I hear from a lot of my clients - how can I get ALL that water into me?  I'm here to tell you - you can.  It's not that hard, and it only takes about 2 weeks for your body to adjust - and then start craving - all that water! 

Don’t forget that we as humans can absorb our water from many sources!  So here are some tips and ideas about where you can get those 8 – 15 glasses of water a day from and still enjoy getting them into your body!

Best tip – Herbal Teas, Infusions & Healthy Add Ins:

1)     Drink it at a different temperature – warm, or hot, but only ice cold in the heat of summer.

2)     Add a few drops of freshly squeezed lemon to your water – this is especially helpful first thing in the morning as it gets the liver and gallbladder going, speeds up and improves your metabolism and improves the cleansing abilities of your body.  You can do the same with any citrus fruit – and by using fresh fruit you’re giving both vitamins and enzymes to your body.

3)     Add a few slices of cucumber to your glass – this is a tonic to your lymphatic system (which is your detox highway)

4)     Add a few grains (just a few!) of unrefined Himalayan sea salts – this will boost the mineral content of the water providing your body with necessary electrolytes.

5)     Add a slice of ginger – this adds zing and it’s a great immune supporting herb.  It also increases the circulation and thus increases your metabolic rate.  Add it to ho water and drink as a tea.

6)     Add some fresh herbs - mints, lemongrass, or parsley are great for adding aroma and a hint of green to your water. If you want to release the flavor you can crush the plants a little bit before putting them into your water.  Every herb has medicinal properties – so by adding these herbs you are adding those properties as well – worth looking into before you drink a ton of any one kind of herbal infusion!

7)     Fresh or frozen berries – it’s the same concept as the citrus fruit – but you get the added punch of antioxidants as well.

8)     Herbal Teas – just brew and enjoy – either hot or cold.  Herbal teas should be brewed for at least 5 minutes – better 10 - to get all the benefits from the herbs.  Remember that herbs are medicine, so again be sure or what you’re drinking.  Chamomiles, mints, rooibos’ are all great and very safe options.

Next best option – from your food:  Soups, Juices and liquid-y foods all contain water.

1)     Count soups to the best of your ability – if it’s a straight broth you can count it one for one as water.  If it’s a thick creamy soup – maybe one cup only = ¼ water – you’ll have to make a judgment call here – and be fair with yourself!

2)     Milk is counted about 1 – ½.  So if you drink 1 cup of milk you’ve ingested about ½ cup of water.

3)     Juice is counted about 1 – ¾.  So if you drink a cup of juice, you’ve had about ¾ cup of water.  The added benefit of juices is all the nutrients they contain.  Freshly squeezed is by far the best option with enzymes and vitamins still active and available to you.  Pasteurized juices are great for vitamin C – but that’s about it.

Happy Hydrating Everyone!

In colour therapy the Red colour is linked to your root chakra which governs your physical body and your overall vitality. When your Red root chakra centre is deficient you experience symptoms of fatigue, anemia, weight gain, lower back pain, sciatica, rheumatism, arthritis, poor circulation, body temperature regulation problems (cold hands or feet), frequent colds, low blood pressure or depression.

The root chakra is also our passion center – a perfect chakra to look at on Valentine’s Day!

Red is referred to as a hot colour, which in essence is your life force, fire, or heat activity in your body as well as your body’s movement. Emotionally it is the energy that helps you to live life with passion. Red is your excitement, your driving force and your motivation.

If you’re lacking a zest for life it means you need Red power!

REVITALIZING RED PROGRAM  (Inspired by Colour Energy)

A simple yet powerful physical vitality booster is a 20 minute Red Colour Bath treatment together with several drops of essential oils and 2-3 Tablespoons of Dead Sea Salts or Himalayan Salts (for the gentler pink energy of Universal Love).

Salts help to prepare your body for the absorption of Red’s vibration. The Salts help to release toxins (which cause blockages) and cellulite through the pores of the skin while adding nourishment and softness. They also replenish the body with their high content of essential minerals.

The elements in Whole Salts help to rid your body of toxins so that your internal organs can function at a normal capacity, which in turn creates a vibrant aura. The combination of Dead Sea Salts, Red Colour Bath and a Red therapeutic oil blend facilitates an incredible cellular treatment!

The Red energy stimulates the Root chakra that governs our adrenal glands and our innate survival  instincts – our physical right to exist. A 20-30 minute Red Colour Bath can support adrenal function with the Red’s natural adrenal supporting qualities. Nowadays, with our stressful lifestyle, Red provides the strength to forge ahead so that we can reach our goals.

To experience the Red’s life-giving power during the day, place a few drops of a Red-based Essential Oil Blend on your wrists, pubic or tail bone or on the soles of your feet. The energizing aroma of pure essential oils increases the effectiveness of the revitalizing program.

Further enhance your day with Red clothing, Red glasses, a grounding Red Tiger’s Eye stone in your

pocket or a cup of Red Zinger, Cinnamon or Ginseng tea.

Essential Oils to Enhance the Red Energy in Your Life: 

Any Root or Rhizome Essential Oil will carry the right vibrations for the root (red) chakra. 

You may also consider adrenal supporting or invigorating essential oils.  Avoid adrenal stimulants if you are excessively stressed.  (Pine)

Benzoin, Black Pepper, Cinnamon, Clove Bud, Juniper, Sandalwood, Spikenard, Spruce (black), Vetivert, Ylang Ylang, Colour Energy’s Red Chakra Blend, Colour Energy’s Chi Therapy Blend. 

Essential Oils to Enhance the Pink Universal Love Energy in Your Life:

ROSE!  There are 3 types – but they are all amazing – try them in hydrosol form for a more cost effective way to enjoy rose’s benefits (Rose is too expensive for a bath generally – but if you want to treat yourself – try a milk bath with rose petals or a few drops of essential oil). 

Why Alkaline?  (From Santevia's Website)
1. Stay Healthy
2. Be Stronger
3. Live Longer We all want to Stay Healthy, Be Stronger and Live Longer so how do we do that? 

It’s all about BALANCE!  Our body is slightly alkaline (7.35pH) and we need to keep it that way to stay in homeostasis which is where our body can heal itself. 

So let’s talk about the BIG 3 things we need to do:

1.    Eat Alkaline (GREEN)
2.    Exercise to get rid of Acid
3.    Drink LOTS of healthy Alkaline Water

The Standard American Diet (SAD) is loaded with processed foods, meat and bread which are acidic, so it isn’t a big surprise that many of us end up with acidic bodies which can lead to acidosis and inflammation.  Add to that our sedentary lifestyle and it isn’t a wonder that type II diabetes and childhood obesity are rising threats to our society.  

What can I do?
1.    EAT your GREENS
2.    WALK for 20-30 minutes every day
3.    DRINK 8-10 glasses of clean, mineralized and alkaline water EVERY DAY!

Here’s a list of items tested for in our water: 

Alkalinity, aluminum, arsenic, barium, boron, cadmium, calcium, total organic carbon, chloride, chromium, cobalt, true color, apparent color, conductivity, copper, fluoride, hardness, iron, lead, magnesium, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, ammonia, Nitrate, nitrite, nitrogen, pH, potassium, total dissolved residue, selenium, silver, sodium, sulphate, turbidity, zinc, Total and fecal coliforms (Escherichia coli). 

There are acceptable levels of these toxins that are allowed to remain in our water supply, plus the distance between the water plant and your tap is not tested or monitored.   

Also not tested for - all those other microbes: bacterium, viruses, and parasites????  Plus – who’s testing for all those drugs we’ve been hearing about getting into our water like estrogens and antibiotics?  Yuck!

So that’s why so many people choose to filter their water. 

How can you filter your own water?  There’s a lot of options here!

Store bought:  Well there’s a lot of options but you can really boil it down to tap water or natural spring water that’s been filtered and bottled in a plant, and then transported in plastic to you.  Big carbon foot print!  Plus if those plastic bottles have been heated in any way during transport – that plastic is leaching into your water – cancer alert!!!

At home you have a lot more control over what happens and its impact on yourself, your family and your environment. 

You have the options of the Brita-type System (activated carbon filters), the Santevia - type System (imitates nature’s filtering via layers of rock and sand - http://www.santevia.com/ ), or Kinetic Degradation Fluxion (KDF) with Carbon Block Systems (http://www.aquasmart.com/aboutus.html).  The last two are my favourite options. 

Activated carbon filters do not kill all bacteria, viruses or parasites and they aren’t great at filtering out chlorine.  But – if they are your only option I’d at least start here.  You can boil your water for 10 minutes to kill any microbes that may be in the water after you’ve filtered it – this will also boil off the added chemicals – but it’s a lot of work.  In the long run this is also your most expensive method since you need to replace the filters at least every 2 months (more often than recommended by the manufacturers please!!!), plus it creates a lot of garbage. 

Solid Carbon block filtration is a very effective filtering system, and the most cost effective – you only need to replace the block every 6 – 8 months.  Solid carbon block filters effectively treat age-old contaminants such as lead, TCE, chlorine, benzene and several contaminants found in drinking water supplies today like MTBE, chloramines and PCBs. They also likely will be proven capable of significantly reducing contaminants that may be found in drinking water supplies in the future such as antibiotics and other drugs.

Kinetic Degradation Fluxion process medias are patented high purity copper-zinc formulations which eliminate or reduce contaminants from water by using electrochemical oxidation reduction.  These mediums were designed for removing and reducing chlorine and water-soluble heavy metals, to control scale, bacteria and algae even in hot water.  KDF 55 and KDF 85 process media can remove up to 99% of water-soluble lead, mercury, nickel, chromium, and other dissolved metals. They are ideal for use in granular activated carbon (GAC) beds, ion exchange resins, carbon block filters and in-line filters.  Basically this is an additive used with carbon – based filters to further reduce the contaminants in your water. 

While water ­filtration is important to yield clean, contaminant reduced water – it is merely one element of organically complete water. Unlike many high-tech water fi­lters, Gravity Water Systems clean your water without using chemicals, arti­ficial ­filter media, water pressure, or electricity. These systems use all-natural compounds including earthenware ceramic, coconut carbon charcoal, volcanic Zeolite, and silica sand.

Gravity Water Systems recreate the Earth’s process of purifying, mineralizing, alkalinizing and vitalizing water with out the use of electricity. Each drop of ordinary tap water is gravity dripped, resulting in long-contact exposure to earth-derived elements transforming it into vital and complete pure water.  Because this system naturally alkalizes the water, microbes are not able to survive in the water – so any that do get through are unable to get you sick. 

With all this in mind - I hope that you’ll consider filtering your water for a healthier, happier you!  We have a Santevia Gravity System in our home and we use it to drink, cook, water our plants and feed our pets - we love it!

Keep Hydrated!!!