From the March 2008 Idaho Observer:

Water is the basic element that interconnects the normal functions of all structures that make our bodies into a single unit of water-dependent life on land. It is the "cash flow" of the body—with 90 percent of our blood being composed of distilled water. Although we all know it is good for us, we often neglect drinking plenty of water through ignorance of how vitally important it is to our health. According to Bob Hoffman’s book, Drink More Water, 66 to 71 percent of the human body is comprised of water. Daily replenishment of our body’s water supply is so essential that the body ceases to operate efficiently, or ceases to function at all (death) without it.

Element of life. Humans can live for 60 days without food, live several minutes without oxygen (air) and only a few hours (if lost in the hot desert) or a few days without water. The entire body—the cells, muscle fibers and even the bones—require water for proper functioning.

The secretions of our salivary glands are 99.4 percent water. Although much of this water is "recycled" throughout the body, large amounts are lost through the urine, feces, the lungs and perspiration. This is why replenishing the water in our bodies daily is so essential.

Ample fluidity is required for the optimal functioning of all bodily processes so when there is a shortage for any reason, every process in the body suffers as a consequence. Most health authorities list "defective drainage" as the root cause of all diseases. Since water is essential for the excretion of waste products from the body, urine being 90 percent water while our stools are between 5 and 20 percent water, not drinking enough water inevitably leads to dehydration and constipation.

Dehydration. Through my experience in dealing with peoples’ health problems, I can safely say that most people are severely dehydrated. Drinking alcohol, soft drinks, coffee and caffeine teas only adds to the resulting dehydration in our bodies at the cellular level. The testimonies of those who have simply eliminated the above beverages from their diet and added distilled water in sufficient quantities are literally miraculous in terms of reversing serious health problems.

Chemicals. Aside from all the poisons contained in tap water such as chlorine and fluoride, most water contains farm chemicals and inorganic minerals that clog our arteries and put a strain on our heart and kidneys. These inorganic minerals and chemicals can collect in our joints and along our spine causing arthritis and bone spurring. Since a primary component of our blood, skin and organs is pure distilled water, it is important to replenish our bodies by drinking plenty of water daily.

Allergies and asthma. In the book Your Body’s Many Cries For Water by F. Batmanghelidj, we are told that asthma and allergies are not diseases but rather signs of chronic dehydration. Asthma and allergy conditions are often treated with different kinds of antihistamine medications. Histamine is an important neurotransmitter that primarily regulates the thirst mechanism for increased water intake. It also establishes a system for rationing of the available water in the body during times of dehydration.

When we become dehydrated, histamine sees to it that the available water in the body is preserved and distributed to the vital parts according to the importance of its function. Increased histamine production in the lungs will cause spasm of the bronchioles. This natural spasmodic action of histamine on the bronchial tubes is part of the body’s attempt to conserve water that would normally evaporate during breathing.

Attacks of asthma during strenuous exercise should be viewed as a water preservation and crisis management process resulting from dehydration. In addition, children need water for cell growth. Seventy-five percent of the cell volume during growth will have to be filled with water. This is one of the main reasons why asthma is prevalent in children who often drink caffeine-containing sodas instead of pure water.

Rashes. In 1998, my daughter had a dehydration crisis. As many of you with children know, heeding your advice often doesn’t happen until they have an experience that brings home what you had been telling them. My daughter Christie was used to having pure, distilled water at home but would neglect to take water with her when she was away from home for long periods of time. Christie began to develop a dry rash around her eyes that didn’t go away with creams and salves. She became desperate. For a 14-year-old teenage girl, looks are of primary importance. I told her that if she would simply start drinking eight glasses of water a day and take a container of water with her wherever she goes, the rash will clear up. She followed my advice, eliminated sugar and pop, drank lots of water and the rash cleared up within four days. She learned from experience and now always travels with clean, pure drinking water.

Skeletal issues. Back in 1983, a family friend had to leave his job of many years due to severe bone spurring along his spine. I went over to see him with a couple bottles of distilled water and some concentrated, mineral-rich capsulated herbs. I insisted that he follow a simple program of eight glasses of distilled water daily with the herb capsules and "Perfect 7" intestinal cleanser.

Within a week, he was up and around doing simple chores. After a month, the bone spurs were completely dissolved. The simplest way to explain this is the fact that our bodies accept inorganic minerals but cannot assimilate them. This man had developed osteoporosis and to maintain a degree of support, inorganic minerals deposited along the joints of his spine. The distilled water and herbal minerals chelated the inorganic mineral deposits out of his system and organic calcium from the herbs was able to be assimilated to clear up the osteoporosis.

DRINK MORE WATER! As you can see, the ability to distill or purify your own drinking water is the number one step you can take to take charge of your health. Since health is truly our greatest wealth, if you do not own a distiller or an Alkalizer (see article below), then we suggest that you take steps to get your own water purifier soon.

The best way to insure that you are drinking plenty of water is to get in the habit of drinking a glass first thing in the morning, two glasses of water a half hour before each meal and another glass two hours after eating. The rewards of drinking more water are literally priceless.

In addition to the problems with chemicals in tap water, almost all of the bottled waters and home filtered waters people are drinking regularly are acidic, including reverse osmosis, distilled, and spring water. Maintaining proper pH balance in the body is one of the most important aspects of health a person should focus on. Since the body is anywhere from 55 percent to 78 percent water depending on body size, it should be the primary element you take into your body every day. However, if you do not consume the proper type or amount of water, almost everything else you’re doing will have little to no effect on your health.

Restructured alkaline water may well be the best element ever discovered to put into your body. The Japanese have researched this for over forty years and have found that drinking restructured alkaline water can help relieve or reduce the three main causes of most sickness, disease and pre-mature aging: Acidosis, Dehydration, and Free Radical Damage.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Well it can be if you do the right things. To shed light on this amazing technology, Health Crusador Greg Ciola interviewed David Baltes who has been touring the country for over 14 years sharing the benefits with those willing to listen.

Greg: Tell me how you got involved with the Alkalizer water machine that you’re importing from Japan and why you feel it is the greatest health breakthrough of our time?

David: The Japanese came to me because of my background in the health and sales fields, and they asked me to take this technology to the world for them. They presented a machine to me that I could hook up to my faucet, turn on, and produce a gallon a minute of the strongest liquid antioxidant on the planet. Understanding health, I said, "Wow, if I could keep drinking a liquid antioxidant all day long, I’d be pretty healthy."

After my wife and I started drinking the water some positive things happened and that’s what turned me on and made me take a second look. My wife used to have high blood pressure and was on medication for seven years, even though we were in the nutritional field. Nothing could keep it down. Without even knowing it, in a little over three weeks my wife’s blood pressure came down and the swelling in her feet was gone. The tingling in her hands stopped around four weeks. Over a 12-week period, she started cutting her medication in half until she was off it completely. When she went to the doctor 12 weeks later her blood pressure was 120 over 80 without medication. That was 10 years ago. That was pretty exciting but still wasn’t enough for me to say ‘yes’ to the Japanese.

The next thing that happened is my wife went from a size 10 to a size 6. She didn’t even change her diet. She also used to have allergy attacks all her life, spring and fall. Her worst one was just before we got on the water; she cracked two ribs and displaced one from coughing and choking for almost six weeks. After a month on the water we realized that she didn’t have any allergy attacks. In the 10 years that have gone by she’s only had two minor ones, and they were gone in a day because her immune system was so strong.

The next thing that turned me on and why I’m here today was because of the results of my research on alkalinity and the body. Nobody talked about acidosis or dehydration. It’s all medication or nutrition -- one of the two. We’re working on symptoms and bandaging up people’s bodies thinking we’re making a big difference in their lives, but all we’re doing is slowing down the inevitable. Well, the end result is that I called Dr. Baroody. He wrote the book Alkalize or Die. I called him and said, "Dr. Baroody, have you ever heard of anything like this?" He said, "No, I haven’t. I have well water. I believe in distilled water. I don’t believe it will work."

I said "Good. Here’s what I’ll do. Since you’re Mr. Alkaline, I want you to test it on your body and on your patients. If you will do that, I’ll send you a free machine."

He said he would do it so I sent him a machine. Six months later he faxed me the following note: "You have something that could revolutionize the health industry. Let me tell you why. Unbeknownst to you I tested over 100 of my patients for the last four years and here are the results. Not one or three or five percent like the medical industry would shout about, but 100 percent of my patients improved or got better." And he started naming them: kidney, liver, heart, blood pressure, cholesterol.

Greg: The numerous testimonials you heard back from practitioners around the country using the machine must have helped motivate you to take this water to the world, correct?

David: Yes. I went to all kinds of practitioners as I was going across the country doing my seminars. Every single practitioner that I sold the machine to had positive results. I always talk about the KISS method—keep it simple—and you’ll be a success. That’s what this is about. If my wife and I weren’t on this water, I’d be spending between $300 and $400 a month on our nutrition. When we got on this water we started diminishing our supplements and found out we didn’t need all the supplements we were using.

We might spend $100 a month at the most on our nutrition. Not only that, my wife and I, looking back, took the first eight years of everything we don’t use anymore since being on the water and we have saved over $40,000. That’s pretty good. I don’t believe I’ve aged either and I just turned 68. I’m going to be 70 and I can’t wait to be 90. With the things I do, I don’t know very many 25- year-olds that can keep up with me whether it’s the gym, the golf course, tennis court, getting up earlier, staying up later, learning faster, waking up with energy, going to bed with energy, etc….

We have something that helps people live younger longer and they don’t have to face up to all these diseases. After all the tests and research that I’ve gone through for over 14 years with practitioners across this country, including going back and forth to Japan, they say cancer, diabetes, arthritis, colds and flu have a very hard time developing in an alkaline body.