Dr. Al Danenberg ● Nutritional Periodontist
June 27, 2021
You’re seeing my kitchen table in the photo above. It’s now home to 6, 5-gallon glass water bottles from Mountain Valley Spring Water. They are delivered to my house every 4 weeks.
The bottle in use has an automatic water pump that I transfer from bottle to bottle as each one is emptied. The pump makes it easy to add water to a cup, tumbler, pitcher, or any receptacle.
Mountain Valley Spring Water comes from the Ouachita Mountains in Arkansas and Oklahoma. It was discovered in 1871.
The water that flows today first came from rain falling over 3,500 years ago. It filtered through the Earth into deep, granite-based aquifers that are nearly one-mile deep. During the journey from rain to aquifer to collection tanks, many trace elements from the surrounding rocks became dissolved in this pristine water.
The water flows into tanks from which it is transferred into glass bottles for direct delivery to consumers.
Water Required for Life
Our genetic blueprint requires us to eat nutritious food, breathe unpolluted air, and drink quality water to survive and thrive. Although diet and air get attention in health and wellness journals, the water we drink and its effects on our gut rarely get researched or reported in scientific papers. While water is critical for life, all water is not the same.
Most of the water our primal ancestors drank was natural spring water. It was their major source of trace minerals, which are involved in the function of various biological pathways.
As rain pours down on the Earth, much is filtered and purified as it seeps through the ground picking up various trace minerals. Eventually, this water can be tapped or will empty into lakes and streams to be available for us to drink.
The sun’s rays can bathe the water imparting various properties that are difficult to define. Sunlight changes the actual structure of water to create liquid crystal properties, which have been researched by Dr. Gerald Pollack and his team from the University of Washington.
Our Primal Ancestors
Our primal ancestors were able to get their necessary minerals not only from the natural spring waters but also from the food they ate. Dr. Miki Ben-Dor clearly showed in his 2021 peer-reviewed paper that our primal ancestors primarily ate an animal-diet from nose-to-tail. They supplemented their diets with some plants and tubers, but most of their nutrition came from muscle meat, bones, animal fat, organs, and all the cartilage associated with these foods. Biologically available minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients were abundant in the foods our primal ancestors ate and the natural spring waters they drank.
Trace Minerals, The Gut, and Hydration
Natural spring water with its numerous dissolved trace minerals improves gut health and hydrates our individual cells.
In the May 2021 issue of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, a medical research paper was published that showed that natural spring water improves the health of the gut. The authors state that their research was the first of its kind.
But this was not the first published, peer-reviewed paper describing the benefits of the minerals in natural spring water on the garden of bacteria in the gut. HERE, HERE, HERE.
These investigative articles demonstrate that minerals in water improve beneficial bacteria in the gut and increase alpha diversity. Alpha diversity may be one of the most important biomarkers of the gut microbiome.
Alpha diversity can be measured via a specific stool test. CosmosID performs whole genome sequencing to report an accurate Alpha Diversity from the stool test marketed by Microbiome Labs. The test is called, BiomeFX.
The gut microbiome contains about 38 trillion microbes. Our body only has about 30 trillion human cells. We are more “microbial” than “human”! Many studies have been published describing the variety of species in the gut. These medical papers clearly demonstrate that the greater the diversity and numbers of specific microbes, the healthier the immune system. A measurement including (1) the diversity of various microbial species in the gut and (2) the number of each of these species is called “Alpha Diversity”. It is generally reported as a percentile compared to the microbial ecosystem in a population of metabolically healthy individuals.
A high alpha diversity also assists the conversion of inactive Vitamin D to active Vitamin D in the body.
Here is my Alpha Diversity from my BiomeFX stool sample in 2020:
Hydration is the process of causing your cells to absorb water. And electrolytes in the water improve hydration. Electrolytes also are essential for numerous bodily functions including the regulation of nerve and muscle function, balancing the blood acidity and pressure, and the repair of damaged tissues.
Sodium, potassium, calcium, bicarbonate, magnesium, chloride, and phosphate are some of the main electrolytes that your body needs. However, there are many more trace elements that contribute to optimal hydration.
Drinking natural spring water rather than drinking tap water or highly filtered water will enhance hydration. Hydration is particularly important for maintaining a healthy mucus layer in the gut. As a matter of fact, hydration is significantly improved when your water is enhanced with trace minerals from prehistoric oceans. I wrote about hydration and my personal experience drinking SOLE HERE.
“SOLE” (pronounced So-Lay) is a supersaturated solution of Himalayan salt dissolved in pure spring water.
Himalayan salt crystals are mined from the remote reaches of the Himalayan Mountains. The crystals were created 250 million years ago from ancient oceans and then trapped after tectonic plate movement and subsequent evaporation. These crystals have been assayed and found to contain 84 trace minerals that are biologically active. This is a natural way to nourish and hydrate your cells daily. Published anecdotal comments suggest that SOLE in spring water provides a balance of electrolytes and energetic vibration in the water that enhances hydration and body energy.
A blood test called “BUN” (Blood Urea Nitrogen) can be a biomarker suggesting how well you are hydrated. When the BUN is high, it suggests your cells are not getting hydrated effectively.
After I was diagnosed with cancer in 2018, my BUN was generally above the high end of normal. My oncologist thought I was not drinking enough water. However, I was drinking plenty of water, but it was just filtered water with no electrolytes. When I began drinking 1 teaspoon of SOLE added to 8 ounces of pure spring water each morning on an empty stomach, my BUN levels immediately normalized. My oncologist was surprised with my abrupt improvement. And this was an important education for me.
You can find more information about SOLE and its science on the Original Himalayan Crystal Salt Website.
For those of you who are interested, here is a way to make SOLE. (If you want, you could use the Original Himalayan Crystal Salt SOLE Jar.)
- Add Himalayan crystal salt stones halfway up a large mouth glass jar.
- Fill the jar with pure spring water that has not been processed in any way.
- Cover the jar with cheesecloth to protect the liquid in the jar and secure the cheesecloth with a rubber band. You also could use a cork lid. You do not want to cover the jar with any metal or plastic.
- Allow 24 hours for the water to become supersaturated with trace minerals. (The supersaturated solution is called “SOLE”.)
- Add 1 tsp of SOLE to 8-12 oz of pure spring water every morning and drink it on an empty stomach. If you prefer a flavor in the water, squeeze a little fresh lime or lemon into the glass of water.
- Wait 30-60 minutes before eating or drinking anything else.
- Refill the jar with pure spring water as the SOLE is consumed.
- Add additional Original Himalayan Crystal Salt Stones as they dissolve.
Change in My Life
My Unconventional Cancer Protocols have allowed my body to recreate a robust immune system. Natural spring water with trace minerals has become an important component in my Protocols.
It’s surprising yet fascinating to me that I only learned about the significance of this quality drinking water along with SOLE about a year ago. I realize that I certainly am not too old to learn new information and put it to good use.
My success with my cancer journey is related to incorporating out-of-the-box thinking along with effective “cutting-edge” oncology. My recommendations to all who are interested are:
- Do your research
- Ask questions
- Put nutritious food and mineral-rich natural water into your body
- Avoid all toxic elements that can hamper biological functions in your body
Check out my training on the Better Belly Blueprint! You can watch it HERE.
What an interesting blog on water and Himalayan pink salt! I emphasize the importance of quality mineral drinking water. Thank you so much Al, my water delivery guy has given me a bottle of that Mountain Valley Spring water and I can’t wait to try it!
Have you read the book your body’s many cries for water by Dr. F. Batmanghelidj. Very interesting and helpful he has a very interesting back story. He uses sea salt which is also high in minerals. I’ve been using his protocol and what a difference it has made. Well worth the read. I’ve only vaguely heard of the Himalayan salt protocol. I will be looking into it in more detail. Thank you so much for all the info you share it all contributes to a higher quality of life.