per day to replace the water that your body uses each day.  Most of us consume water in many forms including milk, coffee, tea, and juices.  Unfortunately many of us also consume significant amounts of the incredibly unhealthy liquids such as sodas and alcohol. 

Water is the only liquid required by the human body. Our bodies don’t need milk or juices or any of the other tasty liquids that we drink each day.  In fact,  when we drink anything other than water, we are forcing our bodies to eliminate the unwanted sugars and other substances that are added to make the liquids appeal to our taste buds.

Let’s take a look at some numbers. 

First, we need to look at the cost of a water ionizer.  Since 2004, industry benchmark for the retail price of a water ionizer has been nearly $4,000.  In the past three years, many good competitive products have entered the marketplace in the $2,000 to $2,500 range.   Today, you can purchase the best product on the market for about $1,700.  So, lets use $1,700 as the cost of a water ionizer.

Now, lets look at what we spend on the liquids we drink. 

The internet offers plenty of information of our spending habits in regards to the liquids that we drink.  For example, the US department of Labour offers up the fact that the average American adult spends $230 on alcohol per adult  person.  I have no idea what an average adult is, but for now, let’s just accept the number for lack of a better choice.   The Disney Family Channel offers us a figure of $170 per person on soft drinks,  which represents $56 billion dollars per year in sales in the USA.  The dollar figure is significant, but the really scary number for me is the fact that the average adult consumes 30% of their daily calorie intake from soft drinks.  Sodas and sweetened juices are the worst product that we put in our bodies, and they make up 30% of our calorie intake.  I find it very disturbing that we reward the soft drink makers with  huge profits for making us fat and sick. 

The internet also tells us that the average adult spends $165 per person for coffee per year.  That represents another $18 billion dollars in spending for the 108 million coffee drinkers in the USA.

The average American also spends $60 on fruit juices and another $60 per person on bottled water each year.  Add in another $10 per person for sports drinks

Adding up the various amounts brings us to a total of about $700 per person per year in the USA.   That means that the average couple spends about $1,400 per year.  A family of four would easily take the total over $2,000 per year because children  drink more juices and sodas to compensate for not consuming coffee and alcohol.   

While my research on the internet to determine the annual cost of beverages turned up a figure of $700,  I have personally asked quite a few people to provide honest answers to the questionaire below.   It doesn’t surprise me at all that the total cost per year varied between $1,000 and $3,000 per person per year.   Please take a few minutes once you have finished reading this article to see how much you spend each year.  I promise you that it will be worth the small amount of your time and effort.  I think you will be surprised how much you and your family spend on drinking fluids each year.

The following table will help you to calculate your average annual spending on liquids.  Simply multiply the price for each beverage by the number of times you or your family consume that beverage each week.  Then multiply the total by 52 to determine your annual cost for that beverage.  Then, add up the annual cost of each of the liquids.  Remember, this isn’t a survey, and nobody is ever going to see the results, so be honest. 

If you have taken the test, how did you make out?  Surprised?  I bet you are.  Every person that I know who has taken the test has been surprised at how much their family spends on beverages each year.  If you have been honest with yourself, you will likely see that you could purchase a water ionizer and have it paid for in no time at all as the payback for most families is less than a year.   The water ionizer will last many years and provide the best drinking water in the world.  Your body would be thanking you for the rest of your life.  

If a water ionizer purchase is not in the budget at this time, the very least you can do is purchase an inexpensive pre-filtration system and hook it up under your kitchen sink so that you can drink safe and healthy water.  It is great to save money, but the real investment is in your health.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.

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Scale is formed when minerals (usually calcium) are precipitated out of water.  The scaling process accelerates dramatically when the temperature of the water increases or when water travels across the electrically charged plates in a water ionizer.

The hidden costs of hard water scaling:

While hard water scale strains are annoying, the more significant problem is the cost associated with scale buildup.  Hot water tanks create scale at a rapid rate as the heat facilitates the precipitation of calcium out of the water.  The scale forms on the two heating elements in the tank.  As the scale builds up, more and more energy is required to heat up the water in the tank.  Nobody thinks about the additional cost of heating their hot water because it is out of sight and out of mind.  However, the energy wasted can amount to several hundred dollars per year.  Additional costs from scaling show up in the form of shortened lifespans of heat producing appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines, kettles, and water ionizers.  Additional costs show up in the form or replacing taps and sinks.  The greatest cost of all, can come in the form of having to replace water lines if excessive scaling is not kept in check.

What is hard water and how is it measured?

Hard water is water with a high mineral content.  The primary components of water hardness are the cations (Ca 2+) and Magnesium (Mg 2+), with calcium playing the major role.  Calcium usually enters the water as either calcium carbonate (CaCO_3,) in the form of limestone and chalk, or calcium sulfate (CaSO₄).  The predominant source of magnesium is dolomite (CaMg(CO₃)₂).  Less significant contributors to water hardness are other dissolved compounds such as the anions of bicarbonates ( HCO₃⁻) and sulfates (SO2−4). 

Water hardness is measured in parts per million (ppm) or grains per gallon (gpg).  In the USA, 1 gpg = 17.1 ppm.  In Canada, 1 gpg = 14.2 pmp.  I prefer parts per million as the measure is consistent in both countries.  There is no absolute definition of levels of water hardness.  However, it is generally accepted that the following categories of water hardness exist:

• Soft: Below 17 ppm [or 0-1 American gpg] 
• Medium: 17.1 – 60 ppm [or 1 - American 3 gpg] 
• Medium Hard: 61 – 120 ppm [or 3 - 7 American gpg] 
• Hard: 121 – 200 ppm [or 7 – 11 American gpg] 
• Very Hard: Over 200 ppm [or over 11 American gpg

It is recommended that anyone that has hard or very hard water take measures to reduce the level of hardness, particularly from the hot water lines.  My focus is on water ionizers, and they definitely require some form of assistance to remove calcium from hard water.  The plates of a water ionizer will quickly get covered with scale in hard water which will render the ionization process useless.

Reducing hard water for an entire house:

The traditional method of reducing water hardness was to use a salt based water softener.  The keep the discussion really short and simple, the system captures calcium and magnesium with beads, and then washes out the beads with salt each day.  The state of California has banned the sale of salt based water softeners.  I expect that we will see the ban extended to other jurisdictions over time, because the high sodium content of softened water is absorbed by your skin during showers or baths.  When people use water softeners, it is recommended that the soft water not be used for drinking water, as the level of sodium typically exceeds maximum acceptable levels and definitely exceeds recommending intake levels of sodium by a wide margin.  We are now seeing growth in salt free water softeners, which are much healthier for your skin.

You can also eliminate water hardness with a distillation system or a reverse osmosis machine.  However the process is very slow and wastes a great deal of water.  As such, a reverse osmosis or distillation system is typically reserved for purifying drinking water.  I don’t care for either system if any other alternative is possible because the systems strip all of the minerals required by your body out of the water.

Reducing hardness in your drinking water:

As I stated earlier, hard water won’t hurt you.  However, it wrecks havoc with you drinking water line and tap, as scale builds up.  Homes that use salt based water softeners should always have a bypass before the water softener so that you never drink water that has passed through the softener.  If you use a salt-free water softener, you don’t need a bypass because the water is safe to drink and it will not scale up your water line or taps.  If you are thinking about installing a water softener, make sure it is a salt-free system.  The salt-free systems typically pay for themselves in about two years, so they are an excellent investment. 

If you already use use a salt based water softener and you don’t have a a bypass system under your kitchen sink, you will need a RO system to eliminate the sodium from your drinking water supply.  If you are stuck with a RO system under your sink, you will need to replenish the minerals in your drinking water with mineral drops, or by installing an in-line remineralizing filter in order to provide your body with the minerals it requires.  

What to do about hard water if you want to purchase a water ionizer?

Scaling from hard water has disastrous results for water ionizers.  Therefore, you have to deal with hard water, or don’t bother purchasing a water ionizer at all.  Since water ionizers are so import to your health, find a solution that works the best for you.

If you don’t have a water softener and you need one, make sure you purchase a salt-free system.  The system will prevent scaling and it will allow your water ionizer to work efficiently.

If you already have a salt based water softener and you want to purchase a water ionizer, you have a number of options:

A)  Bypass the water softener and install an inline magnet just before the water ionizer – one time cost of about $95

B)  Bypass the water softener and install an inline phosphate filter before the water ionizer – cost $40 every six months for a phosphate filter

C)  Install a RO system under your sink and add an inline remineralization filter – cost about $400 + $40 per remineralization filter

D)  Replace your salt based water softener with a salt-free water softener – cost about $1,000

You can also combine A) and B)  or you can add A) and B) to D).  It all depends upon the level of hardness.  These options all add to your costs, but nothing is more important to your health.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author based upon his research and experiences working with hard water conditions across the country.

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How can something so good be known by so few? 

The level of awareness of water ionizers in many countries in Asia is virtually 100%. How can it be that more than 99% of people in the United States and Canada have never heard of these simple but effective machines despite the fact they have been available here for 8 years? 

The simple answer is that nobody is telling the story.  Let me refine that statement… nobody except the dedicated Enagic dealers have been telling the story.  The water ionizer industry in North America owes its entire existence to the efforts made by Enagic dealers.  

Enagic dealers are just regular people who have discovered that drinking ionized water changed their lives.  When the owners of Enagic water ionizers start seeing positive results, they share the information with others.  This process has been going on, one person at a time since 2004.  The dealers of the Enagic MLM system have sold tens of thousands of machines, which is a huge accomplishment.  However, the number still represents less than one Enagic unit for every five thousand homes in the USA and Canada.   As you can see, Enagic has only scratched the surface when it comes to awareness of water ionizers.  Enagic representatives have done a fantastic job with effective demonstrations and providing education about ionized water during their meetings with prospective clients, but the work has only begun.   

While the Enagic system has been successful, it has the same fatal flaw that eventually ruins most MLM systems.  The flaw is the high price that is charged for the units.  At a price of $3,980, the units are just too expensive for the average person to pay for drinking water.   The price issue is accentuated by the fact that competitive products offered by more traditional distribution systems offer excellent products at much lower prices.

When I was in the water ionizer business, virtually all of my sales were made to people who had been introduced to ionized “kangen water” by an Enagic dealer.  Everyone that contacted me wanted to purchase an Enagic SD501, but the high price turned them off.  As competitors, we would direct potential customers who had been educated by Enagic dealers to the “independent” review sites that offered machines producing similar results for half the cost. Enagic dealers would typically respond to the price difference by bashing our products as being inferior. We would refer to the 8 levels of sales commission paid out for Enagic machines under the MLM system, and presto, the sale was made.  

I suspect that if the price of the Enagic SD501 was under $2,000, the dealers would sell five to ten times as many machines because of the great work done by the Enagic dealers.  Instead, sales are lost to other companies, or the sales are lost because people want the Enagic Sd501 or nothing at all, or sales are lost because people get turned off by the entire process.  Since my goal is to get people drinking ionized water, regardless of the brand, I find it disturbing that so many more people could be drinking the water.  

As time progresses and awareness of the payout structure of Enagic increases, Enagic’s well deserved role as the industry leader will continue to erode.  Additional pressures are building for Enagic dealers who are now faced with updated models offered by Sanastec via the traditional means of distribution.  Now, Vollara has popped up presenting itself as an MLM alternative to Enagic with an untried product that sells for half the cost of the SD501.  The same pattern happens over and over again to MLM organizations, and the dealers often move on to other MLM products as they see the writing on the wall.  I believe it would be a shame for Enagic dealers to move on to other MLM endeavors, because it is the water ionizers themselves that are important, not the MLM system.

I have had a number of high ranking Enagic 5A and 6A dealers contact me recently expressing great concern about the future of Enagic.  The Enagic dealers had always been under the impression that the Enagic machines were superior to all other products.  This impression allowed the dealers to sell their units at $3,980 with a clear conscience.  They correctly believed that nothing is more important than your health, so it was logical for people to pay more for the “best” product.  Enagic dealers believed for years that they were providing a valuable public service to people by telling them that the competitive products were inferior.  As the reality that other machines are as good or even better than Enagic struck home, many Enagic leading dealers have been devastated.  It is easy to understand their frustration, because they are good people who are passionate about helping others.    

My concern is that many of the great Enagic dealers are going to become discouraged and stop educating others about ionized water.  I believe that it is imperative that we keep these incredibly valuable people working with water.  If you are an Enagic dealer who is feeling angry, or if you just feel like giving up, don’t quit!  The game is still in its infancy and we need people like you to continue the education process.     

If you are still experiencing success with Enagic, keep doing what you are doing.  However, you might want to consider investigating other brands that are less expensive.  I can assure you that they are effective.  If you have customers that can’t afford the SD501, put yourself in a position to offer other great products at lower prices.  You know from your own experience that the water works.   

If this article applies to you, but you don’t know where to start, contact me.  I will be happy to take time to answer your questions.  I will provide facts and tell you the truth, without a sales pitch.   There are lots of good machines on the market to choose from.  I believe the key to success is to find people with strong business ethics who will support your efforts.  It will be very difficult to find anyone with a support system as strong as Enagic, but there are good people out there.  My goal is to increase the awareness of the water and I believe that Enagic dealers are the “best of the best” when it comes to educating others about water.  Since I can use all the help I can get, I’m at your service.  

The opinions in this article are those of the author.

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I’m just a regular guy, but I also have dreams.  In fact, I have a number of dreams over my lifetime.  First, I dreamed that someday I would be old enough to drive a car.  As I moved out on my own, I dreamed about obtaining material possessions.  Then I dreamed of finding a great woman to share my life with and raise a family.  I have had my ups and downs and disappointments like everyone else, but as I look back on my life, I feel very fortunate that my dreams have come true. 

As I reached my fifties, I wondered if there would be anymore dreams. The kids had grown up and were starting to take control of their own lives. Business was good, but the game no longer had the same magical hold on me that it once did. The so-called ”golden years” felt more like the “rust years” to my arthritic body.

Just when it seemed like the balance of my life might be spent sitting back and watching from the sidelines, my wife came to the rescue once again.  She showed up one day with a jug of water and announced that she had “found the answer.” When I asked her “to what?”, she replied to “good health.”  I didn’t believe a word of what she was saying, but I agreed to drink the water because…well….sometimes it is just easier to go along.  Besides, how bad could water be? 

After drinking the alkaline ionized water for one week, the acid reflux (heartburn) problem that have bothered me for more than ten years disappeared. Within a month, the crippling arthritis which was turning me into a grumpy old man also disappeared. My lifetime allergy to ragweed vanished. I lost a few pounds and had more energy. Suddenly life seemed to have a new purpose again. 

So, what is my latest dream?

I dream of a world where everyone has access to ionized water. 

If everyone drank ionized water, there would be an outbreak of good health that has never been witnessed before. People would feel better. They would have more energy. Many of their physical problems would begin to diminish, or be eliminated altogether as their bodies become more alkaline.  It is impossible for disease to live in an alkaline body, so we would start to see the decline and perhaps the elimination of degenerative diseases such as arthritis, diabetes, and cancer. 

Does this dream seem too good to be true? 

To some, my dream may seem like a pipe dream, but not to me. I have experienced the life changing benefits of the water. I have spoken to hundreds of people that have been helped by the water. To be fair, I have also spoken to a small number of people that don’t think they have experienced any improvement from the water, but they typically have not given the water a proper chance for the benefits to show.  The water won’t fix all things, but it is helping so many people that it can’t be discounted as wishful thinking or due to a placebo effecdt. 

If the water is so good, why don’t more people know about it? 

There are many reasons, but one of the main culprits is the medical/pharmaceutical industry itself, which doesn’t want cures for diseases. Nobody makes any money if people actually get better.  The maintenance of disease is big business, and anyone that tries to mess with the formula will have their path blocked at every turn. 

Challenges to the steadfast rules and practices of the medical community are increasing like never before. The internet has allowed people like you and I to discuss things like ionized water, which is an incredible turn of events.  In the past, the entire world of health was essentially the sole domain of physicians.   Now we can challenge our physicians, or support alternative modalities and their practitioners.   We need to encourage the incredible talents of our medical community to reach beyond the current restrictions that hold them back from being more effective practitioners.  

The historical disdain for any type of naturopathic cures or treatment in North American is well documented.  However, the movement to find healthy alternatives to allopathic/conventional western medicine is gaining more and more acceptance as time passes.  In the province of Ontario where I live, the government has given Naturopathic Doctors the ability to prescribe medications for the first time.  It will take a couple of years before the provincial formulary to determine exactly what prescriptions of drugs will be acceptable for insurance purposes, but the ball is definitely moving in the right direction.

The high cost of water ionizers presents another significant factor in holding back the widespread use of the machines.  In order for most people to be able to afford a water ionizer, the prices need to come down.  The prices can come down and they will come down.  

When I first got started last year with my personal crusade to drive the prices of water ionizers lower, I assumed it would take a couple of years to get prices headed lower and perhaps as much as five years to actually see the machines available at prices that families would consider affordable.  Things are progressing much faster than I expected.  There are already great machines available now for well under $2,000 that can to anything that the $4,000 and the $2,500 machine can  do (don’t believe the advertising).  If fact, my testing shows that some of the less expensive machines are actually superior to the expensive machines.  It is just a matter of time until the competitors start driving the prices lower and lower, which is what happens when an industry matures.    

Finally, educating the public about something so new and foreign to conventional thinking will take time.  Money could speed up the education process, but the companies in the health care industry don’t particularly like the idea that water, which is free, could eliminate the need for so many of their products.  The soda pop industry also has the funding to provide widespread marketing to create awareness, but then people would stop buying Coke.   

How can we make this dream come true? 

We need people like you to keep an open mind and try the water.  If  the water works for you, share the news with others.  Everyone can make a difference… even you….especially you!  If you don’t feel confident enough to talk to others about the subject of water ionizers, just , refer people to this blog.  I will answer all pertinent questions that are asked.  If I don’t know the answer to a question, I will do my best to research the subject and post my findings. Your questions and comments help me to learn.  Thanks for joining me in helping me make my dream come true.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and are not meant as medical advice.

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Forty million people depend upon the water from the Great Lakes for drinking water, while nobody drinks the water from the ocean.   Since people can only live for about three days without water without serious consequences, the results of an oil spill in fresh water would be catastrophic.   

Did you know that Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Canada allow drilling for oil in the Great Lakes.   BP and several other oil companies have shown interest in drilling for oil and natural gas under the Great Lakes.  Geez, doesn’t that just warm your heart.  

You don’t see oil rigs or platforms in the lakes themselves like you do in the Gulf of Mexico, but slant drilling for oil under the Great Lakes does exist.  Slant drilling takes place from oil rigs on shore, which drill at a slant under the bottom of the lake. 

While a 997 report form the Michigan Environmental Sciences Board concluded that slant drilling poses “little or no risk” to the lakes, the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has proven that we should all be concerned about the fallout from an oil rig disaster.  While the oil from a slant drilling rig should not ever actually be transported through the water, try to imagine the consequences if there was an earthquake or some other “accident” that rapidly spilled large quantities of oil to be spilled into the Great Lakes.   Millions of people could be without drinking water and the death toll would be unimaginable.  I don’t imagine our governments have contingency plans in place to handle that type of disaster scenario.

There is nothing good about the Gulf oil spill.  If one were looking for a silver lining to the event, it would have to be based upon the hope that our society will stop, or reduce the foolish practice of burning hydrocarbons for energy.  Alternatives are available, but we have to put safety and the environment ahead of corporate profits. 

It doesn’t appear that there is any imminent danger to the Great Lakes from oil drilling laws, but lets make sure that our fresh water lakes can never be subjected to the same fate as the Gulf of Mexico.  Drilling for oil under fresh water lakes should be permanently banned.  There are other places to find oil in the short term until we finally do something intelligent about implementing alternative fuel sources.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.

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I retired last year as President of one of the leading suppliers of water ionizers so that I could start this blog to help spread the word about the benefits of ionized water.  I also wanted to provide an unbiased source of information about the water ionizer industry and its products.  It turns out that honest information goes a long way.

Benefits of the water: There are too many to mention and you can read about them all over the internet.  The important thing to understand is that drinking ionized water can play a significant role in helping your body become alkaline.  Your body is meant to be alkaline, as you were born that way.   The highly acidic diets of most Americans and Canadians cause our bodies to be acidic, which leads to degenerative diseases such as arthritis, diabetes, and cancer.  The ”miracle water” or “kangen water” is not a miracle at all.  Your body is the miracle, and drinking the water simply allows your “miracle body” to perform properly as acid is slowly eliminated from your system.    

Why I started this blog: After drinking the water for a few weeks, I was stunned by the remarkable benefits.  I was also shocked that so few people were aware of the water because the results were life changing for me.  It didn’t make any sense to me that such an incredible product was hidden in almost total obscurity.  I quickly learned that the pharma industry quietly works behind the scenes casting doubt on water ionizers and other non-regulated health products .  The pharmas also carry tremendous influence with the health regulatory bodies in both Canada and the States, so it is no wonder that the medical “influencers” have not helped spread the word.

Adding to the frustration was the short sighted behavior of the players in the water ionizer industry itself.  Instead of building awareness and educating the public, they were too busy filling their pockets and stabbing each other in the back with their archaic marketing techniques. 

The “independent” review sites, which are not independent at all, only serve to confuse the public.  Claims by virtually every company that  “our product are the best and the other companies don’t match up” leaves the consumer wondering if any of the products are any good.  Given the high cost of the machines, and the uncertainty created by both the pharmaceutical industry and the water ionizer industry itself, it is no wonder that sales have languished when they should be going through the roof.  Unfortunately, the water ionizer companies seem to have adopted a philosophy that ”you only need to fool some of the people some of the time” because of the high profit margins. 

The benefits of the water are too important to leave the education process in the hands of the water ionizer companies who seem to only be interested in profits.  No wonder less than 1% of people in Canada and the United States have even heard of ionized water despite the fact water ionizers have been available here for 8 years.  My goal is to make sure the other 99% of the population learns about the water, and I hope you help me with my cause.

The Good News:  With every article I post on this blog, more and more people are taking notice.  I don’t have any delusions that people are following this blog because of my “captivating” writing style, or the “scintillating” content.  They are looking for honest and unbiased answers to help clear up the confusion created by the industry itself.  It appears that the people who are visiting this site are sharing it with others, which brings a big smile to my face.  

More Good News:  As the blog grows, so do the comments and inquiries.  In the past month, I have been contacted by people all over the world who are interested in the water as a business.  In fact, at last count, people from 85 different countries are following this blog.  That means the word is getting out there. 

Many of the inquiries are about specific issues or questions as would be expected.  What comes as a surprise is that I have been contacted by many people in recent weeks from far and near who want to get involved in the water ionizer industry.  As a result, I’m helping people from Australia (Sydney and Melbourne), Belgium, Canada (New Brunswick, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and BC), Hong Kong, New Zealand, the Philippines, Russia (and the surrounding countries that used to make up the USSR), and the USA (California, Florida, and Minnesota).  My help is in the form providing education, answering questions, and letting them know who the good guys are in the industry to deal with, and putting them in touch with the right people.  If you want to get involved, contact me and I will be happy to offer whatever assistance that I can. 

When I started this blog, the goal was to share some information so that individuals could sort their way through the confusion created by all of the conflicting information about ionized water on the internet. As the blog grows, it seems that more and more people who can help others “the influencers” are getting involved.  It is similar to the old story that reminds us that if you feed a man a fish, you have provided one meal, but if you teach a man to fish, he can feed himself for life. 

I’m a really impatient person.  I want everyone to learn about the water and start drinking it Right Now!  Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.  Creating awareness in the 99+ % of people who have never heard of water ionizers is going to take time.  However, it will happen because the benefits of the water will eventually demand attention.   At some point in time, even the owners of the companies that hate me and have been threatening me because I’m demanding accountability will figure out that there will be plenty of money for everyone if we just teach people how to fish.  In the meantime, Just Drink the Damn Water!

Thanks For Helping: I’m really grateful for the comments on this blog and the emails that I receive.  I will continue to research and write because it is my hobby and passion, but your encouragement helps far more than you can imagine.  If you want to help spread the word about the water, please refer this website to people that you care about, or link this site to your website.  Thanks for your help!

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and are not meant as medical advice.

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An advocacy group called Corporate Accountability International estimates that 17 million barrels of oil were required last year to make the water bottles that were produced for drinking water in the United States.  

Let’s put those 17 million barrels of oil in perspective by comparing it to the ”environmental disaster” that is taking place in the Gulf of Mexico.  While the estimates of the size of the spill seem to be increased every week, it is now assumed that about 1 to 2 million barrels have leaked into the Gulf.   

While some may say that the environmental catastrophe of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is much worse than the problems created by bottled water, I would disagree.  The creation of water bottles uses up the same amount of oil every three weeks, year after year after year.  That’s right, every three weeks.  While much of the oil problem will float to the surface and evaporate or be skimmed off the water and beaches in the next few months, the plastic bottles will remain for approximately 450 years.  People that are effected by the spill are really angry with BP, and for good reason.  However, those same people continue to create far worse damage to their environment every day and nobody seems to care. 

Here is another way of looking at it.  It takes about the same amount of oil to make the bottles for disposable bottled in the USA as it would to operate 100,000 automobiles from American roads.  People are paying hundred of millions of dollars to drink water that is inferior to the water that they can drink from their taps, and they are consuming huge amounts of oil to produce the bottles.  Hmmm.

Now that you know the environmental cost of making the disposable bottles for drinking water, let’s take a look at the environmental cost of disposing of the bottles.  We ignore the problem of disposing plastic water bottles because they are recylable….right?.  How bad could it really be if we recycle?  Pretty bad.  Most of don’t realize that 10 billion plastic water bottles end up in our landfill sites each year (don’t forget to take the caps off the bottles before carrying them to the end of your driveway in your recycle boxes, or the bottles won’t get recycled).   That means about 30 plastic water bottles end up in our landfills each year for every man, woman, and child.    

Still not bothered by this?  Try this for a visual.  If you lined up the empty bottles created each year in the USA that end up in our landfill sites, they would stretch from New York to Los Angeles approximately 200 times.   Need another example?  How about 5,000 olympic sized swimming pools filled with plastic water bottles, or a pile that would cover Manhattan Island….every year….and they last for 450 years…each

Stop drinking bottled water.  It is very harmful to our environment.  

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and the quoted sources.

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It is generally accepted that people should drink about half a gallon (64 ounces) or 2 litres of water per day. If you drink bottled water, you will be surprised how much the cost of the water adds up to in a year. If you drink bottled water purchased while “on the go” from vending machines or stores, you will typically pay between 5 to 8 cents per ounce.  That equates to $3 to $5 per person per day, or $1,000 to $1,500 per year.

Very few people drink bottled water purchased exclusively from small bottles. If you drink exclusively from 18 litre  jugs, the annual cost of drinking water for a person is about $300.  That sounds like alot, but if a single person drinks the 2 litres per day(the recommended amount), then they need an 18 litre jug of water every9 days, which sounds reasonable.  A jug of water costs about $7.50 when it is delivered (at home or work), so the math is correct.  If you use bottled water for cooking, the cost jumps again.

People who drink from coolers at home and work oftern supplement their water consumption with small bottles that are purchased “to go” because they are not always around a cooler.  In that case, they typically spend $500 per year.  For drinking water!  For a couple, that means $1,000 per yearn, and the figure could jump up tp $2,000 for a family of four.   Unbelievable!  When I wrote this, I had to go back and check my math as the figure seemed to be too high to be possible.  If you see situation described above, you might want to consider thinking about alternatives that provide you with superior water and allow you to take a nice vacation every year.

Most families who drink bottled water don’t spend $2,000 per year because they simply don’t drink enough water.  They can also cut costs by filling small reusable containers. 

If you do fill up reusable containers, the options typically include: glass, plastic, or stainless steel.  Glass is always the best as they don’t leach anything into the water.  Glass bottles are much more sturdy than most people think and they are able to absorb a significant impact without breaking.  For example, the glass bottles that we use can fall off our kitchen counter and land on a tile floor without breaking.  Don’t ask! 

If you participate in vigorous activities and are concerned about your bottled water container breaking, you can choose stainless steel or plastic, with stainless steel being the choice of preference.  If you happen to be one of the lucky/smart people who have access to ionized water, don’t use a stainless steel container as the container will deionize the water.

If you have made the smart choice to drink water because it is the ideal liquid for your body, don’t feel bad about whatever you are spending.  The alternatives to water cost a lot more money, and force your body to work much harder to get rid of the extra calories or contaminants that your body doesn’t need.

Before I leave the subject of the cost of bottled water, please consider that we pay about 2 cents per ounce for gasoline versus 1 to 8 cents for bottled water. Think about that for a minute! Procuring bottled water is virtually free while it cost millions to explore and drill for oil. Then the oil has to be transported to refineries that cost about $4 billion to build to be refined into gas. Then the gas has to be shipped to storage areas and then shipped to gas stations that are expensive to build. Then you must consider the labour costs involved in all of the processes. Now you get to the really expensive part, which is government taxes on the gas. All of these costs are included in gasoline that you purchase for about 2 cents per ounce. Think about that the next time you purchase a 20 ounce bottle of Dasani or Aquafina for $1.75 out of a vending machine.

When you consider the phenomenal profits margins available on water sales, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that bottled water companies spend tens of millions of dollars convincing the public that “pure” bottled water is good for you. It should also come as no surprise that our natural water sources are being bought up and privatized. If you think water is expensive now, wait to see what water costs in the future.

But what about the awful taste and the contaminants such as chlorine, chloramines, and fluoride that is in our municipal drinking water?

Governments mandate that municipal drinking water is safe. What does that mean? It really means that the water that comes out of your tap won’t kill you right away.  Municipalities take the bacteria out of the water which chlorine or chloramines, and they do a good job of it for the most part. However, there are always exceptions.  

In order to remove the bad taste of chlorine or chloramines, a simple and inexpensive charcoal filter that can be installed under your kitchen sink will do a great job. You should be able to purchase a good filter and canister housing for under $100.

If you want a more sophisticated filter system, a three canister system will most likely remove virtually all the bad stuff while allowing the healthy minerals to remain. A three canister system, including the filters typically cost about $250. The filters should last about a year, and the replacement filters should cost about $100

The bottom line is that you can provide clean, safe, good tasting water for your family for about $100 per year if pre-filter your tap water. Talk about a “no-brainer”

Stop drinking bottled water. If not for your health or the environment, do it for the $500 you will save each year.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and the quoted sources.

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