Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Bottle Water Source

Where does that bottled water come from?

It is estimated that about 25 percent of the bottled waters consumed in the U.S. come from municipal water supplies or more to the point – tap water. Most goes through significant processing such as reverse osmosis, deionization, activated carbon filtration and other treatments.

Read the label carefully. If it is packaged as "purified", ”mineral” or "drinking water," chances are it came from a municipal water supply, and unless the water has been “substantially” altered, it must state on the label that the water comes from a municipal source.

Often images on the label show mountains, snow or other bodies of water. For example, the label design on Aquafina (from Pepsi) gives me the feeling of mountains and snow; implying that Aquafina may be from a mountain spring, rather than bottled at Pepsi plants using processed municipal water. Coke’s Dasani, also one of the leading bottled water brands is processed municipal water with added minerals. Many gallon jug waters are also from municipal sources.

How big is this industry? It is estimated base on ACNielsen, just in the US alone; they spent about $9 billion on bottled water. Up to this point, there haven't been a lot of bargains in the bottled water business, but now Nestle reportedly is considering an eight percent price cut on its bottled water products, whether from France or from Maine. And analysts believe that companies like Coke and Pepsi are likely to follow closely behind.

With this statistic it would best if the question of how much do you spend on bottle water per day, week or month? On average we should consume 1 to 2 liters of water per day that 1 to 2 bottle of water. A simple calculation will concluded that on average it is best to invest on some kind of water filtration or water making machine.

Here a list of type of bottle water we can get from our average supermarket.

Artesian water/artesian well water


Purified water



Mineral water


Spring water


Sparkling water


Carbonated water


Flavored waters


Waters with healthful additives


Distilled water


Filtered water


Tap water

Friday, December 08, 2006

Therapy with Water

I will dicuss two therapy method with water.

Enema.

What is enema?

An enema (plural enemata or enemas) is the procedure of introducing liquids into the rectum and colon via the anus. Enemas can be carried out for medical reasons (as a treatment for constipation), as part of alternative therapies, and also for erotic purposes, particularly as part of BDSM activities. In earlier times, they were often known as clysters. Enemas have even been used to administer beverage alcohol to alcoholics who have developed stomach ulcers. From wikipedia.

Here we will look at it as a therapy or treatment as to erotic. Normal practice is to use soapy water administrated through the rectum, this however practice any more in proper therapy centre. The replacement for soppy water therapy is 'Herbal Enema", not sure if it is any reassuring that soppy water up the rectum!! Herbal Enema is a combination of castor oil, juice from wheat leave and lemon mix in warm water. This suppose the clean the intestine make it strong. During this procedure the reaction between the intestine and the Herbal enema has no side effect and safe.

This how ever is not for everyone, those that has the following should avoid Herbal Enema therapy.

1. Suffering from high fever.

2. Hole or ulcer in the intestine or stomach

3. Blockage of the intestine.

Bathing

How can taking a bath a therapy. A bath is to shower and get clean.!! Well we are talking about steam bath not your regular to the shower bath. The temperature in the steam bath will help open the pores in the skin and allow the cleaning of the skin making it glow or shine.

This therapy is believe to easy

1. Piles

2. Sciatica

3. Irregular periods

4. Along the waist pain

This therapy is gaining popularity in the big city as the hectic way of life would need such therapy. Some centre have incorporated some sort of exercise in the Steam-bath therapy. What type of exercise? Not heavy workout but stretching, just to get the limbs moving while the body is heated up from the steam. The therapy also involve getting first in cold water then hot, this is repeated at least twice or if needed repeatedly.

Another bath therapy is call 'Friction Rub Bath'. An Ancient Indian Granths have advice to massage or rub the head, neck, hands and feet after a bath, with the help of a dry towel. Acupressure points are strewn all over our bodies and as and when these points are pressurized, the bodies develop strength to combat various diseases, internally. During a 'Friction Rub Bath', you press and rub against these special acupressure points and increase your body's immunity power. If you normally finish your simple bathing ritual in 10 minutes, 'Friction Rub Bath' wouldn't take you more than 15 minutes!

What does this therapy help to the body is;

1. High blood-pressure or weak heart

2. Headache, burning sensation in the feet and hands

3. Pins and needles

4. Fatigue or body ache

5. Indigestion

6. Insomnia

Well if rubbing your body with a dry towel is not your gig as taking a bath, you can try while in your normal shower apply pressure and rub your head, neck from left to right, behind the ear.

So this is not your normal step in to your shower and waste water. Best to try out the above when you are in your bath.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

RO Water

Here is an extract from wilipedia on RO (Reverse Osmosis).

Reverse osmosis (RO) is the process of pushing a solution through a filter that traps the solute on one side and allows the pure solvent to be obtained from the other side. More formally, it is the process of forcing a solvent from a region of high solute concentration through a membrane to a region of low solute concentration by applying a pressure in excess of the osmotic pressure. This is the reverse of the normal osmosis process, which is the natural movement of solvent from an area of low solute concentration, through a membrane, to an area of high solute concentration when no external pressure is applied. The membrane here is semi permeable, meaning it allows the passage of solvent but not of solute.
The membranes used for reverse osmosis have no pores; rather, the separation takes place in a dense polymer layer of only microscopic thickness. In most cases the membrane is designed to allow only water to pass through. The water goes into solution in the polymer of which the membrane is manufactured, and crosses it by diffusion. This process requires that a high pressure be exerted on the high concentration side of the membrane, usually 2 - 14 bar (30 - 200 pounds per square inch) for fresh and brackish water, and 40 - 70 bar [(600 - 1000 psig)] for seawater, which has around 24 Bar (350 psi) natural osmotic pressure which must be overcome.
This process is best known for its use in desalination (removing the salt from sea water to get fresh water) and has been used in this way since the early 1970s. Its first demonstration was done by Sidney Loeb and Srinivasa Sourirajan from UCLA in the California town of Coalinga.



Confuse still !!??

Now let’s see if I can make it easier.

It is like normal filtering of water that we are so used to. The difference here is that it uses pressure to push water through a membrane (filter) so that particle or other molecules beside hydrogen and oxygen (h2O) the atoms that make-up water only goes through. That’s it.

The main component of a RO machine is a pump that provides the pressure and membrane to reverse filter the source water. There are so many commercial type and even mini house hold RO machine.

From my experience when I was working on a Resort in Sipadan we have a commercial type RO machine that can produce 1,200 gallon or about 4,542 liters per day or 24 hours operation. This is making fresh water from seawater. And we had a same capacity unit on a yacht. There are even much bigger commercials capacity RO water maker in the market.

As mention that all you need to make RO water is to force water using pressure through the membrane to produce RO water. Before this if you want to per long your expensive membrane you will need to pre-filter the source water with additional filters of minimun 5 micron. But if you can afford better per filter that is even better.

As mention I had a RO machine on a yacht, sadly the water source was very very bad with lots of sediment that we had to clean our pre-filters once every 2 days. It was different in Sipadan, the water source were from a well dug on the Island. The source water is pre-filtered naturally before it was feed to the membrane.

Here we are looking at household RO system. The water of course is now fresh water that came from the tap. Is the tap water clean? NO. That is why it is recommended that it be at least boiled. So here we feed tap water to our pre-filter and then to the RO machine.

But is RO water ‘really’ good for us? Yes, as it is ‘Pure Water’ with no other element in it. Hey don’t we need all the element (mineral) for a health body or the balance our body and blood ph. YES, but RO guru says that we can get all this mineral from other food source like vegetable. (Another good topic to talk about what we consume).

Some RO manufacturers even claim that their water is hospital standard. Yes but we are not in the hospital yeah? No argument that RO water is good. Still there are many other source making clean water.

Personally to produce RO water is still expensive for home use and not many households can afford a RO machine.

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Monday, December 04, 2006

To Health with Water

Water to Better Health

Before I get into the detail of how to get the best water please read the following article.

‘Drink Your Water! Drink for Weight Loss’

By: Kathryn Lively

Eight glasses a day...no doubt you've heard it from everybody - your parents, your doctor, talk show professionals. The road to wellness is actually a river of pure, clean water, and while to drink sixty-four ounces daily seems like an impossible task, it is actually one of the simplest steps you can take to starting a sound weight loss program. After all, our bodies are approximately sixty percent water, so it is only natural that we constantly replenish ourselves in order to feel good.

Water has no fat - as opposed to thick milkshakes

Water has no calories - as opposed to iced tea

Water has no sugar - as opposed to soft drinks

Water has no caffeine - as opposed to coffee


Think about how many times a day you eat or have a snack. How often do you have a drink to accompany your meals? How often do you default to the combo meal that comes with a soft drink? Sure, you can order a diet drink and not contend with calories or fat, but consider the sugars (or sugar substitutes) and other ingredients that may countereffect your dieting program. By replacing each drink with a glass of water, not only are you closer to your daily allowance but you greatly increase the chances of a healthier you!


Water energizes - As you engage in a strenuous workout, you need fluids to replace what you lose. Many may suggest sports drinks with electrolytes, but these same drinks may have sugar, which may countereffect your exercise. Drinking water as you exercise can keep you energized to complete your workout.


Water refreshes - On a hot day, nothing cools down the body like a glass of ice water. Of course, it doesn't have to be a hundred degrees for water consumption to be necessary. Drink a glass or two between meals for a continued good feeling.


Water cleanses - Did you know that the more water you drink, the better for your kidneys? Yes, you might imagine that drinking water you need to urinate more, but this is actually a good thing. Water breaks down calcium that can form into kidney stones, so the more you drink the less chance you will have of getting them.
You may notice, too, that your urine becomes a lighter color when you drink more water in a day. This is a good sign, it means you are keeping your kidneys healthy. Ideally, you want to be sure your urine is as clear as possible.


So have a drink for your good health!


Article Source: http://articlejoint.com Kathryn Lively writes for Compuslim, custom fit weight loss for everyone.

Nice and concise and it do make you wonder,

1. Am I drinking enough water?
2. Is the ‘WATER’ I drink, water?
3. How does drinking water helps me health wise?
4. Is that crave for that carbonated drink or super sweet drink good for me?

Well first we have to look at our habit, is the water we drink is of any health benefit to us or just to satisfy our thirst, show off to our mates to prove a point or just plain lazy that anything sweet will do kind of attitude. To make things worse we love all the not healthy drinks.

If we look back in time there were no carbonated drinks, no energy drink made from laboratory, no filtered water, and no water that was man made. All water source were from springs, well, streams, rivers and rain. So why did we made the changes that carbonated drinks replaced the pure drinking water?

Well the answer is, it is us with the ‘modern life style’ and the good life that has came unto us the pass 50 years.
So here we are trying to correct the way we should we drinking water. Well to be fair to us now we can’t walk out from our house and expect a nice stream with pure natural water flowing at our doorsteps. This almost impossible in our modern time!! We get piped water instead, with a twist of the tap we have natural spring water flowing out!!!! But wait this not the case. Can we drink straight from the tap? Yes you can and our water authority says that it is safe but no if you want pure water.

As we all are aware that the water that comes out from the tap has gone through mile and miles of pipe line god know what is in the pipe line and how many cracks and leaks that allow contamination to enter the pipe has the water gone through.
Ok, how are we then suppose to get this clean pure water if we are not say within sight of a natural water source? Here are some options, you can invest on a kettle and boil the water, distill the water, buy bottle mineral water or move to a mineral water source, filter the water using ready and off the shelf filters, invest on a reverse osmosis machine, use electrode probes for electrolyzing the water, buy tons of active charcoal and zap the water with UV (ultraviolet rays) and lastly buy a Diamond ‘Energy’ Water System.

Well there are lots to choose from, let go to detail as what can each of the above have to offer:

Boil the tap water.

1. Boiling kills germs.
2. It DOES NOT remove organic contaminants thoroughly.
3. It DOES NOT remove hazardous heavy metals.
4. Dangerous chlorine by-products as well as the unpleasant taste and smell of chlorine remain.
5. Water molecule clusters are large and not easily absorbed.

Distilled Water

1. Pure and safe.
2. Does not contain essential minerals required by the body.
3. Bland taste.
4. Water molecule clusters are large and not easily absorbed.

Mineral Water

1. Inconsistent quality: Water quality depends on the condition of the sources.
2. If the source is contaminates, so is the water.
3. Water molecule clusters are large and not easily absorbed.

Conventional Water Filters (Such as: ceramic filters, activated carbon filters or cellulose filters)

1. Single filtration mediums, removes ordinary contaminants.
2. Low in price.
3. Not effective in removing germs, organic and inorganic contaminants; boiling is still required.
4. Unable to break water molecule clusters into smaller clusters for easy absorption.

Reverse Osmosis Treatment (RO Water)

1. Water is filtered through a semi-permeable membrane, removing contaminants and foreign matter.
2. Pure and safe.
3. Removes essential minerals in the water.
4. Low in efficiency: Water wastage is as high as 75%. Also requires 24-hours electricity usage.
5. Because of slow production time, this process requires the use of a tank for storage. The cleanliness of the tank therefore becomes a risk factor.
6. Unable to break water molecule clusters into smaller clusters for easy absorption.

Electrolytic Ionize Water

1. Uses electrolysis to separate acidic and alkaline water.
2. Although alkaline water balances acid in the body, it should be at similar to bodily fluids.
3. High alkalinity is harmful to the body, and is particularly hazardous to infants.
4. Low in efficiency: Water wastage is 50% because of acid-alkaline split. Also requires 24-hour electricity usage.
5. Breaks down water molecule clusters to a smaller size, but is unable to maintain this for a prolonged period of time.

Activated Carbon filters with UV Light.

1. Filters organic and inorganic contaminants with activated carbon; disinfects bacteria through ultraviolet energy.
2. Water is pure and safe.
3. Activated carbon and UV light must be replaced regularly.
4. UV light needs to be constantly maintained to ensure effectiveness.
5. Unable to break water molecule clusters into smaller clusters for easy absorption.

Diamond Energy Water

1. Multi-filter processing technique, with filtration efficiency outperforming other health water system.
2. Better efficiency in contaminants removal.
3. Absolutely safe and pleasant-tasting water for direct consumption.
4. Filters are far more reliable and dependable.
5. Superior energy conversion and stabilization technologies.
6. Smallest molecule clusters currently unmatched by any other brand.

So it is your call for the best source of water as there are a few as mention above for your ‘Water to Better Health’.







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