Excerpt on Water from Loren Lockman's "A Handbook for Vibrant Living - Eight Keys to Optimal Health"

Because we are comprised of about 70% water, making sure that we stay hydrated with pure water may seem obvious and intuitive - 8 glasses per day, right? Wlel, no. Not exactly.

When we eat a standard American diet (SAD), we are not getting the water that should be in our food, and losing water as our bodies use it to move the nearly waterless cooked and processed foods through our digestive tracts. However, our natural diet of primarily fruit and leafy greens, is water-rich, averaging around 80% water. Getting our water from our food is the best way, because the only pure water left on the planet is the water that's been distilled by plants. With smaller, more easily assimilated molecules, this water is also more available to the body.

When we Do drink, it is best to drink either distilled or reverse osmosis water. Neither is perfect, but both are much better than tap water, which, if chlorinated and fluoridated is truly toxic. Fluoride, far from providing the wonderful decay-prevention we've been told, is a toxic by-product of a heavy industry that's been outlawed throughout Europe. Chlorine is a carcinogen and has been shown a major cause of bladder and recal cancer when consumed.

Evidence shows that swimming and bathing in chlorinated water is even more dangerous - much more dangerous - than drinking it.

"Drinking Water" must only meet the same standards as our tap water. "Spring Water" must come from a spring, but there are no guarantees that the spring is not polluted. And virtually every source of water now is. Again, the standard that it must meet is the very same one that toxic tap water is held to. Not very reassuring.

If you've ever tasted plastic in your bottled water, it's probably because it contained plastic. Because plastics break down over time, that taste is due to plastic residues in the water. How much plastic do you want in your body? None seems like an appropriate amount to me. Choose glass or polycarbonate bottles instead when possible.

Give your body the purest water to help create Perfect Health.

(from "A Handbook for Vibrant Living -- Eight Keys to Optimal Health" by Loren Lockman.