Dr Fereydoon Batmanghelidj (we will just call him Dr Batman, OK?) was born in Iran. He practiced medicine in Iran, England and the United States until he died in Virginia in November of 2004.

He has achieved some level of prominence with his sometimes controversial views on the medical value of water. He has written books to include Your Body’s Many Cries for Water (translated into 15 languages and sold around the world). Dr Batman’s startling discoveries and treatments deal with chronic unintentional dehydration and its effects on the human body. He demonstrates that a dry mouth is not the only symptom of dehydration. The body signals its water shortage by producing pain from inflammation. His premise is that dehydration actually produces pain and many degenerative diseases including asthma, arthritis, hypertension, angina, adult onset diabetes, lupus and multiple sclerosis.

Again, I provide my disclaimer that I am a distributor for the Enagic water processing machines that provide electrolized and filtered water for the health of your family. But that is not my topic today . Although Dr Batman talks about electrolized water in later years, his primary research speaks to the benefits of ordinary tap water.

The epiphany for Dr Batman occurred under unusual circumstances. After medical school and practice in the United Kingdom, he returned to Iran as a physician and was caught up in the Iranian revolution in 1979. He spent more than two years in Evin Prison in Iran as a political prisoner. He tried to treat a fellow prisoner with severe pep tic ulcer pain with no medications available. He gave the patient two glasses of water and within eight minutes the pain went away. WIth two glasses of water every three hours, the patient experienced no more pain for the four months until he was released from the prison. During the remainder of his confinement, Dr Batman conducted organized research concerning the power of water and its effects on many other chronic degenerative diseases among 3,000 prisoners that he treated.

Dr Batman states, “My research revealed that unintentional dehydration produces stress, chronic pains and many degenerative diseases. …When I use the word water cure, I am referring to curing dehydration with water”

Dr Batman’s writing avoids the current legal entanglements that would come with claiming that his water cure “cures” specific diseases. No studies will be undertaken on this specific point when there is no commercial product to be tested. There are many studies that show that persons that drink specified quantities of water are more healthy than those who don’t but that is not proof. Despite the fact that thousands of anecdotal reports exist that suggest that water cured this or that person with this or that disease – that is also not proof.

I do not believe that there is any study that proves that smoking causes cancer or anything else other than statistics. There appears to be a connection between those who smoke and incidence of lung cancer. But that is not proof of causation. You can draw inferences, but it is not possible to have the type of control on a long term study that would eliminate other variables. Our society will not endorse a research protocol which condemns our control group to suffer or die from a disease just to prove an hypothesis. Also these studies tend to be paid for by the drug company (or tobacco company) and with no commercial product or profit motive – complete testing of water cures is unlikely.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not permit unproven claims of disease cures in advertising. Which is why we have a market for nutritional products which is relatively free from regulation but products which cross the line are soon investigated by the heavy hand of the government.

We read in Dr Batman’s books and in many testimonial messages that water did cure some conditions. Dr Batman, now deceased, would say that water cured the dehydration which may have been causing the other health problem.

Mike Adams, writing for NaturalNews.com wrote of a lengthy interview with Dr Batman. I recommend you read the article in its entirety. It may change your view of holistic and alternative medicine. It is a must read for those who feel that the control of healthcare by big Pharma is only a little preferred to control by government – neither alternative is acceptable to me.

There is a growing body of literature concerning the pH level of the body and the health benefits that may be associated with a diet that tends to move us to an alkaline state.  The pH level refers to the balance of acid and alkaline in the body.  The scale runs from 0 to 14 with lower numbers representing an acidic level and higher numbers representing an alkaline condition – 7 being neutral or balanced.

As a disclaimer, I am a distributor for the Enagic Water processing machines which offer, among other benefits, a flow of highly alkaline water through a process of electrolysis.  But that is not my topic for today (stay tuned).

I am attracted to what I perceive as a significant difference between Eastern (Oriental) and Western medicine.  We seem to believe that as we age, we dehydrate and accumulate acidic waste deposits in our cells.  The more Eastern approach seems to say that as we dehydrate and develop acidic waste deposits in our cells, we age.  There is a tremendous difference in those two statements and I prefer the approach that suggests that aging is a condition with a natural cause – and therefore a natural treatment.  I am also strongly opposed to Western medicines method of treating every condition with a chemical.  I consider it unnatural and contrary to our health interests in the long run. We will talk further about these concepts in future posts.

But for today, I would like to begin to look at the concept of examining acid-alkaline food content as part of your choices.

There are an abundance of books preaching the benefits of an alkaline diet to combat the acidic buildup in the cells.  The premise of these books is that the modern diet (Standard American Diet – which is an unfortunate acronym) tilts the body’s pH level toward the acid range – which can be bad for your health.

I will admit that a knowledge of chemistry was somehow omitted from my extensive and expensive education, so the science here is elusive to me.  I know that there are short term swings in the pH level of parts of the body.  For example, when food is present in the stomach, acid is generated to aid the digestive process.  But the blood level pH is one of the most regulated levels in the body (at 7.365 pH).  So are the scientists telling me that anything that I can eat will change this number ?  But what does make sense to me is that the body’s regulatory systems – particularly the kidneys – will have to work harder to regulate the acids we consume and that the alkaline substances in the body may be consumed in a constant battle to neutralize acids.  Over time this could result in imbalances in the alkaline stores in the body.  So I accept the argument that consuming alkaline foods may be beneficial.  But since I am not ready to adopt a vegetarian plan, I continue to feed the problem, so to speak.

Dr Susan Brown and Larry Trivieri have written a book called The Acid-Alkaline Food Guide.  (available from Amazon.com) Dr Phil Domenico interviews the authors in a lengthy article for NaturalNews.com  <link here> that is very interesting to gain a perspective on this issue.

Quoting from Dr Domenico’s article, “Their major premise is that the modern diet tilts the body’s pH toward the acid range, which has negative health consequences. The kidneys, lungs and skin must work overtime to balance body pH toward the alkaline. They do so by borrowing alkaline minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium) from bone and tissue. Muscle is also broken down to obtain alkalizing amino acids (i.e., glutamine). Over the long haul, bones weaken and muscles waste away to compensate, and aging is accelerated. Osteoporosis, muscle loss, kidney stone formation, joint and back problems are among the conditions associated with even a slightly acidic state. The authors also describe many other problems and chronic conditions that could result from what they term chronic, low-grade acidosis.”

The article is an extended discussion which you should click on to read in its entirety.  The book also contains comprehensive food tables to inform you of the acid-alkaline impacts of the foods we eat or drink.

Let me be clear.  The authors state that the consumption of acidic foods contribute to the rise of chronic degenerative diseases in this country.  I appreciate that the authors do not demand a vegan lifestyle to be healthy – but they do recommend that proteins and carbs be consumed in moderation and in some balance with alkaline foods to facilitate the neutralizing process in our bodies.

I consider age management and the emphasis of this discussion group to be a long process from an early age to maximize our health with strategies for health and anti-aging through natural programs beginning as early as possible.  Articles about exercise, hydration, anti-oxidation and nutrition should be of interest and importance to us - and will be the focus of this group.

My source: http://www.naturalnews.com/023694.html

The following article appeared on a website in Australia dealing with weight loss – which shows the worldwide interest in health related issues and, in this case, the benefits of Alkaline Water.

Short disclaimer here – I am a distributer for the Enagic Kangen Water machines mentioned in the article.  But the information contained in the article is relevant to us and I was interested in this author’s non-technical description of some important scientific concepts. He covers two of the three major benefits of Kangen Water.  I will address the third (micro-clustering) in a separate post on another day.

I include the source link for the article which you may wish to follow for other information on weight loss and health from “down under”.

My Source: http://mmolbiz.com/howtolooseweightfast/nutrition/an-overview-of-alkaline-water

The Drinking Water Problem –

The fact that there is a Water Crisis today with our drinking water few people will dispute, depending I suppose upon the definition of healthy water and what threshold of contaminants or quality individuals are willing to tolerate and consider good or bad. By all standards, much of our drinking water today contains chemicals detrimental to health. Federal, state and city laws and guidelines govern levels of chemicals permitted in municipal water. Ironically, one of the deadly chemicals, chlorine, is introduced out of necessity to kill things that would be of even greater consequence. Common knowledge and reason should lead each of us to action to ensure within our homes chlorine, thrihalomethanes and other harmful chemicals are not permitted to pass from tap to glass. For over 20 years I personally have not consumed municipal water unprotected except for when dining outside our home, but I am continually surprised to learn of friends and acquaintances who have not applied much thought or action to this rather apparent water problem. Whether individuals give regard, that water is contaminated is the obvious. There is another water metric that lies lurking further beneath the radar.

Why Alkaline Water is Important to Your Health –

As a Nutritionist, I have known for years that individuals seeking optimal health or to improve existing chronic health conditions should adjust their diet toward Alkaline foods rather than Acidic. This should not be news to readers - you have probably heard this a dozen times before. The challenge, like so many other good things in life, is how to implement. The list of Alkaline foods and Acidic foods can be a great help. But even when one knows better, it still is hard because an Alkaline diet is generally not one of convenience or preference. Alkalizing foods include dark greens like spinach, vegetables like celery and cabbage, fruits like apricot and avocado, and other foods that are not so likely to magically appear on the “random” menu. Selecting the Alkaline foods is only half the equation - avoiding the Acidic foods is also important. But even if one were to master the choice of Alkaline foods, the challenge is greater than first appears, and for good reason. Just as our bodies are 70% Water, so our diet consists in considerable proportion of Water. So, does water help a serious seeker of the Alkaline Diet? Aha… here’s where the bigger issue - and perhaps surprise - lies.

The PH Balance Dilemma –

A very real PH Dilemma for many people is that try as one may to eat a diet rich in Alkaline foods, nearly all of the drinking water most people have access to is NOT Alkaline. Rather it is Acidic. Perhaps many people who test their drinking water will find it to be neutral or weakly alkaline, but the vast majority of drinking water tests Acidic. Good thing we keep soda drinks in the fridge! Right? Because certainly a nice “soda” drink ought to be less acidic than acidic tap water. Wouldn’t it be? NOT! Soda pop is one of the worst offenders on the pH scale of Human Health. Acid Acid Acid. Bottled Water to the rescue then. Where else would we look to for a solution? The plain fact is that of the tests I have seen data on for Bottled Water… you guessed right… Acidic. Even water prepared by Reverse Osmosis is acidic. So our list of options to find Alkaline drinking water is “drying up” - pardon the pun.

How Your Body Attempts to Solve the PH Balance Problem –

What is the consequence to our health of our Acidic diet and our Acidic water and our Acidic soda drinks? Can’t your body accommodate the PH of what we drink? That is a fabulous question. It is a complicated question. But in a few words let me share some perspective. Your body consisting of Trillions of cells is one of incredible design and YES - it does have provisions for accommodating a wide range of environmental and dietary parameters. But it must regulate body processes within very narrowly defined parameters. In order to accommodate the wide range of inputs while maintaining the narrowly governed body function metrics, it must prioritize and sometimes must sacrifice one good thing for a better. The PH of your blood, for example, must be 7.2 to 7.4 - a narrowly defined metric. So important to us is our blood PH metric which must be maintained 24/7/365.25 that the body will sacrifice minerals including calcium from our bones in order to preserve our blood PH so we can live another day. But over time, when we stress our body by continuing to impose upon it such great demands for it to solve because of our preferences of diet and water, we will eventually pay the price. Good health is not a given but rather it is something that we must all strive for. Drinking Acidic water does not help win the fight for Optimal Health.

How a Water Ionizer Helps Balance Your Body PH –

Solving water PH is accomplished with a Water Ionizer machine. There are many brands of water ionizers. The one I personally use is manufactured by Enagic and it produces a quality of water called “Kangen Water“, trademark of Enagic, which I believe to be the Very Healthiest Water available for human consumption - hence the name of my website VeryHealthyWater.org. Ionization accomplishes a very important enhancement to ones drinking water. It actually turns tap water into Antioxidants! Hard to believe? But true. Many people are careful to ensure they have antioxidants in their diet. Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP) is a measurement of Antioxidant value, and the higher the positive ORP the worse something is for our body while the lower or more negative the ORP the better something is for us in terms of Antioxidant potential. To illustrate the significance of Ionization in improving the ORP value of drinking water, the following is actual test data of various common water sources:

ORP TESTS: Negative is Good / Positive is Bad *

* -387 Kangen Water (Ionized)

* +261 Bottled Water Brand #1

* +263 Bottled Water Brand #2

* +273 Bottled Water Brand #3

* +280 Bottled Water Brand #4

* +282 Bottled Water Brand #5

* +330 Tap

* tests are based on water sampled

Please note that these stats are provided for comparison of the Ionized Water with other common drinking water sources. Actual results may vary due to the variety of conditions under which drinking water is prepared. The point of the comparison should jump off the page at readers… the Ionized Kangen Water ™ is the only water with a negative ORP, and because of the magnitude of its negative ORP value it provides Antioxidant capacity which will help neutralize Free Radicals in the body of the fortunate individuals who drink the Ionized Kangen Water ™.

To recap, I will share my definition of Very Healthy Water:

1. The bad stuff (chlorine, trihalomethane, heavy metals, etc.) is removed by filtration

2. PH is Alkaline to help neutralize Acid and contribute to an Alkaline body PH

3. A highly negative ORP Antioxidant value to neutralize Free Radicals

Facts will always be facts, and what we do with those facts becomes our reality. Your health is in part a function of what you ingest. So the question for each of us is whether we will apply some “basic” (pardon the pun) knowledge of science and health and take action to solve our personal water crisis before the water we drink gets the better of us. It may be said that what we eat becomes what we are. With 70% of our body water, I propose we justifiably state we also are what we drink. Change your water and change your health… no success can compensate for the premature failure of the human body, and you are worth whatever it takes to make sure your health is the best it can be. For my family and me, we’ll keep our Kangen Water Ionizer busy at our kitchen sink and enjoy Clean Alkaline Ionized Water free from contaminants and nicely charged with an ORP to deliver potent glasses of Antioxidant Water to neutralize Free Radicals and keep us Alkaline from head to toe and all the way between! And we will also save money by not having to purchase all that Bottled Water.

What follows is not specifically about Enagic or our Kangen Water.  But the article, written by Marla Dickerson which appeared at the LA Times site is important because commercial users are recognizing the importance and the efficacy of Electrolyzed Water.  The process of using electrolysis to produce multiple categories of functional water for drinking, cleaning and sanitizing is comparable to the residential water processors made by Enagic.

My Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-magicwater23-2009feb23,0,1620173.story