A recent bike ride in the Santa Monica mountains inspires me to kick off these early blog pages with some very basic, but critical, advice. Am I talking about exercise? Well, I would never give up my rides, but Iʼm talking about something different- water. As I pedaled through the parking lot and under the oak trees toward my climb up the trails, I realized I was thirsty. Municipal drinking water fountains donʼt normally inspire me, but perhaps it was the 300+ year old oaks hovering above it. The cool liquid wetting my mouth, I was ready to get back on the bike. On the way up, I began to realize that while our drinking water system is not perfect, we have a lot to be thankful for.
Aside from the century old drama and politics of the Los Angeles Aqueduct Project, which supplies water to our city from the Eastern Sierra Nevada, it is truly amazing that millions of people can turn on their faucets, or wander into a State Park, and indulge in a sip of water. Yes, it may have fluoride (more on that some other time), and more chorine than is desirable (more on that too sometime), but it wonʼt give you a parasite, and you can water your kitchen basil plant without having to worry about transmitting bacteria onto the leaves. Small consolation maybe, but more than we can say for most people around the world, who, when they even have access to sufficient amounts of water, it is often severely polluted.
Nothing in the human body will work well without adequate amounts of hydration. So before making any other New Yearʼs resolutions, remind yourself to start each day with a big glass of water or tea. During my ten years of working in an urgent care clinic in East Los Angeles, there were many times when an elderly patient would come in feeling dizzy, weak, or just out of sorts in one way or another. Nine times out of ten I would leave the room, come back with a big glass of water, and have them drink it. This feat never failed to provide the feedback- “What an amazing doctor you are!” The best thing is that you donʼt even need a prescription for it. Stay tuned for further blogs on how we can further improve the water we drink and bathe in, by looking at some common sense and economical products to filter and purify the already adequate water arriving at our faucets.
In the meantime, please contact the office for information on any of the following products that can help enhance the quality of your drinking water:
Supreme Fulvic and Humic Complex- over 72 trace minerals
Aquasana Personal Water Filter
