Healthy adult humans average about 70% water content, with the actual number of the smaller water molecules being greater, making up the greatest amount, i.e., we have more water molecules than any other type!
We are essentially water beings!!!
Our human water content naturally varies greatly with age, gender and health, the younger and healthier the higher the percentage. We're born with about 90% and have near 50% when we die. Proper hydration is essential to good health.
But not all that water is simple H20, some of it is “heavy water” containing deuterium, D2O. Frozen D2O ice sinks in water!
Deuterium, the hydrogen isotope with one neutron and one proton in the nucleus (regular hydrogen, protium, has only a proton nucleus, no neutron; tritium has 2 neutrons) is naturally present in water, in varying levels depending on altitude, latitude, and other environmental factors. There is more deuterium in water near the equator than towards the poles, and more at sea level than at altitude. Environmental tritium is extremely rare on Earth, only trace amounts are formed by cosmic rays.
Hydrogen bonding is essential to the structure of our cells, and important during biological processes. D2O, being heavier than H2O, hardens the bonds, stiffening proteins, etc, and has potentially negative effects on DNA, via slowing the transcription process and causing errors.
As one of the theories on aging is the gradual accumulation of errors in DNA this is a significant factor to the timing of the aging process. It has been found in research that deuterium-depleted water is beneficial for health!
Biological effects of deuterium-depleted water (DDW)
Since water is a major source of hydrogen, and since most living organisms are 50 – 75% water, scientists have begun to investigate the effects of deuterium-depleted water—water with a reduced amount of deuterium. Discoveries in the last fifteen years have been groundbreaking. The biological effects of deuterium-depleted water (DDW), sometimes referred to as “light” water, have been highlighted in dozens of studies conducted on plants, animals and humans. Experiments on plants show a general increase in growth and productivity—up to 200%. Experiments with chickens lead to a 50% decrease in mortality and a near doubling in egg production. Experiments with mice revealed increased life expectancy and an increase in sexual activity. Ten years of research and clinical trials on humans in Hungary by Dr. Gábor Somlyai and his colleges have identified positive effects of DDW in treating diabetes and many types of cancer. His book, Defeating Cancer: The Biological Effect of Deuterium Depletion, chronicles the work. Not only does the consumption of DDW affect the progression of many diseases and metabolic disorders (including hypertension, obesity, and diabetes), according to research conducted in Russia, it also positively affects energy production and immune function. A growing body of evidence shows DDW stimulates skin regeneration, reduces inflammation and slows aging. It also mitigates the damaging effects of radiation (nausea, pain, hair loss).
http://www.dancingwithwater.com/deuterium-depleted-water-what-is-it/
Deuterium Depletion May Delay the Progression of Prostate Cancer
Deuterium-depleted water (DDW) is a new promising agent in cancer therapy. The efficiency of the method is based on the discovery, that cancer cells are extremely sensitive to depletion of deuterium (D) and might cause necrosis of the tumour.
http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=7799&JournalID=125
Deuterium content of water increases depression susceptibility: The potential role of a serotonin-related mechanism
Environmental factors can significantly affect disease prevalence, including neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression. The ratio of deuterium to protium in water shows substantial geographical variation, which could affect disease susceptibility. Thus the link between deuterium content of water and depression was investigated, both epidemiologically, and in a mouse model of chronic mild stress. We performed a correlation analysis between deuterium content of tap water and rates of depression in regions of the USA. Next, we used a 10-day chronic stress paradigm to test whether 2-week deuterium-depleted water treatment (91 ppm) affects depressive-like behavior and hippocampal SERT. The effect of deuterium-depletion on sleep electrophysiology was also evaluated in naïve mice. There was a geographic correlation between a content of deuterium and the prevalence of depression across the USA. In the chronic stress model, depressive-like features were reduced in mice fed with deuterium-depleted water, and SERT expression was decreased in mice treated with deuterium-treated water compared with regular water. Five days of predator stress also suppressed proliferation in the dentate gyrus; this effect was attenuated in mice fed with deuterium-depleted water. Finally, in naïve mice, deuterium-depleted water treatment increased EEG indices of wakefulness, and decreased duration of REM sleep, phenomena that have been shown to result from the administration of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). Our data suggest that the deuterium content of water may influence the incidence of affective disorder-related pathophysiology and major depression, which might be mediated by the serotoninergic mechanisms.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166432814004884
The 3rd International Congress on Deuterium Depletion was held in 2015 in Budapest, Hungary, details here: http://deuteriumdepletion.com/program.php
So we can see the hydrogen isotope component of water, though little known, is very important to our well-being, not only physically, but to our mental states as well. Then how do we get it in sufficient quantities? Something for each of us to figure out.
Deuterium-depleted water is expensive and not easily accessed, but this is changing. New methods are being developed to mass manufacture DDW:
New method for making large quantities of deuterium depleted drinking water
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/presspacs/2011/acs-presspac-january-5-2011/new-method-for-making-large-quantities-of-deuterium-depleted-drinking-water.html
There are several companies who see deuterium-depleted water commercially, one is Qlarivia, in Romania, which produces it and ships worldwide:
Qlarivia 25 is a drinking water with a concentration of deuterium of 25±5 ppm (parts per million) obtained by a process patented in Romania and internationally protected. This is approximately five to six times less deuterium content than that contained within normal drinking water.
http://www.qlarivia.com
Water has many great mysteries, the hydrogen isotope factor is only one, but an important on in relation to our health.
Hope found this information useful! Further water research is in progress.
I'll post more soon :) AlkemixImage sources:
- kipbaldwin.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/vibrations.jpg
- dennis-benschop.deviantart.com/art/center-of-the-universe-41182845
- www.dancingwithwater.com/wp-content/uploads/heavy-water.jpg
- img.aws.ehowcdn.com/intl-620/ds-cdn-write/upload//5000/700/00/3/365703.jpg
- screen clip from http://www.qlarivia.com