'We don't drink enough water'

Chiropractor

denounces diet pop ingredients at 22nd home show

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- We'd all be a lot better off if we drank enough clean water instead of liquids that dehydrate our bodies.

That's the message New Ulm chiropractor Dave Altman put out at the 22nd annual Home and Self-Improvement Show at Vogel Arena.

"You have to drink water, it's essential to life," Altman said. "It's the most important thing for us after air. Too many people drink too much pop, juice, milk, coffee or alcohol and just get more dehydrated and ill."

Altman said America is the least healthy of all industrialized nations despite having more hospitals and doctors than any other country. The constant commercial barrage for refined foods full of preservatives, artificial vitamins, refined sugar and flour and whatever else don't help either.

Sixty-eight percent of deaths are due to diet, Altman said.

People don't die of infectious conditions as much as malnutrition allowing germs to get a foothold in sickly bodies. Bad nutrition is often the main cause of noninfectious, fatal or degenerative conditions, said former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop.

Altman said diet pop isn't the answer either. Aspartame, the technical name for Nutra-sweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal-Measure, accounts for 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA.

Among the 90 different reported reactions to aspartame are headaches, dizziness, seizures, nausea, weight gain, depression, fatigue, irritability, hearing and memory loss and joint pain, among others.

That's not all.

Researchers showed aspartame triggered or worsened multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, lymphoma, fibromyalgia and diabetes. Too much aspartame can actually destroy brain cells. It is most dangerous to infants, pregnant women and the elderly, Altman said.

Dehydration can lead to heartburn, ulcers, hiatal hernias, high-blood pressure and asthma, he said.

Altman said the best water he has found so far is Trinity Spring water from Idaho.

"It comes from a very deep well and tastes far different than any other water you've ever tasted," Altman said.

He said anybody that drinks tap water should filter it at least with an active carbon filter. The more filters the better.

"I filter my drinking water several times," Altman said.

He recommended reading the book "Your Body's Many Cries For Water," by Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj.

His water recommendations:

* A minimum of 6-8 8 oz. glasses per day.

* Drink half your body weight in ounces.

* The best times to drink water, particularly with ulcers are a half hour before a meal and 2 1/2 hours after a meal.

* If your urine is dark, you aren't drinking enough water. It should be clear to light yellow. If urine is bright yellow, you are losing your vitamins.

Altman will reveal his "Secrets to Living Longer," at a 3 p.m. Saturday show seminar.

Meanwhile, Lafayette contractor Mark Dick talked about new ideas for counter tops. The hottest-selling product now is 1/8th-inch thick Solid Surface Veneer (SSV).

"It's thinner and more affordable, about 35 percent less, than thicker stuff," Dick said.

Many customers are going with solid surface edges on a laminate top. Some kitchen islands are done with stones and granite in contrasting colors.

Mark Dick Construction will present Saturday seminars at noon and 4 p.m. Saturday.