In terms of what you need to survive, water is truly at the top of the list, and there are several types of water, including structured water.
As you already know, water is a life-giving substance that we all must put into our bodies (just about) every single day in order to go on living. Without water, extreme dehydration, particularly during the summer months, would cause us to die within just a few short days — and definitely within one week!
In some organisms, up to 90 percent of their total body weight is made up of water, while in the human body the number is close to about 60 percent water by volume for the average adult.
Drinking enough clean water every day benefits us in the following ways (and keep in mind this list is just the tip of the iceberg,):
- Acts as a crucial nutrient for building, maintaining and regenerating cells
- Helps regulate our internal body temperature
- Allows us to sweat and perspire
- Helps us breathe and performs respiration
- Allows us to produce saliva and digestive enzymes
- Helps us metabolize macronutrients (fats, carbohydrates and proteins) from the foods we eat and turn them into usable “fuel”
- Helps our muscles contract
- Makes up part of our blood that carries oxygen throughout our bodies
- Helps flush away waste and toxins through urination and bowel movements
- Lubricates our joints and acts as a shock-absorber for our major organs, including the brain, spinal cord and heart
What Is Structured Water?
We’re lucky enough in the Unites States and other developed nations to have easy access to plenty of clean drinking water right within our homes, but just how healthy is our water, really?
Compared to the type of water that our ancestors drank thousands of years ago, the water coming out of our faucets today — or from store-bought plastic bottles that we commonly purchase — might fail in comparison.
How so? According to emerging theories on “structured water,” water that hasn’t yet been purified, filtered or mechanically cleaned or “processed” in any way, to some degree, might hold more “energy” in it.
Structured water is what some refer to as the water that’s found in nature. It’s said to have a naturally organized hexagonal state that the body uses efficiently.
The theory is that structured water molecules held within our cells might have a higher level of electrical charges, in a specific order that helps our bodies function.
Structured water is also sometimes called H3O2 water, magnetized water or hexagonal water.
Potential Structured Water Benefits
When our cells’ water molecules are optimally charged, this can potentially impact how muscles and tissue throughout our bodies work.
Dr. Gerald Pollack of the University of Washington is one of the leading authorities in the field of structured water. After studying water science and technologies for the past decade-plus, he believes that water is profoundly impacted by light and heat-generating sources found in nature, which change the molecular composition of the water we drink and store within our bodies.
While research is still limited and inconclusive, structured water might also have an optimal pH that can help us stay healthy.
Experts such as Dr. Pollack believe that structured water acts like a power source that can help us stay maximally hydrated. Because of the many roles that water and hydration have in the body, structured water is said to potentially benefit:
- Energy levels
- Digestion and regularity
- Enzymes that help with nutrient absorption
- Concentration
- Muscle contractions
- Positive moods
- Ability to sleep well
- Blood pressure and cholesterol levels
- Respiration
- Endurance
- Weight control
- Kidney and liver health
- Joint health
Related: Hydrogen Water: Healthier Water or Marketing Gimmick?
To understand what the potential benefits of structured water might be, it helps to first grasp how water works within your cells:
- Water is an important building block in every single cell in your body.
- The actual structure of your cells is something like a matrix that is made up of a different acids (some of which are proteins). Between the acids is where water is held, essentially bridging the gap.
- All of the water molecules within our cells hold electrical charges, whether positive or negative. Oppositely charged water molecules line up next to one another, just like a battery.
- Initially, water gets its charge from the sunlight or heat in the environment and then stores it within our cells.
The idea behind structured water is this: Ordinary water filtration processes that have the purpose of cleaning drinking water also de-structure water molecules in the process.
When the water is no longer structured the way it was intended to be, the health of your cells suffer — specifically, the protein molecules within your cells don’t work the right way. This can negatively impact muscular and tissue functioning, leaving you prone to injuries.
How exactly does the water within our cells become unstructured?
It’s not exactly clear yet, but one theory is that too much time spent indoors — away from natural sources of energy like the sun and the Earth’s surface (imagine a clean-running mountain creek that people used to drink directly from) — could partially be to blame.
Related: Raw Water Trend: Healthier Hydration or Unsafe to Drink?
How Water Is ‘Restructured’
We aren’t sure yet how drinking and swallowing naturally “structured water” changes its molecular composition or whether it’s more beneficial to alter the structure of water after it’s already reached muscle and tissue cells.
Can regular water become structured?
The belief associated with structured water is that even once water is in your body and enters your cells, it’s capable of restructuring itself when it’s exposed to certain energy sources.
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These restructuring energy sources can include:
- a source of heat (including the sun, Earth, radiation device or a muscle-heating pad)
- infrared light
- organic plants grown in soil
- thunder and lightning
- certain crystals
- possibly even human touch (some people use swirling methods to structure water at home)
Some also believe it’s possible to turn regular water into structured water by exposing it to vortexing (which changes it molecular composition) in addition to UV light, infrared light or natural heat sources, such as sunlight.
Both strong heat-on-contact and ultraviolet light are thought to be capable of impacting the water within your cells, which is one reason why these have been natural treatment methods for muscle-related or skin problems for many years.
In the case of light therapy, this treatment has benefits for cells that make up your skin and brain — which is why some depressed patients experience reduced symptoms of depression or skin disorders when using specialized light treatments or light boxes.
“Grounding” or “earthing,” a practice where you simply come into direct contact with the Earth’s surface by walking or laying outdoors barefoot, might also affect the structure of our cells. The scientific theory of earthing is that your body absorbs negative electrons from the Earth through the soles of your feet, and this changes the chemistry of your body.
How long does structured water stay structured?
It stays this way until something restructures it, which could be filtration, use of chemicals, etc.
Because it’s not entirely known how long a glass of hexagonal water can maintain its structure, it’s recommended that you consume this water quickly after it’s been passed through “structuring devices.”
Where is structured water found?
Structured water is found in nature in mountain springs, glacier melts and other untouched sources, such as streams flowing over rocks and cliffs.
Although not very accessible for most people as of now, optimally structured drinking water is available in some parts of the world. There’s some belief that unfiltered water obtained from parts of the world like the Ganges River in Northern India might have the optimal structure to help our cells function best.
How It Compares to Regular Water
Structured water is different from regular drinking water and bottled water because it’s closer to nature. It hasn’t been filtered or processed, making it virtually identical to the water that’s found in outdoor streams.
Regular bottled water typically contains purified water, which is tap water that has been filtered and purified so it’s free of impurities and microorganisms.
When water is mechanically filtered, treated with chemicals or contaminated with various pollutants, the structure of the water changes. Therefore, the water possibly loses some of its benefits, although this is still controversial and up for debate.
Is structured water the same as alkaline water?
These two are not exactly the same thing, since alkaline water is filtered to increase its pH level.
Alkaline water is water with a higher pH than regular water. Some of the best types come from naturally alkaline spring water sources, making it similar to structured water.
Both structured water and alkaline water are said to have optimal pH levels.
Because it has a higher pH level, alkaline ionized water may be better for you than basic tap water. It typically has a pH level around 8 or 9 , while the pH of tap water is usually closer to 7.0 or less.
It’s also said that alkaline water offers more key minerals the body needs to function properly, such as calcium, potassium, sodium and magnesium, which are sometimes added to alkaline water.
Is distilled water structured water?
No, distilled water differs from structured water because it’s been purified to some extent, through steam distillation, which removes its natural minerals.
Steam is used to separate liquid water from minerals, which results in a “pure” and clean water that’s free of most contaminants but one that lacks nutrients like calcium, sodium and magnesium. Distillation is a good option for cleaning water that may be contaminated, but drinking too much of it will result in low mineral intake.
Potential Risks and Side Effects
Is structured water safe to drink? It depends on where it comes from and how much of it you consume.
It’s possible for water taken directly from nature to be contaminated with microorganisms that can make you sick. Therefore it’s important to know the quality of water your’e drinking, especially if you’re immunocompromised and at risk for experiencing severe side effects from drinking contaminated water.
Generally speaking, there isn’t enough evidence at this time to suggest you should only drink structured water. At home, you can continue to drink filtered water and other hydrating liquids (such as herbal tea or seltzer) — just make sure they’re free of added sugar and other additives.
Conclusion
- Water is essential for life, especially pure water that is freshly taken from nature. What is structured water, and why is it special?
- This type of water hasn’t yet been purified, filtered or mechanically cleaned or “processed” in any way. It’s water taken directly from the outdoors, which some believe may hold more “energy” in it because it’s closer to nature.
- The concept of structured water might be similar to the theory of grounding or earthing, in that it attempts to explain how exposing our bodies to nature and the sun keeps us healthy in many ways.
- Overall, we still need more research revealing the potential advantages and uses of structured water. Until we know more, your best bet is to drink water that hasn’t been overly filtered and to spend time outdoors in the sun, including having your bare feet and skin touch the ground often.
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