The Mysteries of Water

By John Ortiz, edited by Jonathan Atleson

Mar 13, 2025

Let’s talk about water. Water is one of the most important aspects of life on earth. If I had to assess one thing as the key molecule of life, it would be water. As we all know, H₂O consists of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen.

I became more aware of water when I was involved in athletics, where proper hydration was a major factor. It was essential to drink enough water to stay hydrated.

topless man drinking water from plastic container — Photo by henri meilhac on Unsplash

Later, I became aware of the various types of water when a friend introduced me to drinking distilled water as a health remedy. So I bought a distiller and got to work, finding that it helped me with certain physical issues I was experiencing. So convinced was I in this great water transformation, that I began selling distillers to my clients.

However, over time, I learned about the downsides. Prolonged use of distilled water can lead to a depletion of minerals in the body. I now think distilled water is a very good detox tool, but it’s not ideal for long-term consumption in the search for optimal health.

Through my journey with water, I came across the work of Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, a British-trained Iranian physician. He wrote the book, Water: For Health, for Healing, for Life: You're Not Sick, You're Thirsty! After the revolution, Dr. “Batman” spent several years as a political prisoner. In prison, when no other medicines were available, he investigated the healing properties of water.

Dr. Batmanghelidj claimed that proper hydration could heal many diseases—if consumed with the right intent. This concept was further expanded by Dr. Masaru Emoto, who researched water’s energetic properties in The Hidden Messages in Water. Emoto’s experiments suggested that water could reflect the energy applied to it, whether positive (love, gratitude) or negative (anger, curses). By flash-freezing water and photographing its crystalline structures, he claimed to see changes based on these energies.

One criticism of Emoto’s work was its lack of reproducibility in other laboratories. This discrepancy might stem from the energy of belief—Emoto’s belief influenced his results, while skeptics’ disbelief influenced theirs.

But returning to the water we drink daily, very few people drink tap water, unless compelled to by economic circumstances. Bottled water has become a billion-dollar industry as we search for the best water for health, taste, and enjoyment. Along these lines, I purchased a Berkey carbon filter with a fluoride attachment to minimize exposure to chlorine and fluoride and to ensure purer water. The Berkey filter was originally designed for disaster zones where potable water was scarce—it could purify muddy water into drinkable water.

For everyday use and cooking/boiling, Jonathan uses a countertop or undercounter triple filter solution from PureEffects that includes fluoride filtration.

For everyday drinking he has Mountain Valley water delivered in 5-gallon glass jugs. Mountain Valley tastes great, stays fresh in a bottle for many days, and is loaded with minerals. The minerals form deposits on tea kettles and water bottles, so it’s easier to use the PureEffects filtered water in some cases.

Anyhoo…back to me. Along the way I encountered MMS (Miracle Mineral Solution), a water purification method using chlorine dioxide. Just a few drops would purify water, making it potable by eliminating parasites and harmful organisms.

Of course, the easiest way to purify water is by leaving it in the sun!

clear drinking glass on white table — Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

Now a thought about alkaline water. The pH scale is based on how solutions react in water. Pure water is neutral or zero.

Anything that releases hydrogen ions is acidic, anything that releases hydroxyl ions is basic or alkaline. If water is too alkaline, your body just eliminates it. Along with the alkaline water, you also lose electrolytes.

A simple hack would be to take a pinch of sodium bicarbonate and add it to your water. Dr. Baroody wrote a book called Alkalize or Die: Superior Health Through Proper Alkaline-Acid Balance.

The blood's ideal pH is a slightly alkaline 7.2 to 7.6. This allows oxygen to be more efficiently transferred via hemoglobin.

The final factor is that thoughts produce alkalinity and acidity. Acidic thoughts include fear, anger, and stress. Alkaline thoughts include peace, love, and happiness. So there is a definite link between the way you think and the way you feel.

More recently, I read a fascinating book called The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor by Dr. Gerald Pollack, which explored lesser-known properties of water. For example, unlike most substances, the solid form of water (ice) is less dense than its liquid form, which allows ice to float. Why does this happen? These anomalies invite further exploration into the nature of water.

I also explored Russian technology that uses electromagnetic fields to restructure water. Water naturally clusters due to its polarity, but applying an electrical current could break these clusters into single-file strands, which are believed to be more easily absorbed at the cellular level. Here are some resources:

Another discovery was deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen with an additional neutron. Deuterium, or "heavy water," was initially used in nuclear power plants and later studied for its health implications. The original thinking was that it might cause more mutations, and at that time people thought mutations were good — as in superheroes and X-Men! But then we started looking at cancer as being itself a mutation, and maybe that wasn't so good.

Research suggests that reducing deuterium in water—producing deuterium-depleted water (DDW)—can have health benefits. For example, organic produce and grass-fed beef have lower deuterium levels compared to their conventional counterparts.

So instead of trying to sell an industrial waste product as a health supplement (see: fluoride, DMSO, Methylene Blue, vitamins, etc.), instead the approach shifted to removing deuterium out of water. Everywhere on the planet, water has anywhere between 120 to 180 parts per million of deuterium in it. That’s a lot of neutrons!

So we're all exposed to deuterium throughout our lives. When we're younger, we're much better at getting rid of it. As we age, we become less efficient. Deuterium-depleted water (DDW) can help reduce the detoxification load on aging bodies to counteract this. I believe there are other things we can do as well on a cellular level.

There were places producing deuterium-depleted water (DDW) and selling it in bottles, but I had some concerns with that option. First, the cost: buying processed water at retail prices seemed expensive if you relied on it for all your drinking water. I also questioned the original source of the water and the purification process they used.

Additionally, I wondered about the shelf life—how long had the water been sitting in the bottle? And why was it packaged in plastic? Research increasingly shows that plastics can leach into the water we drink.

clear plastic bottle on white table — Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash

From that perspective, I became quite disillusioned with the concept of purchasing deuterium-depleted water.

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