Water: The Liquid Path to Health

By Ken Walker-

I have co-authored or edited six health-oriented books the past three years, including Jumpstart!, which Siloam Press released this week. This process has proved quite educational.

Still, it took a good part of those three years before a message emphasized by most of the authors I have worked with sank in: Drink at least two quarters of water a day. Not just any water, but purified liquid.

“Those who drink tap water clog their system with phosphorus, chlorine, heavy metals and toxins, to name a few,” Herzog says. “You need fresh water, or least a filter at home.”

We had taken that message to heart prior to my work on Jumpstart!, purchasing a home filter in mid-2012. I didn’t really notice much difference until I drank a glass of unfiltered water when I was in a hurry and didn’t have time to run any through the Brita pitcher. Boy, did it taste bad!

Excuses, Excuses

It isn’t just doctors and health experts who emphasize the benefits of water. Our youngest daughter insisted I should be drinking at least 64 ounces of water daily, and preferably more. Nor did the four cups of green tea I drink daily count, she said, it had to be just water.

Since she earned her certification last year as a nutritionist, she seemed to know what she was talking about. Yet, I still didn’t pay attention.

I replied that I couldn’t keep track of how many glasses of water I had had. Like the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, I reasoned it was too difficult to put one more thing on my “to do” list. Well, let’s call that what it really was: an excuse.

Repetition Sinks In

When it comes to good health, sometimes it takes numerous repetitions of the same idea before it sinks in. That may be one reason I still battle to keep my weight in line nearly six years after going through a healthy lifestyle program—I can be a bit thick-headed.

In the case of drinking water, even after working on Herzog’s book and our daughter’s lecture, I treated the message as optional.

However, not long after finishing my editing tasks, I picked up a copy of Bod4God by Steve Reynolds. A Washington, D.C., area pastor, his 100-plus-pound weight loss sparked one of the numerous healthy-living grassroots movements that have sprung up in recent years.

I was already aware of Reynolds since the same publisher released his book a year before Winning the Food Fight, which I co-authored with Steve Willis. In addition, at a 5-K last spring, I encountered a “Losing to Live” runners group, named for the program that originated at Reynolds’ church.

Easily Tracked

Reynolds introduces the necessity of water in the second chapter where he asks readers to outline their nutrition plan. The first question he asks is how much water you are drinking with the note, “Most people should drink at least eight glasses, eight ounces each, of water per day.”

Then in the next chapter, he again emphasizes the necessity of water, concluding: “The body is 61.8 percent water. The brain is 70 percent water. We have to have water to survive.”

By the third chapter, where he again reviews the need for water and offers a formula for how much to drink, a light bulb went off in my head.

“Maybe I ought to listen,” I thought.

The next day I started by drinking a 16-ounce mug of water after every cup of green tea. I set out four bags of tea every morning and when they’re gone, I know I’ve had four cups. So by tracking my water intake with a mug after every cup, my rationalization for not drinking enough water quickly vanished.

Water’s Benefits

The benefits of water are many. I especially like how it and my green tea regimen help keep me “cleaned” out. So, if you’re in one of those “new year’s resolution” modes to get healthier, you may want to consider the benefits of drinking more water.