The amount of information available on the internet is stunning. You can read about virtually any subject by simply typing your question in a Google toolbar.

The quest for learning provides businesses with the opportunity to sell things by providing free information about a subject. Essentially, the sellers on the internet are acting in a very similar fashion to the sellers who pay to advertise on television and radio, except it is possible to advertise on the internet for free if you can entice people to read your information. The big difference is that advertising on the internet is virtually unregulated while television and radio have strict advertising guidelines and regulations. Therefore, it is up to consumers to decide about the legitimacy of anything they read on the internet.

Everyone has an agenda

No matter what people tell you, they have an agenda. The trick is to figure out what their agenda is. Are they altruistic and sincerely want to help others without any business motive? Or, are they business people who want to sell you products or services?

I have had the good fortune of meeting some of the top water ionizer people in the world through my blog. At first, most are suspicious as they try to figure out what my “angle” is. It doesn’t make sense to business people that anyone would spend as much time as I do simply providing information. Even my wife thinks I’m crazy.

What I have learned from all the contacts that I have made in the industry is that the “good guys” eventually become the leaders. They are the people who generally provide educational services and useful information for free because it is important to them. They understand that gaining people’s trust by “giving” is a great way to promote the interests of their companies. Once a person starts thinking about their health in a proactive way as opposed to ignoring their lifestyle until they are sick, they are much more likely to take actions to achieve and maintain good health. And who do people turn to when it is time to buy? The people that have helped them learn and gained their trust.

What I look for in a health related website

There is a myriad of sites to visit that offer a wide spectrum of information on health. My bias is towards water related sites of course. To be more specific, I focus on sites that deal with filtration of water, alkalinity, and antioxidants. I believe that antioxidants and a proper alkaline balance are the critical factors in achieving and maintaining good health.

When I’m searching sites, I look for lots of useful information, preferably without a sales pitch. I understand that most sites provide free information in exchange for the opportunity to sell me something, and I can live with a subtle approach. However, when a site pounds away at me to “pick me”, it turns me off. I still learn from the site, but a blatant sales pitch is more likely to send me looking in another direction when it comes time to buy. My preference is the “provide me the information and let me decide if I trust you enough to go further approach”.

I have prepared a list of sites that I follow. The level of sales pitch varies from site to site, but they all offer good information.

Sites I recommend and why

The following websites are great resources for learning about the “hows and whys” of becoming alkaline or protecting your drinking water. None of the sites use spam and they all give you the opportunity to Unsubscribe if you find that they no longer offer value to you:

1) Gabe Hunninghake has written an excellent five part series of excellent articles called “Is Your Filtered Water Healthy?” that appear on www.alkastream.us . The series sheds light on the truth about what is in your drinking water. The same website also offers a comprehensive ten part series on the benefits of being alkaline and how to achieve a healthy alklaine balance. The series is called “Alkaline Defense Program” and was written by the highly respected Australian Ian Hamilton, who created Alkastream. Both series of articles avoid any type of sales pitch, which is refreshing. There is no doubt that that the company is trying to educate readers about the importance of water purity and antioxidants, which are the two major components of their product. Would you expect anything less?

2) Jon Barron‘s Baseline of Health Foundation provides free online natural health information. It is an outstanding site which you can find at www.jonbarron.org. You can learn how to do a full body detox without signing up for anything. They send out bi-monthly newsletters to those that sign up. Jon’s site promotes his book and if you dig a little deeper, a series of supplements. The sales pitch is subtle and well worth the information that is offered.

3) Ross Bridgefordoperates an excellent site out found at www.energiseforlife.com. The site offers focuses on educating people about achieving an alkaline diet. Ross provides alkaline recipes that help those that want to join the alkaline lifestyle. Ross also provides videos of interviews with various experts and other interesting people. My favorite part of the website is the personal insight that Ross offers about his experience with becoming alkaline. As with all of the great websites, there are offers of free stuff such as an alkaline food chart and a weekly newsletter. The free stuff provides the owners of the website with the opportunity to legally contact you without spamming issues. The site has a strong commercial aspect, but the information is worth it.

4) What health list would be complete without our friend Dr. Mercola‘s site www.mercola.com? While I have criticized Dr. Mercola’s lack of due diligence when it comes to his opinion about electric water ionizers and his blatant salesmanship, the site offers an endless supply of great information. His research team is second to none, and he sheds light on a lot of subjects that the government/fda/pharmaceutical industry/medical community would rather keep in the dark. His emails get sent out three times per week to the millions of subscribers to his electronic newsletter. If you can ignore the sales pitch, the site is great.

5) The Environmental Working Group www.ewg.org is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. This organization is responsible for breaking the chromium six and perchlorate water contamination stories in the USA. They also act as an effective and powerful watchdog for protecting our drinking water. The site doesn’t sell anything and only asks for donations to support its efforts. Their newsletters are pretty dry, but the information is good.

I don’t have back links or to any of the sites I have mentioned and I don’t receive any form of compensation from the sites for my recommendations. I have listed the sites because I believe they offer worthwhile information to the public. Watch for a listing of my current and future favorite sites on the homepage.

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