In order to digest food and kill the kinds of bacteria and viruses that come with the food, the inside of our stomach is acidic. The stomach pH value is maintained at around 4. When we eat food and drink water, especially alkaline water, the pH value inside the stomach goes up. When this happens, there is a feedback mechanism in our stomach to detect this and to command the stomach wall to secrete more hydrochloric acid into the stomach to bring the pH value back to 4. So the stomach becomes acidic again. When we drink more alkaline water, more hydrochloric acid is secreted to maintain the stomach pH value. It seems like a losing battle.

However, when you understand how the stomach wall makes hydrochloric acid, your concerns will disappear. A pathologist friend of mine gave me the following explanation. There is no hydrochloric acid pouch in our body. If there were, it would burn a hole in our body. The cells in our stomach wall must produce it on an instantly-as-needed basis. The ingredients in the stomach cell that make hydrochloric acid (HCl) are carbon dioxide (CO2), water (H2O), and sodium chloride (NaCl) or potassium chloride (KCl). NaCl + H2O + CO2 = HCl + NaHCO3, or
KCl + H2O + CO2 = HCl + KHCO3

As we can see, the byproduct of making hydrochloric acid is sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) or potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3), which goes into blood stream. These bicarbonates are the alkaline buffers that neutralize excess acids in the blood; they dissolve solid acid wastes into liquid form. As they neutralize the solid acidic wastes, extra carbon dioxide is released, which is discharged through the lungs. As our body gets old, these alkaline buffers get low; this phenomenon is called acidosis. This is a natural occurrence as our body accumulates more acidic waste products. There is, therefore, a relationship between the aging process and the accumulation of acids.

By looking at the pH value of the stomach alone, it seems that alkaline water never reaches the body. But when you look at the whole body, there is a net gain of alkalinity as we drink alkaline water. Our body cells are slightly alkaline. In order for them to produce acid, they must also produce alkaline, and vice versa; just as a water ionizer cannot produce alkaline water without producing acid water, since tap water is almost neutral.

When the stomach pH value gets higher than 4, the stomach knows what to do to lower it. However, if the pH value goes below 4, for any reason, the stomach doesn’t know what to do. That’s why we take Alka-Seltzer, which is alkaline, to relieve acidic stomach gas pain. In this case, hydrochloric acid is not produced by the stomach wall, therefore, no alkaline buffer is being added to the blood stream.

Let me give you another example of a body organ that produces acid in order to produce alkaline. After the food in the stomach is digested, it must come out to the small intestine. The food at this point is so acidic that it will damage the intestine wall. In order to avoid this problem, the pancreas makes alkaline juice (known as pancreatic juice). This juice is sodium bicarbonate, and is mixed with the acidic food coming out of the stomach. From the above formulae, in order to produce bicarbonates, the pancreas must make hydrochloric acid, which goes into our blood stream.

We experience sleepiness after a big meal (not during the meal or while the food is being digested in the stomach), when the digested food is coming out of the stomach; that’s the time when hydrochloric acid goes into our blood. Hydrochloric acid is the main ingredient in antihistamines and that is what causes drowsiness.

Alkaline or acid produced by the body must have an equal and opposite acid or alkaline produced by the body; therefore, there is no net gain. However, alkaline supplied from outside the body, like drinking alkaline water, results in a net gain of alkalinity in our body.

Copyright 1997 by Sang Whang Enterprises, Inc.

Information and statements made are for education purposes and are not intended to replace the advice of your family doctor.

Soon to head the research was  agricultural scientist Norman Borlaug, the so called father of the “green revolution”.(1)

His research program soon paid off with effective results.  He used groundbreaking breeding techniques to produce disease-resistant varieties of wheat that produced much more grain than local strains.

By 1951, the disease-resistant wheat strains were widely established and a new wheat/fertilizer package was developed that gave high yields accompanied by newly developed irrigation lands of Mexico.

This initiated a rapid growth in overall wheat yields, which rose from some 770 pounds per acre in 1952 to over 2,900 by 1964 in the newly irrigated areas. (2)

This yield increase appeared to arrive at the right time because during the 1950s and 1960s, public health improvements led to increased population levels in underdeveloped nations, leading to concerns that present agricultural methods could not accommodate growing food demand.

Alerted to this concern, the Rockefeller Foundation, in 1961, created a new research program to study millet in India.  In 1962, it  joined forces with the Ford foundation to found the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines to develop new strains of Asia’s major food crop.

This new breeding project, with large financial backing, gave results even quicker than the Mexican project.  Within three to four years “miracle” rices of differing variety were boosting yields in the Philippines.  Like the Mexican wheat, the new rice varieties had similar stringent requirements for fertilizer and irrigation.(3)

Chemical farming was favored among the farmers and the growers for a quick yield of crops.  The growers found that it was much easier to cultivate crops without taking much trouble of preparing organic manure.

It generated dramatic results and increased grain yields of rice from 1.4 tons per hectare during 1934-58 to 3.6 tons in the early 1960s. (4)

The number of crops increased throughout the year.  The farmers obviously did not spurn the chance of growing more food with the chemical fertilizer and pesticide readily available through local mediums. (5)

Following the successes of the program, the term ‘Green Revolution’ was coined in March 1968 by the director of U.S. Agency for International Development, William Gaud. (6)

Thanks to the ‘Green Revolution’, world food production more than doubled between 1960 and 1990.  In Pakistan and India, two of the nations that benefited most from the new crop varieties, grain yields more than quadrupled over the period.(7)

Thus the ‘Green Revolution’ is usually thought of as the accelerated growth in Third-World grain production which resulted from combining new seeds, mostly wheat and rice, with heavy applications of fertilizer, pesticide and controlled irrigation.(8)

It would appear Borlaug’s work, which expanded agriculture at just the moment when such an increase in production was most needed, was of value.

Indeed, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 in recognition of his contributions to world peace through increasing food supply.  Many experts credit the ‘Green Revolution’ with averting global famine during the second half of the 20th century and saving maybe 1 billion lives.(9)

However, the story has recently taken a twist.

Experts in India, at a recent workshop on climate change and sustainable agriculture, have opined that the ‘Green Revolution’ has done more harm than good to the agriculture sector in the country from a long term perspective.

They suggested the farmers to return to traditional practices in farming in order to make the vocation sustainable in the future. (10)

What harmful effects are of concern?

Many resonate from chemical pesticides which have caused widespread environmental problems such as water pollution, soil degradation, insect resistance and resurgence, destruction of native flora and fauna, and human hazards.

Farmers spraying insecticides in a paddy field at Phul town in Bathinda on Sunday. A Tribune photograph 

Sprayers of pesticide who come into direct contact and inhale toxic compounds are getting poisoned and facing premature deaths.  The growers who are indiscriminately using pesticides in the field are not aware that they are facing risk to their health.(11)

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), pesticides poison 25 million lives every year.  About 20,000 unintentional deaths occur every year due to pesticide poisoning.(12)

Most of these pesticides are prohibited but are smuggled into the “Third World” countries and black-marketed in private capacities.  For example, the USA exported more than 344 million pounds of hazardous pesticides during 1992-94.(13)

More pesticide is needed because insects and micro-organisms that inflict harm to the plant have developed a stronger immunity to the pesticides.  The overuse of pesticides has caused massive destruction of natural enemies of insect pests and resurgence of pest species.

The increase of pesticides and fertilizer usage is also accompanied by an increased risk of contamination to ground water supply.

Ground water is found in spaces between soil particles and rocks, and within cracks of bedrock.  The water table is the name given to the top of a saturated zone.

Major reservoirs of ground water are called ‘aquifers’.  Aquifers are recharged by rain, snowmelt, or interchange with surface waters.  Ground water is not stationary, but moves vertically or horizontally following the slope of the water table.(14)

How does pesticide effect the ground water?

Once pesticides are applied to its target area, many events may occur.  The pesticide may be consumed by plants, evaporated into the atmosphere, carried off by the wind, or ingested by insects, worms and microorganisms.  The pesticide may adhere to soil particles like iron filings to a magnet or be dissolved in irrigation or rain water.(15)

A number of pesticides that contain nitrates have the potential to interfere with normal functions of the body, particularly the endocrine system that regulates physiological functions through hormonal signals.

Nitrates can build up to high concentrations in groundwater, due to wash-off from agricultural use.

High levels of nitrate exposure in drinking water has also been suggested as a cause of cancer, thyroid disease and diabetes.(16)

To read the remainder of the article click here.

Read the news report

THE Bligh Government is set to relax rules on the quality of recycled water produced by its $9 billion water grid, after a report found it contained levels of chemicals (such as TTHM’s like bromodichloromethane) above legislated standards.

The report, by the Queensland Water Commission’s advisory board on recycled water, said tests of samples produced out of the Western Corridor Recycled Water project had detected bromodichloromethane, a byproduct of chlorination that is known to cause liver cancer in animals. The levels were above the standard set out in state public health regulations, which dictate the quality of recycled water deemed fit to drink.

But the board has urged the Government to “revise” the regulations to reflect new research suggesting the chemical did not cause cancer if it was ingested in drinking water.

The recommendation is contained in a February letter to Queensland Water Commission chairwoman Elizabeth Nosworthy.

Here is an extract from a study conducted in Perth WA on Disinfectant By-Products such as bromodichloromethane a TTHM – and the Bligh government wants to revise the law to increase the acceptable levels of these chemicals and chlorination by products!  Australia’s limits are up to 250% higher than other countries!

Copyright This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article’s original DOI.

RESEARCH CHILDREN’S HEALTH  -  Reference site http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2535633

Risk of Birth Defects in Australian Communities with High Levels of Brominated Disinfection By-products

Birth defects … Given the ongoing controversy surrounding Disinfectant By Products (DBP) and adverse pregnancy outcomes, especially regarding associated Birth Defects (DB), a precautionary approach to DBP exposure during pregnancy is somewhat justified. Most industrialized countries have regulated the permitted levels of TTHM in drinking water, and many of these limits are well below the 250 μg/L level currently accepted in Australia (NHMRC 2004): Canada, 80 μg/L (Rodriguez et al. 2004); United States, 80 μg/L (U.S. EPA 2004); and the United Kingdom, 100 μg/L (Keegan et al. 2001). By international standards, a number of Australian water supplies continue to contain elevated DBP levels.

Discussion The results from this record-based prevalence study indicate that women living in high-TTHM areas in Perth at the time of birth of their baby have a 22% greater risk of having a baby with any BD (birth defect).  More specifically, classification in the high-exposure group is associated with an increased risk of 62% for having a baby with a cardiovascular defect. In this analysis, results for musculoskeletal and urogenital defects are suggestive but non-significant, with adjusted ORs of 1.48 (95% CI, 0.99–2.21) and 1.40 (95% CI, 0.98–1.99), respectively.

Read the full study: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2535633 

Can any of us afford to take the risk of not filtering our drinking water? We don’t think so!

 You MUST Filter your water and then rebalance and nourish it. The zazen Essential Water system water test results show how it has reduced the levels of  THM’s in drinking water (through its 10 stage advanced natural filtration process) to levels less than the instruments can test for: <2.0 ug/L.  For a copy of the test results or to discuss what you can do today simply email janet@zazen.com.au or call 1300 78 24 25 and ask Janet to call you.

Read news article – click here.

Whats going on?  We have been asking ourselves the following questions:

1. How would lead leach into schools drinking waters supplies IF it is not in the piping or traditional plumbing materials?
2. If lead is in the school’s water supply – then is it possible or even probable that it is also in the local area water supply as well; if so how is it getting in there?
3. Where does the lead come from that we find in our water tanks?
4. How do we filter lead out of our water for peace of mind?
5. If lead is present – is there the possibility of other heavy metals likley to be present as well which could also threaten our children’s health?

And yes, as the coal is transported and railed across country NSW to Newcastle and as it sits in those massive open pit mines, open train wagons and piled high ready for loading – the coal dust picked up by the wind is deposited on the roofs, porches, grounds and play areas of our schools, houses and businesses.  And for those on tank water or where the water is potentially exposed to “dust and dust run off!” – it is dissolved into the water which ends up in our drinking water supplies! Simple but scary.

And noone is taking any responsibility for this! They are still looking to replace the plumbing in the schools of any lead content!

The biochemist / geologist and his naturopath wife who is also a research scientist were alarmed when they moved to country NSW several years ago and tested their own tank and drinking water.  They found deadly heavy metals were present including lead, cadmium and arsenic!  They are now sending the message to all that will listen that you MUST filter your water and recently tested the zazen Essential Water system and purchased it for their own use (having tested many others).  Click here for the testimonial on the zazen Essential Water system.

Well the good news is, there’s a few simple things you can do to make sure you are keeping your body properly hydrated.

#1 – Calculate your daily water requirement

It is generally agreed among the naturpaths and nutritionists we work with that you should drink 1 litre of water for every 25kgs of body weight.

#2 – Check our your urine throughout the day

When we first get up in the morning and go to the toilet is it normal for your urine to be a dark yellow.  But throughout the day, as you continually hydrate yourself, your urine should almost be colourless, and not have a strong smell as a result.  This means you are well hydrated. 

Simply, the darker your urine throughout the day , the more dehydrated you are physically.

#3 – Check for symptoms of dehydation

This is a fairly basic health check we can do, but most of us are not aware of the basic symptoms of being dehydated.

“By the time dry mouth becomes an indicator of water shortage, many delicate functions of the body have been shut down and prepared for deletion.  A dehydrated body loses sophistication and versatility.”             Dr F Batmanghelidj, Author “Your Body’s Many Cries for Water”

 So what are some of the signs of dehydation?

• You may begin to yawn in an attempt to get more oxygen to the brain
• You may start to crave sweet foods in an attempt to increase blood sugars
• Sleepiness may overtake you as your brain struggles to satisfy its own oxygen demands
• The Pituitary Gland releases a hormone called Anti Diuretic Hormone (ADH).  The ADH causes the body to store fluid, a reflex action to create a fluid reservoir in case the water shortage becomes even more critical.  If water intake is low and there is none in the bowel, the contents of the bowel become very dry and compacted, resulting in constipation.

So the simple thing to do is calculate your daily water intake, and ensure you drink that amount each day.  Remember though, not all water is the same, and for that reason, we recommend you drink an Alkaline Mineralised Water for optimum health and wellbeing.

• Increasing fatigue
• Reducing memory
• Making concentration difficult
• Increasing behaviours that mimic ADD/ADHD

The biggest trigger of daytime fatigue is lack of water.  
 
A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger:
 
   > fuzzy short-term memory loss
   > trouble with basic maths
   > difficulty focusing
   > fatigue and yawning
   > erratic and moody behaviour
   > constipation
   > aches and pains unrelated to an injury or infection
   > craving sugar, sweets and caffeine

The adolescent brain functions much better if at least 1 to 1.5 litres of quality water is consumed during the average 6.5 hours the student is in school. 

When children are given milk, fruit juice and softdrink to the exclusion of water, it only compounds the dehydration problem. At the same time, a cultivated preference for the taste of these drinks will automatically reduce a child’s free urge to drink water. 
 
This effect will compound later on in adult life where eventually the signals of thirst get turned off and the dehydration state continues unabated.  Studies show that up to 92% of Australians are dehydrated.

We need to impact the need for healthy choices at an early age… Let’s encourage the next generation to become the ‘wellness’ generation!

Start NOW in the classroom!

Create enhanced learning environments that empower our children to be at their best.  WHY?

• Water is involved in every Biological Function of the Body
• Water is a nutrient – ultimately more important than any other nutrient! 
• Without water, even the best vitamins and minerals cannot be absorbed or made available for cellular processes and proper bodily function.
• Better hydration will increase:
     - Physical vitality and stamina 
     - Enhance mental clarity and acuity
     – Increase their ability to get on with other people
     – Increase optimism and vision
     – Give increased resistance to colds, flu, sinusitis, bronchitis and allergies 
     - Aid in the recovery from illness, injury, and exertion

Want to read about a School Program in Australia that is focused on having every child drinking the best possible water in school, at no cost to the school?  Click here.

As the water falls to earth it either moves into the soil or runs into rivers and the ocean.  Surface water in lakes, streams and oceans evaporates, returning moisture to the atmosphere.  Plants also return water to the atmosphere by taking water from the ground through their roots and releasing it from their leaves in a process known as transpiration.

Our drinking water comes mainly from two sources: surface water (rainfall and its runoff into streams and rivers) and groundwater (water that has collected in underground stores or aquifers).

Surface water can come from a river, lake or artificial dam. Groundwater is accessed through a bore. Across Australia, water suppliers access this water, treat it and distribute it to consumers.  The quality of our drinking water should be of very real concern to all of us and it is generally recommended that all tap water should be at the very least filtered. 

However, to receive the essential health benefits that water should provide, these days we need to treat the water ourselves in our homes before we drink it.   We live in a very very different biochemical environment than we did 30, 40, 50 years ago.

Alkaline Mineral water, which cleanses, hydrates, nourishes and energises us, is filtered, rebalanced, remineralised and restructured.

Water carries digestive enzymes around your digestive system, so that your food can be broken up into all the bits your body needs.

All the stuff the body doesn’t need has to get out of the body somehow.

• Some of it goes from the blood to the kidneys, which make urine - which is mostly water. 
• Some stays in your gut and comes out as faeces - which is also mostly water! 
• Some comes out in the air you breathe (if you breathe onto a really cold mirror you will see little drops of water on the glass – this is water from your breath).
• Water comes out through the tiny holes in your skin called pores.  This water we call perspiration or sweat and it helps to cool our bodies.
• Saliva, or spit as we usually call it, is mostly water. When our mouth feels dry we know we really need more water URGENTLY!
• Mucus is also mostly water. That’s the stuff that you see too much of when you’ve got a runny nose!  But mucus is very important, as it keeps eyes, ears, noses, throats and all your inside bits smooth and slippery so that everything can run around all your body systems without getting stuck!

Water is in the fluids that keep your joints moving smoothly [like knees and elbows] so that your bones don’t creak and groan like a rusty swing.
 
You also use water to keep your body temperature even, at about 37ºC.

Now that you can see how important water is, you can understand why your body needs so much of it.  Make sure you drink an alkaline mineral water so that your body receives all the nutritional benefits it needs!

• Your child loses up to 12 cups of water every day through normal bodily functions?
• That your child’s body does not have a reserve of water?  The water present in their body is already fully engaged?
• That the brain is three-quarters water.  Concentration, memory and reaction times benefit from proper hydration.
• That blood is 90% water and without adequate water intake the volume of our blood can fall. A drop of four percent in blood volume reduces your child’s body’s ability to function by 33 percent!

With so much of your children’s lives depending on it, a good source of alkaline mineral water is also good for your peace of mind.

A quality alkaline mineral water should provide the following benefits to your child, and to the family:

• it should clean your tap water of heavy metals, chlorine, rust, bacteria and other particulates that are mostly too microscopic for us to see
• it should have mineral rocks that the water sits in after being filtered, which put beneficial minerals back into the water, such as calcium, potassium, magnesium.  We know we need minerals as part of a healthy diet, but did you know that minerals in drinking water are more easily and better absorbed than minerals from food?
• it should have silver stones to ensure that the water sitting in the bottom tank ready for drinking is kept in a pristine state.  Silver is a natural anti-bacterial agent and anti-fungal agent, so the water remains healthy for drinking.  If you consider all the bottled waters sitting on shelves for long periods of time between when they were bottled and when they are consumed, with no silver continuing to keep the water in a pristine state, its no wonder many of them are found to contain bacteria.
• the water should pour through a magnetic tap which effectively reduces the size of the water molecule, meaning the water hydrates the body better.  You will notice drinking alkaline mineral water that you do not feel bloated in the gut, even after consuming a couple of glasses at a time.  The normal bloating feeling you might experience with tap water is because much of the water is too large to pass into our cells to hydrate.
• the mineral rocks also assist to restore often acidic tap water to an alkaline state which is much better for the body.  Disease cannot exist in the body in an alkaline state.  Disease is all acidic, and we often feed it with drugs that are acidic.

What water are you and your family drinking?  Is it alkaline mineral water?

What can you do?  Visit www.zazen.com.au for more information.
 
However there is a way to make sure that the water that comes out of your tap is converted to the required levels of quality and safety to restore the natural balance of fluids in your child’s body!