How to Optimize Your Water Quality & Intake for Health

In this episode, I discuss our body’s most vital and essential nutrient—water. I explain the structure of water and how it is used by the cells and tissues of our body, how much water we each need to drink and when in order to optimize our mental focus and physical performance; and I include how exercise, humidity, heat, and caffeine affect our hydration needs. I explain how temperature and pH influence water’s physical properties and if there is any scientific basis for drinking so-called “pH water” or “alkalized water” to improve health. I explain how to test your tap water for contaminants (e.g., endocrine disruptors) and the documented problems with fluoride in drinking water. I provide options for filtering drinking water and describe different water types (e.g., reverse osmosis, hydrogen-enriched, electrolyzed reduced, deuterium depleted, etc.). Since the human body is mostly water (55-80% depending on one’s age) and water has essential roles in health, disease and cellular function, everyone ought to benefit from understanding how best to clean our tap water, hydrate effectively and in some cases, adjust the type of water we drink to allow our brain and body to function optimally in regard to health and performance. For recommended water filters, tests and the full show notes, please visit hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://athleticgreens.com/huberman LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman Supplements from Momentous https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Water (00:03:33) Tool Deliberate Cold Exposure, Immersion & Showers Mood & Fat Loss (00:15:42) Sponsor: LMNT (00:19:27) Water: Physical Properties & Chemistry (00:26:32) Bonds & Water Phases, “Structured Water” (00:32:38) Sponsor: AG1 (00:34:07) Body, Cells & Water (00:37:37) Water as a Solvent, Temperature & pH (00:41:49) Water Transport in Cells, Aquaporin Channels (00:49:46) Alkaline/pH Water; Temperature, pH & Water Transport (00:55:14) Water Cellular Function, Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) & Antioxidants (01:02:38) Tool: Baseline Hydration (01:11:35) Tool: Hydration & Exercise, Galpin Equation (01:15:40) Tool: Hydration, Sauna, Humidity & Sweat; Thirst, Caffeine (01:19:15) Hydration; Cognitive & Physical Performance  (01:23:53) Tool: Water Filtration; Nighttime Urination (01:29:35) Tap Water Tests, Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs), Fluoride & Thyroid Health (01:37:18) Tool: Water Filters (01:44:18) Tool: Resting Tap Water & Sediment (01:48:13) Tool: “Hard Water”; Magnesium, Calcium & Cardiovascular Health (01:53:40) Water Temperature (01:56:42) Water Types: Distilled, Reverse Osmosis, Hydrogen-Enriched (02:03:26) Hydrogen-Enriched Water, Magnesium, Optimize Hydration (02:11:13) Tool: Molecular Hydrogen Tablets, Water pH (02:14:05) Structured Water (02:16:39) Tool: Water Pipes, Faucet Filter (02:19:42) Zero-Cost Support, Spotify & Apple Reviews, YouTube Feedback, Sponsors, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac Disclaimer

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Huberman Lab discusses neuroscience — how our brain and its connections with the organs of our body control our perceptions, our behaviors, and our health. We also discuss existing and emerging tools for measuring and changing how our nervous system works. Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist and tenured professor in the department of neurobiology, and by courtesy, psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford School of Medicine. He has made numerous significant contributions to the fields of brain development, brain function and neural plasticity, which is the ability of our nervous system to rewire and learn new behaviors, skills and cognitive functioning.  Huberman is a McKnight Foundation and Pew Foundation Fellow and was awarded the Cogan Award, given to the scientist making the most significant discoveries in the study of vision, in 2017. His lab’s most recent work focuses on the influence of vision and respiration on human performance and brain states such as fear and courage. He also works on neural regeneration and directs a clinical trial to promote visual restoration in diseases that cause blindness. Huberman is also actively involved in developing tools now in use by the elite military in the U.S. and Canada, athletes, and technology industries to optimize performance in high stress environments, enhance neural plasticity, mitigate stress and optimize sleep.   Work from the Huberman Laboratory at Stanford School of Medicine has been published in top journals including Nature, Science and Cell and has been featured in TIME, BBC, Scientific American, Discover and other top media outlets.  In 2021, Dr. Huberman launched the Huberman Lab podcast. The podcast is frequently ranked in the top 5 of all podcasts globally and is often ranked #1 in the categories of Science, Education, and Health & Fitness.