Simple quantum hydration
Go beyond fluid intake to manage hydration for fertility and pregnancy
Last week, I was interviewed on The Road to Wisdom Podcast, and the hosts asked me a couple really important questions. The episode won’t be out until January 2024, so I thought I’d give on of their questions a bit of time here.
The question from Chloe and Keshia (paraphrased):
Can you give a simple explanation of quantum hydration?
Today I will answer the quantum hydration question.
I’m trying to keep it simple, but this concept is dense. I think it will be a 3-parter, even (or especially) if I keep the language simple. So be sure to subscribe below to catch this and other future posts:
My simplest answer to the quantum hydration question:
Quantum hydration the way most people talk about it refers to the way cells create water out of pure oxygen and hydrogen.
The way I think of it, the water we drink is mostly for cleaning, whereas the water our cells make is for hydrating.
Why is the idea of quantum hydration usually difficult to answer?
I totally get this question about quantum hydration, and partly that’s because there isn’t a readily available answer if you search online. Part of that is there are a number of businesses using the term Quantum and applying it to various things, including “hydration”. However, those so-called quantum hydration products are NOT what we are talking about here.
The way I think of it, the water we drink is mostly for cleaning, whereas the water we make is for hydrating.
When we talk about quantum hydration we are looking at how water affects biology at the level of water’s quantum (ie, subatomic) components—protons, electrons, and neutrons (we’ll get to deuterium1 —a hydrogen atom, or free proton, with a neutron attached—and so-called heavy water which is water made with deuterium instead of normal hydrogen later in this new Quantum Hydration series on Brighter Days, Darker Nights).
Hydration supports healthy pregnancy, birth, and postpartum
We know hydration is necessary for a healthy pregnancy, but the amount of fluids pregnant women need is under dispute2. Part of the reason this hydration issue is still mysterious is that fluid in correlates with, but doesn’t exactly match, a woman’s level of amniotic fluid or her hydration level as measured by her urine. We usually chalk up the differences in hydration not only to fluids in, but also lifestyle such as exercise, mineral intake, salt intake, heat, etc.
If we take into account the things we know about quantum hydration, we can see hydration/dehydration as signs of even more important processes—particularly, as a sign of mitochondrial health and redox balance.
Dehydration is not only a sign of lack of fluids, but also a sign of mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress.
Okay, for the rest of today’s post, I’m going to try to give an explanation that fits the “simple” request for explaining quantum hydration, while still being thorough.
Then in Part II, I will share about things that upset quantum hydration processes and in Part III I will share what we know about deuterium and heavy water, which are also big talking points in the quantum wellness community that affect cellular function.
First concept in quantum hydration: “normal” water is now called “bulk” water
In the quantum lens, the water we drink and what we usually think of as water we call “bulk” water. Bulk water has the form of one Oxygen molecule bonded with 2 hydrogen atoms:
Bulk water is polar
Because of the electrical properties of the atoms, H20 has one side that is slightly negative, and another side that is slightly positive (in chemistry, we call this being a “polar” molecule). This polar quality gives some of water’s unique properties. For example, this is why water is called the “universal solvent.” With it’s positive end, it can attract negative ions. With it’s negative end, it can attract positive ions. However, the bonds between the Oxygen and the Hydrogen atoms are so strong, the water molecule is more difficult to separate than many other kinds of chemical bonds (such as the bonds in salt, for example). This is what makes salt and so many things dissolve when placed into a solution of water.
These slightly charged ends are also what make water cling to glass. Any electrically charged surface, will attract either the positive or negative side of the water molecule depending on the surface’s charge3. This will become really important once we get into the quantum biology of cellular hydration.
Bulk water is mixed up
One more thing about bulk water that is important to understand is that bulk water tends to be all mixed up, and to break apart into H+ and OH- in small amounts.
The mixed up nature is how microwave ovens work (they amplify the mixing so the friction between the molecules creates heat).
Now you understand a little bit of the quantum properties of the normal, bulk water we drink and bathe in.
The unique properties of water in the body
To really understand quantum hydration, there are two big things to know about water in the body.
The first is that cells can make their own, completely pure water out of the raw atoms of Oxygen and Hydrogen. This fact is undisputed and part of the electron transport chain inside the mitochondria, which you can look up if you are interested in the specific mechanism. Essentially, most of the scientific community sees this mitochondria-created water as a byproduct and ATP as the primary product of the reaction. But in the quantum health community, this created water is instead seen as the primary source of water that our bodies need. And so, tending mitochondrial health is a major aspect of quantum hydration because only healthy mitochondria can successfully create significant water and ATP through the electron transport chain.
The second interesting thing that is different about the quantum view of hydration is that all healthy cells have a negative charge. Therefore, cellular surfaces must organize water similarly to how glass organizes water.
Organized water aka ordered water aka structured water aka the liquid crystal aka Exclusion Zone “EZ” water
Many people have done work to understand and communicate the special properties of water in the body. They are all using different language frameworks, which drives some of the confusion around quantum hydration. The fact is, the observed properties of water still have many different explanations and a greater scientific consensus has not yet been reached about the how’s and why’s about what we observe about water in the body compared with the water we drink.
Dr. Pollack’s 4th Phase of Water Theory
If you are in the “Quantum Biology” sphere, you have definitely heard of Dr. Pollock’s pop science book The Fourth Phase of Water. He also has a lot of peer reviewed studies published, many of which I have collected for you in the Practitioner’s tier Google Drive. Here’s how Dr. Pollock illustrates water in contact with a charged surface (such as a cell has).
Dr. Pollock’s work has been done with non-organic systems—mainly using the synthetic substance Nafion, which is manufactured by a spin-off company from DuPont—meant to mimic biology, and his work has not actually been tested inside of biological systems themselves. And while his experiments can be readily duplicated, some argue the results he is seeing in his lab are the result of the use of the Nafion medium, and not necessarily transmittable to living biological systems4. So, if you go digging into his work, you will also encounter naysayers calling pseudoscience, etc, on his work.
Water as a battery
Regardless of whether it’s Dr. Pollack’s theory or some other mechanism driving the organization of water, we do know that water in the body does organize itself along biological membranes, including the fascia. Indeed, one of the most powerful places this organization of water and hydration happens is within the collagen network.
Within the collagen network, we find an amazing triple-helix structure that is charged by infrared light as well as earthing: two of the foundational inputs of quantum wellness.
The collagen network can reach every part of the body (it is the only system in the body that itself touches every other system). Part of it’s job is to deliver protons and electrons anywhere in the body they are needed, and this is accomplished through collagen’s hydration shell. Thus, collagen health and quantum hydration together form a major part of balancing redox—another tenant of quantum health.
The mysteries of membrane surfaces and cellular water in the body promise to make many of the most mysterious processes in the body, including reproduction and fertility, make more sense.
How to support quantum hydration
Everything that supports mitochondrial health also supports quantum hydration. This is because the mitochondria are the part of the cell that makes the cellular water. From the environmental standpoint, this means time in nature, plenty of infrared from sunlight or other sources, mitigation of stressors, darkness at night, and in some cases, cold therapy. I will go deeper on all of these in Part II, which will dive into the things—besides not drinking fluids—we know of that disrupt hydration at this quantum level.
Quantum hydration, fertility, and pregnancy
When it comes to fertility and successful pregnancy, balanced redox and healthy collagen are among the most powerful allies—and quantum hydration, as you have explored with me today, supports redox and collagen together.
Quantum hydration supports fertility by nurturing collagen and balancing redox inside individual cells and tissues.
Redox imbalance is a leading cause of both male and female reproductive challenges5, as well as most adverse pregnancy outcomes and complaints6.
Collagen is also of vital importance, and in pregnancy this is particularly true for collagen’s ability to support cellular remodeling—necessary for implantation7 as well as across the entire pregnancy.
Thus, while quantum hydration is always important, it is particularly key for families in their childbearing years because of the extra demands and special requirements of this fleeting season of life.
Thank you for reading! Please share this post with a friend:
Yaglova, N. V., Timokhina, E. P., Obernikhin, S. S., & Yaglov, V. V. (2023). Emerging Role of Deuterium/Protium Disbalance in Cell Cycle and Apoptosis. International journal of molecular sciences, 24(4), 3107. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24043107
Song, Y., Zhang, F., Lin, G., Wang, X., He, L., Li, Y., Zhai, Y., Zhang, N., & Ma, G. (2023). A Study of the Fluid Intake, Hydration Status, and Health Effects among Pregnant Women in Their Second Trimester in China: A Cross-Sectional Study. Nutrients, 15(7), 1739. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15071739
Kanduc, Matej & Schlaich, Alexander & Schneck, Emanuel & Netz, Roland. (2016). Water-Mediated Interactions between Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Surfaces. Langmuir. 32. 10.1021/acs.langmuir.6b01727.
Elton, D. C., Spencer, P. D., Riches, J. D., & Williams, E. D. (2020). Exclusion Zone Phenomena in Water-A Critical Review of Experimental Findings and Theories. International journal of molecular sciences, 21(14), 5041. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21145041
Almansa-Ordonez, A., Bellido, R., Vassena, R., Barragan, M., & Zambelli, F. (2020). Oxidative Stress in Reproduction: A Mitochondrial Perspective. Biology, 9(9), 269. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology9090269
Toboła-Wróbel, K., Pietryga, M., Dydowicz, P., Napierała, M., Brązert, J., & Florek, E. (2020). Association of Oxidative Stress on Pregnancy. Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity, 2020, 6398520. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/6398520
Shi, J. W., Lai, Z. Z., Yang, H. L., Yang, S. L., Wang, C. J., Ao, D., Ruan, L. Y., Shen, H. H., Zhou, W. J., Mei, J., Fu, Q., & Li, M. Q. (2020). Collagen at the maternal-fetal interface in human pregnancy. International journal of biological sciences, 16(12), 2220–2234. https://doi.org/10.7150/ijbs.45586
Thank you for this. Looking forward to parts 2 and 3!