I grew up drinking water from our own private well in the Sierra foothill mountains. My dad occasionally made a minor complaint about it being too hard because it affected his hair. I got my curly hair from him. Looking back, I understand that it was rich water, rich in calcium and magnesium.

Hard and soft, refers to the amount of minerals or sodium in the water. Hard water has more magnesium and calcium. Soft water has sodium and lacks magnesium and calcium.

Our bodies need minerals;

Not having enough, can impair our health.

We get minerals (or not) from the foods we eat and the water we drink.

My Travels and Water

I went away to college in San Luis Obisbo, where I got my first taste of city water and the chlorine and fluoride that is considered normal. I used a Britta filter to make the water taste better.

• A simple carbon filter is helpful in removing chlorine.

I filled up gallon jugs anytime that I went home to visit.

I traveled to Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, and the East Coast of the USA all the while noticing the water and how I drunk.

Some water was easier to swallow. Some less.

Before 911, I traveled with a gallon of water on all my flights. Airplane water is bad or expensive.

I lived in Big Sur with hot springs, extra rich in minerals.

I moved to Isreal to be with my man.

Israel has turned desert land into agricultural land with the technology of smart irrigation, later monitoring the aquafer level, and now using rainwater catchment as well as turning ocean water into potable drinking water.

• To remove the chlorine and fluoride we bought a reverse osmosis water filter system that took chemicals out and added minerals in.

• We noticed a build-up of calcium on our teethe that year.

We traveled to Argentina, where I will never forget the taste of fresh cold mountain water from the high Andes.

We lived on a cruise ship in the Caribbean, where desalinated and de-chlorinated water was what came from all the pipes and served in the drinking fountains.

• To process stripped water, like desalinated water which is void of minerals, requires pulling minerals from our body.

• We took trace mineral supplements to help our bodies, but still felt the toll of mineral depletion.

Most recently, for 2020 I have been living in a village town in the north of Spain where springs of water burst from the mountain into fountains and tubs which were built hundreds of years ago.

I can feel my body replenishing.

Over the years and all the waters that I have consumed, I noticed a pattern.

• I drink a lot more water easily when the water is fresh from the mountains.

• My body says ‘Yes’.

• City water is hard to drink, I force myself, but it does not go down easy.

City water changes from city to city, depending on where it is coming from, and is generally soft water.

Being hydrated is extremely important to our health: mental function, gut function, and well being.

Being mineral-depleted is common, especially amoung people who live in the city and drink non-mineral rich water.

We have bought and or recommended APEC Water filter to friends who live in the city and care about the water that they consume. (My man is a geologist and this is his recommendation.)

We are looking to live somewhere that has fresh mineral-rich mountain water, we believe it is one of the important riches in life to have access to.

Are you drinking enough rich water?

How easy is the water you are drinking to swallow?

Are you getting enough minerals?

ps. Just to be clear, I am not recommending you buy water in plastic bottles. Plastic particles are leeching into our earth, water, and bodies.