There are more than twenty
commercial products on the market that purport to alter the
structure of water in order to help maintain or restore health,
youth, and vigor. At my age I would not mind re-aquiring some of
these myself, but as a retired Chemistry professor and habitual
imbiber of tap-water, it disturbs me to see crackpot chemistry,
pseudoscientific mind-mush and outright lies used to promote
these products to consumers whose lack of scientific training
leaves them unprotected from this exploitation. This Web site is
directed primarily to those who are concerned about their
health, but who lack the technical background to distinguish
science from pseudoscience when the two are closely intertwined.
It is also recommended for teachers to use as resource material
in courses about consumer protection, pseudoscience, or critical
thinking.
In the rather long page below,
I try to present a critical examination of some of the claims
about the nature and action of these fictional structure-altered
waters ("SAW") in the context of the science as I believe it is
presently known and understood. It is my hope that readers will
thus be better equipped to make their own decisions about the
value of these products.
Chemists have long recognized water as a
substance having unusual and unique properties that one would
not at first sight expect from a small molecule having the
formula H2O. It is generally agreed that the
special properties of water stem from the tendency of its
molecules to associate, forming short-lived and
ever-changing polymeric units that are sometimes described as
"clusters". These clusters are more conceptual than physical
in nature; they have no directly observable properties, and
their transient existence (on the order of picoseconds) does
not support an earlier view that water is a mixture of
polymers (H2O)n in which n
can have a variety of values. Instead, the currently favored
model of water is one of a loosely-connected network that
might best be described as one huge "cluster" whose internal
connections are continually undergoing rearrangement.
Any uncertainty that the
chemistry community may have about the nature and existence of
water clusters is not apparently shared by the various
"inventors" who have not only "discovered" these elusive
creatures, but who claim findings that those stick-in-the-mud
academic biochemists and physiologists who publish their work in
boring, jargon-filled scientific journals have never even
dreamed of! These promoters have spun their half-baked crackpot
chemistry into various watery nostrums that they say are
essential to your health and able to cure whatever-ails-you.
These benificences are hawked to the more gullible of the
general public, usually in the form of a "concentrate" that you
can add to your drinking water— all for a $20-$50 charge on your
credit card.
These
structure-altered WunderWassers fall into two groups, claiming
either that the ficticious water clusters are
a) good for you,
essential to your health, and largely absent
from your drinking water
or
b) bad for you
and important to eliminate from your drinking water.
Some sales sites are neutral
on this, simply saying that the clusters must be of the right
size or shape. The fact is that none of these views has any
significant support in the scientific communities of chemistry,
biochemistry, or physiology, nor are they even considered worthy
of debate. The only places you are likely to see these views
advocated are in literature (and on Web sites) intended to
promote the sale of these products to consumers in the
notoriously credulous "alternative" health care market.
A common thread in
the "clusters are good for you" school goes somewhat along the
following lines:
This water represents a kind
of pristine water that was once present on Earth before it
became sullied and polluted by humans, and it is still present
in our own bodies at birth, but it somehow becomes degraded as
we age, and this is in fact a primary cause of physical aging
and disease.
The clusters are somehow
immune to the ravages of the thermal jostlings to which water
molecules are normally subject, and are able to remain intact
for weeks or years. They are also sometimes described as
"beautiful, star-shaped molecules" and are often shown in
pictures as what appear to be snowflakes.
The clusters are claimed to
be essential for transporting water and wastes across cell
membranes and for maintaining the structural integrity of
proteins, DNA and other biomolecules. But it does more than
just that: one sales site tells us that when this water is
consumed, "high frequency information is transmitted to
proteins in the mouth, esophagus and gastrointestinal tract.
These proteins amplify the information signal and send it in a
cascading wave to other connected cell systems." Sounds
impressive, but can anyone figure out what that actually
means?
Although this elixir of life
and youth has unfortunately vanished from Earth (it is found
now only deep within glacial ice, in newborn babes and in a
few "healing springs"), a "scientist" has found a way to
re-create and bottle it for sale, usually as a concentrate
which you are supposed to add to ordinary water.
So, is there anything to all of this?
Well, I certainly don't think so:
I have looked in the
reputable (peer-reviewed) scientific literature for evidence
that would support the claims regarding the structure or
action of the various brands of SAW. So far, I have found
none. If anyone can provide me with such a reference, I would
be delighted to share it.
The SAW sales sites are full
of absurd claims (about "beautiful star-shaped molecules", for
example) that strike me as belonging more to the realm of
mysticism than of science. Scientific terms are frequently
used inappropriately and in contexts that I consider incorrect
and often misleading.
Many of the statements
pertaining specifically to chemistry and physiology that are
adduced to support the claims fall quite outside the range of
what I think most chemists, biochemists and physiologists
would regard as credible science. The claims about "cellular
resonance" have no scientific support and contribute nothing
to what is presently known about
cellular signal
transduction.
The claims that these
various structure-altered waters promote "cellular hydration"
are not only unsupported by evidence, but are inconsistent
with the
known "one-molecule-at-a-time" mechanisms by which water
is transported across cell walls.
Several vendors claim that
their SAW products can delay or reverse ageing. Such claims
are untrue; there is no evidence that any type of
dietary supplement or treatment can slow ageing.
All of the sales sites
display the required disclaimer that the information they
provide is "for educational purposes only", but the sales
pitch is strongly directed toward the notoriously uncritical
sports beverage and "alternative health" market. Most of the
sites promise (without any credible supporting evidence) vague
benefits such as "energizing the body", "empowering the
natural healing process", or "enhancing toxin removal from
cells". Some sites have referred to incredible numbers of
clinical "case histories" purporting to support the
effectiveness of their "technology" in treating ailments such
as asthma, diabetes, hypertension, etc.
But we can actually see it!
Most of the SAW sites feature
photographs of what are often misleadingly described as
"molecules" of water of various states of purity, as captured by
an electron microscope at 20,000x magnification. The following
are typical and can be seen on many sales sites:
1. A "beautiful, star-shaped molecule of clustered water™."
2. Distilled water ("dead water" because its "memory" is lost.)
3. Tap water (full of grunge, no doubt; yuckk!)
4. Chlorinated water (burp!)
Well, if the
water in your body is anything like the ideal shown in 1 on the
left, then I have bad news: you are dead, and are no doubt
residing in a deep-freeze! This is not a "molecule" at all, but
an ice crystal, probably a snowflake. If the latter, then it
will almost certainly be less pure than the one shown in 2,
since snowflakes, like raindrops, are built around a core of
dirt. The fact is that these photos are not of water molecules
and convey no information about the water. They are most likely
the work of the water-mystic and father of cluster-lore Masuro
Emoto (see note below. More
of Emoto's photos and pseudoscientific rubbish can be found at
the Hado site.
Will water that is "clustered" or altered in structure make me feel better, younger, more vigorous, etc.?
Very likely, yes! Studies have
shown that placebos can relieve the symptoms in about 40 percent
of those who suffer from chronic ailments. They are probably
even more effective for those who are inclined toward
"alternative medicine" or the "wellness" industry. In other
words, if you "believe" that something might help, it may well
do so, and the more people are made to pay for it, the more
eager they will be to have their beliefs confirmed. (Remember
those Monty Python apartment towers that would remain standing
only as long as the residents maintained their faith in them?)
In the following
descriptions of the various products, text shown in
small sans-serif is quoted verbatim
from a manufacturer's or sales Web page, with any excisions
noted. Portions of these text excerpts that I consider to be
scientifically meaningless, absurd, incorrect, or misleading, or
for which no credible evidence is available, are written in
"purple prose".
CellCore's crackpot chemistry
Until they thankfully
disappeared from the Web in mid-2002, the main purveyor of a
water alleging to be "clustered" was marketed with
scientific-sounding flapdoodle that could be quite convincing to
folks who don't have an unusually good command of chemistry.
Click here for
my debunking of the unbelievable claims on one of the
previous sales sites; many of the same untruths are shamelessly
repeated by other cluster-quackery vendors. A more recent Web
page describes the fantasy process by which this WunderWasser is
allegedly made:
The patented
Template Induction Process was designed to creates rings of
water (5, 6, and 7 membered rings) that are
collapsed around organic complexes such as proteins, amino
acids and other compounds. High frequency vibration is
applied to the water-protein complex using the latest in
ceramic and laser technology... The result is a
semi-liquid crystal that resonates at a
designed and predictable frequency. The specific
frequencies of each crystalline Clustered
Water™ solution is designed to be
amplified by the cells and transferred through resonant paths
to tissues in need of "tuning".
The process appears to be
based on the simplistic notion that the molecular pattern of a
substance (aloe vera, vitamin E, DNA and perhaps eye of newt or
pixie-dust of whatever kind) can be "imprinted" into water which
thereby acquires and retains a "memory" that is somehow able to
confer the healing benefits of that substance onto the drinker.
This is similar to the pseudoscientific concept of
homeopathic remedies, except in the latter the imprinting
substances are supposed to be those that produce symptoms of the
malady to be corrected. (That's the nice thing about
pseudoscience: you can bend it to support any interpretation you
wish!)
Although the previous
corporate site has apparently evaporated, what appears to be the
same nostrum is still offered by water quackery vendors who
continue to dish out the same errant nonsense:
[It]
has been found to be a specific form of water instrumental in
key cellular functions. Research has shown that the lack of
this specific form of water is responsible for cellular aging
and cellular problems. When we are young, our bodies are full
of clustered water. As we grow older, our clustered water
becomes physically bound to other molecular structures and
becomes unable to move freely through the cell walls. ...
Unlike tap water, rain or mineral water, [It]
has a particular characteristic which allows it to pass freely
through cell walls, delivering oxygen, nutrients, protein
chains, enzymes and it removes the toxic buildup that
accumulates in the cell. The efficiency and speed of Clustered
Water™ is due to the design and shape of the water molecules
and the design and shape of the cell itself. Small water
clusters fit into and through the hexagonal channels in the
cell membrane and inside the cell.
Various other products
purporting similar benefits include one whose
beautiful
hexagonal shaped smaller clusters move through your body more
quickly than other water. And they penetrate your cell
membranes more easily.
What appears to be essentially
the same Cellcore Clustered Water ™ product is now marketed
(with the same not-to-be-believed hype) under such aliases as
Vivo Water and
Noah's Quest Cat's Claw Immune Support. (For another
critical take on Vivo Water, look near the bottom of this
James Randi page.)
Cluster quackery clones
The number of consumers
prepared to believe the unbelievable about Clustered Water™ has
apparently been great enough to inspire a whole slew of
hucksters to flog products that purport to offer similar
benefits.
In order to
avoid conflict with a registered trademark, in the profiles of
the products below I will substitute "CACA"
in the appropriate places when quoting text from sources in
which this term appears without the ™ symbol.
HydraLies
This method recreates the
condition of the cell's water structure to be as it was when
we were first born!
structured water molecules
communicate important biochemical information and ... cell
communication is impaired as we grow older.
Research has shown that the
lack of this specific form of water is responsible for
cellular aging. ... by the time we are 60 years old almost 3/4
of the water in the blood alone has actually disappeared!
Hexagon hucksters
An outfit flogging a kind of "hexagonal
water" is purportedly
living water which resonates
with the energetic vibrations of your body... it amplifies
animates and perpetuates your own life force... it has
beautiful crystal hexagonal formations even in its liquid
form... it absorbs and retains more oxygen...
But the real difference here is that you
don't have to buy an expensive liquid concentrate; their [even
more expensive] "conversion device" consists of a set of filters
that provide this snake-oil on tap. The most magical of these
filters
is packed with bioceramic
beads which emit Far Infrared Rays ... that vibrate and
energize the water, mimicking what happens when natural spring
water splashes over rocks and natural magnetic fields.
Complete bunk and nonsense, of course, and
similar to the claims made for certain other products. Chemists
will find especially hilarious their claim that
The lower the NMR reading,
the smaller the clusters. Hexagon Water has a certified NMR
reacing of only 42.3 Hz ... normal tap water and distilled
water have readings of around 128 Hz
In common with many of the other bizarre
water-wellness products, this one appears to originate in Korea
where water scams seem to thrive. At
another
site, we are informed that
Dr.
Mu Shik Jhon, President of the Korean Academy of Science and
Technology, and the Honorary Chair-Professor of Korea Advanced
Institute of Science and Technology and a world authority in
water research ... is the originator of the
hexagonal water theory and has been actively disclosing
its relationship with cancers and aging mechanism as well as
possible healing effects. Professor Jhon says that here are
three different shapes of water. One is
hexagonal hook-shaped, another is pentagonal hook-shaped and
still another hexagonal chain-shaped. Through his recent
research, Professor Jhon confirmed that there
are more hexagonal water around the normal protein than around
cancerous protein.
It turns out that M-S Jhon is a for-real
scientist and author of numerous research papers having to do
with water— and none (that I have seen) containing any of this
hokum. It's hard to believe that a reputable scientist would
risk his reputation as a shill for junk science, and I wonder if
the poor guy is even aware of this use being made of his name.
Looney tunes
Another bunch of hucksters
elevate crackpot chemistry to new heights, invoking a kind of
mysticism based on the far-right end of the periodic table:
We
succeeded in adding the energy signatures
of Argon, Krypton and Xenon to the formula...
The energy from the very
center of the inert gas atom is of several natures at once,
providing aetheric energy, the same that is produced by the
life force in the human body. This is the material that
consciousness is made of.
Wow! I had always wondered
what consciousness is all about: mystery solved!
Upon closer
examination, the Atma Molecule™
displays the geometry of a molecule that is
capable of receiving and transmitting information perfectly
within the cells. When you look at the shape of the water
crystal from tap water it becomes painfully obvious that it
will not be efficient at hydrating nor transmitting energy to
other cells.
Yes, folks, this water is rechargeable! True to its name,
this outfit offers a CD containing
healing alpha theta frequencies [that]
you can use .. to stimulate your clustered water at home.
Put a pair of earphones around your mixed gallon of
clustered distilled water and play the CD .. delivering
the healing frequencies back to the solution.
If you are really into the
noble gases, be sure to check out the same company's handy
electrical device which will
integrate
all the platonic solid shapes that are
located at the end of the periodic table of elements.
We have encased the round, triangle, square, pentagon and
hexagon shaped coils around quartz crystal tubes, and are
using the geometric shapes to provide
coherent energy fields while
creating holographic forms to stimulate cellular levels...
Combining personal frequencies, along with "Inert Noble Gases"
and "Quartz Crystal Tubes", has made it possible for us to
stimulate the subtle, 4th dimensional aether fields that
surround our body. We are leaders in scalar wave technology, a
technology that is working on the removal of emotional
programs ("choice point energy"). All disease begins and ends
in the aether fields.
It appears that the only
mystery these people have failed to uncover is how to use commas
properly.
hydride-ion shenanigans
Instead of selling a water
that is supposed to be "clustered", several vendors offer
nostrums based on "microclustered" particles of silica
containing magnesium and potassium, rendered by "nanotechnology"
into subcolloidal size. Like all oxide-containing colloids,
these adsorb ions and to some extent alter the local structure
the water immediately around them. In common with most of the
wonky-water hucksters, they make much of the similarity to the
colloids present in glacial waters which are widely claimed
(without any credible evidence) to be responsible for the
supposed longevity of certain mountain peoples such as the Hunza
of Pakistan.
The really unique claim of
these products, which they misleadingly refer to as "silica
hydride", is that Flanagan has managed to entrap hydride ions
within the colloids, conferring upon them extremely effective
antioxidant properties. An article purporting to demonstrate the
presence of H– ions and their ability to exist in
water was apparently submitted to the prestigious Journal of the
American Chemical Society but, not surprisingly, has not been
published by them. If anyone doubts that this ultimate
antioxidant is present in this product, try drinking some of it;
if your esophagus dissolves, then the H– ions are
likely there, all right!)
As far as I am aware, there
is no credible clinical evidence that antioxidants, whether
they be Vitamins C or E, or the many, much more expensive ones
vigorously flogged by the alternative wellness industry, have
any demonstrable benefit on human health or longevity.
There are hundreds of Web
sites hawking these products. According to one such site, "Microclusters
are powerful, tiny mineral clusters that energize virtually all
nutrients with which they come into contact. These clusters act
as microscopic transport vehicles, dramatically reducing the
size of nutrients and delivering them directly into the cells."
They seem especially strong on free-radical fighters: "One
capsule of [our product] provides more electrons than a truck
load of other antioxidants." (Chemistry students: what do you
think about that?!)
By far the weirdest of the SAW
sites is this
one. It's difficult to do full justice to the
pseudoscientific twaddle in the rambling description of their
product. The basic idea seems to be that they alter the bond
angle in H2O, releasing energy which is transmitted
as u.v. light (!!!) to your DNA. According to the bizarre
biochemistry espoused here, "DNA codes are transmitted to
messenger RNA by the emission of mini ultraviolet light bursts.
The mechanism for this ultraviolet light transmission of DNA
codes are geometrically structured water molecules." But this
snake oil seems to be aimed specifically at the "silent" DNA
sequences that are far from being evolutionary detritus as
conventional scientists believe; instead, they represent our
future, unrealized potentials: "Encoded here is your life
mission and the gifts and strengths to manifest all of who you
are. [Our product] facilitates the awakening and replicating of
this future DNA."
Catalytic Willie
Yet
another product ("Catalyst-altered water.. a more efficient form
of water") is supposed to have been discovered accidentally by a
late John Willard, a chemistry professor at the South Dakota
School of Mines. (It would be interesting to see if there is any
evidence for this!) It's hard to believe that a legitimate chem
prof would promote such bunk.
"...the molecular structure
of H2O is altered by a catalyst. As a result, the
catalyst altered water ([CACA])
acts as a normalizer on all living things not in a healthy
state. "
Maybe this guy could do it,
but no other chemist has ever succeeded in altering the
structure of a small molecule like H2O, and no
evidence for this remarkable feat is offered. Their Web site
contains a transcript of a "60 minutes" interview with the old
codger himself, who describes his woundrous "catalyst" as a
"calcium magnesium polysilicate polymer with castor oil" (Yuk!)
One sales site extolls the
many benefits of this elixir:
increased absorption and
utilization of minerals and increased elimination of toxins...
colon health and regularity .. arthritis, emphysema, digestive
problems, migraines, back pain, diabetes, skin problems,
burns,... stomach ulcers, and high blood pressure. Willard
Water is also used to calm agressive animals and has shown
wonderful results with greyhound racing dogs, quails, horses,
birds, etc. In addition, cattle, quail, chickens and other
animals that are given Willard Water to drink are plumper and
more healthy.
It is recommended elsewhere as
an antioxidant and for agricultural and veterinary applications.
Penta panacea
This manufacturer uses
ultrasound to break up larger "clusters" into smaller ones, and
unlike most, offers
numerous
references to "research studies", mostly in obscure Russian
journals or lacking proper citation and have nothing to do with
the kinds of ficticious "clusters" this outfit is flogging. What
they don't say, of course, is that millions of years of
evolution have made artifical methods of enhancing "cellular
hydration" unnecessary, as described
here. Below
are some excerpts from some former sales sites extolling this
nostrum:
The
high osmotic drive and low surface
tension of the H2O molecular clusters
in Penta-Hydrate can be rapidly absorbed by the body. Since
our proprietary process already conforms
the H2O clusters into a tetrahedral array similar to that of
intra-cellular water, the body does not need to expend excess
energy to further break down the water into the easily
absorbed tetrahedral clusters (as is necessary with other
commercially available bottled water). The
easy absorption of water across the cell
membrane creates hydroelectric energy, another
byproduct of drinking water. Thus, with Penta-Hydrate, not
only are you effectively hydrating the body, but
creating energy as well.
Like many
great scientific breakthroughs, ... [sic] [the inventors]
discovered this water by accident. During an experiment in 1996
to remove dissolved solids from water, they
discovered that their test water maintained its micro-clustered
molecular state, which, under all previous scientific
testing, only happened for short, unsustainable periods of time.
But the [the] water stayed in its
microclustered state, which allows it to hydrate cells more
effectively and efficiently, thereby relieving dehydration,
removing toxins and energizing the body faster. ...At
first, they tested Penta™ on plants. They
discovered that test seeds would germinate in half the time as
the control seeds. In addition, the Penta™ plants’ growth was
significantly accelerated. [They] knew they had something
extraordinary on their hands [I would have washed it off!] They
conducted small-scale field tests that
confirmed that[it] hydrates the human body faster than any other
water. (BottledWaterWeb)
Among the numerous unsupported
health-related claims at the above site is this one:
Superior
antioxidant, binding and neutralizing the ions of
free-radicals, combating aging and stress
... in which the idea that an
oxygenated water can act as an antioxidant will be especially
amusing to anyone who has passed high-school chemistry, which
these people have apparently not.
A recently-issued
U.S. Patent 6521248 describes the way in which this product
is presumably made by subjecting water to rapid variations in
pressure that are supposed to create gas bubbles that break up
the water structure and create a "plasma" of negative ions that
confer antioxidant properties. All errant nonsense, of course!
A Canadian company peddles a device which
consists of a
ceramic disc on which are
mounted magnetic elements of precisely defined dimensions and
magnetic intensities. ... Also placed on the disc are two
elements made of a special metal alloy and a glass vial
containing the 'programming' solution. The
programming solution is a liquid that carries an healing
energetic influence similar to the concept of
homeopathy.
Its mode of action purportedly
consists in
modification of the cluster
structure of water and of water's 'energy memory', which makes
water more healthy for the living organism. The resulting
structure of water is somewhat similar to that produced by
water magnetisers which create water of hexagonal structure.
In order to "energize" your food or
beverage, you simply place it on top of the disk for a few
minutes. Nothing could be simpler, except maybe the suckers who
fall for this!
The same outfit also offers another type of
ceramic disk which you are supposed to bury in your yard in
order "to harmonize the energy surrounding our direct
environment. Especially when this environment is contaminated
with Geopathic zone(s) e.g. radiation of underground stream of
water or sewage, caves or concentration of minerals etc."
Another vendor of various new-age wellness
products peddles a "machine" that looks very much like the
electrolysis cells found in high-school chemistry labs. The
device utilizes
an electric field
produced across a cotton ball, which
creates a very active microclustered water. The E-Water
Machine produces water that surpasses [other structured
waters]. It
duplicates Nature's process found in treasured springs around
the world. Energize your body by hydrating cells and organs,
cleansing and detoxifying, transporting and enhancing nutrient
absorption.
They warn against the digestive upsets
produced by some competitive silicate-containing "microclustered"
waters, but then go on to note that
[It] can have powerful
cleansing and detoxifying effects which manifest as mild
discomfort such as increased thirst, urination, and bowel
movements, slight achiness and/or nausea, minor headaches, and
lower energy.
... so one would probably do well to avoid
these wonky waters alltogether! As usual, no evidence is
offered to support anything they say here.
Magnetic mumbo-jumbo
Some Australian purveyors of
wondrous waters until recently spun a tale of homeopathic hype
to convince you that drinking ordinary water is downright
dangerous:
No matter
how well filtered or pure the water may appear to be, even
after triple stage reverse osmosis or distillation,
its electro-magnetic structure will retain the 'information'
or frequency of every contaminant and electro-magnetic field
it has been in contact with. It is this principle
which scientists believe explains
the workings of homeopathic medicine. When you drink this,
seemingly pure, water
your cells react as if it has just absorbed the
apparently removed contaminants. In fact the electro-magnetic
'spin resonance' of un-restructured water can actually rob
your body of energy such that drinking 8 glasses of this water
per day is no better than drinking one glass of Wellness
water.
All unfounded made-in-Japan
nonsense, of course, but they continue piling it higher:
[Our
filter] is the only filter available on the market that is
able to naturally restructure your water
and strip it, like re-formatting a computer disc, of all the
previous information. This is achieved by using two
special ceramic high-gauss magnets
that are sandwiched between two layers of magnetite volcanic
stone. This energy
field truly cleanses the water, unlike any other filter, and
prepares it for the final stages of Micro-cluster
restructuring and Antioxidant uptake.
Yes, friends, this amazing
filter not only cleanses and restructures the water, but it also
possesses those all-important cancer-fighting antioxidant
properties, it removes chlorine and heavy metals and has reduced
surface tension; most important of all, it uses no chemicals!
Wheeler dealer
Another site modestly
describes their product as "ENERGIZED VIBRATIONAL HEALING WATER
- The most advanced water supplement in the world today." It
claims to be "imbued with the Primordial Energy and Vibration
that created the beginnings of the universe and ultimately the
source of life itself."
"The correct
application of Platonic Solid Inversion
Geometry creates perfect molecular
clustering in H20. Regardless of the
specific variations of H20 clustering,
when viewed under an electron microscope
the molecules look like a vast array of snowflakes hooked
together as compared to unclustered water that looks like a
helter skelter array of molecules."
There is of course nothing
here to support any of the fantastic claims they make, so
potential customers must take as an act of pure faith such
statements as
"By drinking
living water that is loaded with life
supporting vibration and energy human beings will go to
the next level of development where an
unconditionally loving heart outshines the need to survive in
negative and destructive ways that are built into our genes as
a primitive trait. We can save the planet and ourselves by
drinking living water and supplying living water back into the
water supply."
"Drinking[our
product] will help people control any addiction: tobacco
addiction (nicotine addiction). over eating addictions (and
all eating disorders), alcohol addiction, drug addiction
(cocaine addiction, heroin addiction, amphetamine addiction,
marijuana addiction), gambling addiction and sex addiction. In
addiction many people are addicted to specific types of
behavior that are related to expressing anger through
violence, which can be resolved by drinking [our product]."
One unusual and interesting
aspect of this site is the large number of pages devoted to
dissing all the other altered-water products, including most of
those described above. This strikes me as a classic example of
the pot calling the kettle black!
To show that this stuff is not
classic snake oil but is based on Solid Science, we are given a
dose of what seems to me like watered-down superstring theory:
The M-Theory in
physics establishes the scientific basis for vibration and
energy that exist on higher dimensions, and is not a new age
perspective at all. The M stands for the Mystery behind
everything in the universe, which is Frequency. In the
M-Theory, there is a mathematical understanding that an
infinite array of frequencies on 11 dimensions give rise
everything in the three dimensional universe that humans can
perceive.
How do they make this
Wunderwasser?
"Platonic Solid
Inversion Geometry creates a mixing of implosion and explosion
so that energy and vibration are accessed (implosion) and then
expressed (explosion). In the center of the vortex is zero
point -- the field of all possibilities... as the creative
forces of the universe are tapped into as higher dimensional
vibration and energy; and with the chaos created by the
confrontation between clockwise (implosion) and
counterclockwise (explosion) vortex spin via the way in which
water folds on itself in ...the higher dimensional vibration
and energy ."
He does say that even if he
were to provide a detailed description of his proprietary
process, we ordinary mortals would not likely be able to
understand it. This is about the only statement in this
extraordinary Web site that I can fully agree with.
incredible water machine
This is a distillation device
with a difference: instead of shrinking the molecules as some of
the hucksters profiled below claim to do, this WunderStill
enlarges them:
[Our] water
molecule is LARGER with the same molecular weight as an
ordinary water molecule and since the electrons kill viruses,
they are using the water for proprietary medical applications.
They also found the angle between the hydrogen atoms is 10
degrees greater, the viscosity is different and it has a
beautiful crystalline structure at ROOM TEMPERATURE that is
dodecahydronal (12planes). The implications of [this] WATER
MOLECULES™ are INCREDIBLE.
Yes, INCREDIBLE is a good way
of describing the content of this nonsense-crammed page. Why are
bigger H2Os better? The company offers the following
outright lies:
Since OUR
WATER'S MOLECULES are LARGER (as any lab will confirm), they
HOLD MORE ELECTRONS...like it was when OXYGEN was at 38% and
rainwater was highly charged, potentially explaining the
incredible ages mentioned in the BIBLE! THAT'S WHAT OUR
PRODUCT DOES, nature's way! This is a MOMENTOUS BREAKTHROUGH
because ELECTRONS KILL VIRUSES (ordinary water doesn't have
enough ELECTRONS), returns wells to purity, and expanded
molecules STAY THAT WAY.
Un-Real Water
This site is a treasure trove
of pseudoscientific sophistry which does an unusually impressive
job of intertwining fact and fiction with the ultimate purpose
of separating suckers from their money. It possesses all kind of
miraculous properties, including lower surface tension, ability
to contain more solids (and thus reduce scaling), makes seeds
germinate faster, improves water flow across cell membranes,
discourages "unnatural (pathogenic)" microorganisms, etc.
One of their products is a
"catalytic battery":
All of the
materials used to manufacture the battery have high
diamagnetic susceptibilty. The body of the battery is always
brass or copper. Inside the battery is a proprietary mixture
made from a special vegetable carbon (which we make), and a
mixture of essential oils. For special batteries, we also add
specific extracts and/or mineral additives. Prior to mixing
with the carbon, the essential oils and
extracts are subjected to a proprietary charging process,
which increases many-fold the frequency of the oils to create
a very significant biomagnetic energy...
The activated oils physically work on the
diamagnetic metals of the body, which transmit specific
frequencies to the water (or other liquid). The oligometalic
effects of the metals structure the water, while the specific
frequencies of the essential oils and extracts are "coded" by
the water."
Comment:
In Chemistry, "diamagnetism" is the very weak
repelling force that a magnetic field exerts on a molecule or
ion containing no unpaired electrons (and thus, on most
substances.) What these oils and "frequencies" are all about, or
what all this has to do with enliviening or revitalizing water
is beyond me, but people who are credulous enough to fall for
this stuff are rarely inclined to ask such question!
The top and highest technology in the 21 century
This is how this seriously
English-challenged site flogging a site offering a product
invented by a Korean doctor who claims to have "2 PHD degrees in
Molecule Correction Medical Science and Physical science at
University of Honolulu." He appears to have stumbled on a new
thermodynamic theory of disease:
It was
discovered that the control of Entropy is a must for a healthy
condition of our body. ... The reason for the modern disease
is that abnormal cells are developed inside of our body mainly
due to environmental factors, which increases "Entropy". ...
Entropy kills normal healthy cells and makes them abnormal.
... Meals produce and maintain our body temperature at 36.5
and then the result is excrement (excreta). ... Once Entropy
is expanded, this kind of useless and harmful excrement is
always produced. ...The more Entropy expands, the more we have
diseases and die sooner.
How can all this be corrected?
Ordinary H2O is not good enough; you need this
nostrum which is supposed to have the the chemical formula H30.OH!
—which the developer, perhaps having been away from Chemistry
for a while, writes as H30.OH. Anyone who has
completed a high school Chemistry course will recognize this as
a hydronium-hydroxide ion pair. The poor guy is likely unable to
appreciate the delicious irony that the decomposition of this
ion-pair was found to be the fastest chemical reaction ever
observed in work that won
Manfred Eigen the 1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Unless you
can drink this within 0.000000000001 second of when it was made,
forget about it! Anyway, having dazzled us with his command of
chemistry, the doctor shares his medical expertise:
The water we
drink penetrates into the cell of our body through cell
membrane. At the time the water goes into the cell, the
structure of water, H2O, is changed to H30.OH.
... If the abnormal moleculular structure of water in the cell
is replaced with the normal one, then adult diseases like
cancers and tumors will disappear accordingly.
Lest you doubt any of this,
consider that:
Metal goes rust
in water, but metal does not go rust in our body. This means a
metal goes rust in H20 water, but not rust in H30.OH
water because Entropy cannot expand in the H30.OH
water. RNA can deliver the information of DNA to the cells
successfully if the cell maintains the balance between + and =
of the cell and has enough H30.OH water in the
cell.
Although they don't explicitly
say so, one can presume that this water somehow restores this H30.OH
to the body. According to another page at this site, it will:
Improve the
regeneration of cells ... facilitate excretion, digestion and
inhalation .. [provide] Growth acceleration: vegetables and
flowers ... Strengthen immune system ... Prevention from
harmful ion: Food poisoning, tumor on the eyelid ...
Neutralization of poison and/or detoxification: neutralize
chemicals ... Facilitate metabolism and synthesis of 300
million enzymes ... Deliver all the information coming to and
from DNA.
But this is no ordinary
snake-oil; according to their list of "testimonials", this
magical water is a handy remedy for any number of life's little
problems that we all face from time to time:
Cleansing out
dusts and mites - Stomach ache - Sprained ankle - Itching in
anus - Piles - Athlete's foot - Corn on the foot - Gloomy and
dim eyes - Hang-over - Decayed tooth - Get rid of roaches
All these wonders come to us
from "a typical networking company and won an award of Faithful
Tax Filing Prize from the Korean Govt." This site is so pathetic
that I almost feel more sorry for these hucksters than for the
suckers who fall for this baloney.
Computer-clustered water
Our
top rating for the dumbest water clustering scam of all goes to
this one. How does it work? Why simply by "Divine Law for
Physical Manifestation Through Spiritual Matrices and Dynamic
Intent", and it's all implemented in a 14-Mb computer program.
Actually, water-clustering is only one of its minor features;
this software turns your computer into a machine that transmits
your prayers directly to God! Basically, you just type your
prayer into the window, optionally choose a "sacred geometric
form" or a picture of a medicinal herb that reinforces your
prayer's intent, press ENTER, and away you go!
your heart-felt
prayer emits a coherent electromagnetic frequency
(mathematical) signal to YahVah, which is recorded by the
computer program as well. The computer, (as is obviously the
case with God) first identifies this mathematically coherent
(linear) record of your heart's intent (prayer). It does this
by simply searching the environment for 30 feet surrounding
the CPU to identify a coherent harmonic linear resonance
pattern consistent with your typed prayer/intent. ... Next,
this coherent mathematical sequence/signal is repeatedly sent
out from the computer ... repeatedly thousands of times per
second for as long as you like. This is accomplished through
the use of a repeater module. This module pulses the coherent
pattern out to an exit point on a mathematically formulated
energy vortex. This proprietary mathematically formulated
energy vortex operates on what has been termed "zero-point
energy" so that it can continue to function optimally without
robbing energy from your computer or you. ... Using this
system, designed by God,
your energy/prayer/intent typically returns very quickly and
efficiently.
What if you don't want to
bother God, but merely want to cluster some water? Nothing could
be easier:
instead of
spending approximately $50 person, per month, by buying
[CACA], [our product] has a pre-set
[CACA] production program. Simply
take a gallon of steam distilled water in a glass jar, click
the [ CACA] function on the MIRACLE
6, set the timer, click start, and within minutes you have a
gallon of fresh powerful [ CACA].
But there is more:
You can even rejuvenate your
own DNA within minutes by replenishing the [CACA] within your
own body!! This will add a "constitutional" hedge against
disease and premature death.
You can take and transmit
energy imprints from virtually anything and send it anywhere
and to anyone. For example, if you wish to extract the energy
from an herb, vitamin, or essential oil, and use it locally or
remotely for healing, [our product] makes this easy.
Furthermore, if a person is
exposed to anthrax, by programming the MIRACLE 6 to prevent
infection or boost immunity, "Thy will be done, on earth as it
is in heaven." Since there is no disease in heaven, and all
miracles are possible, guess what? You're protected.
I would love to know how many
copies of this software have been sold! It's beyond my
conception that even the most looney new-agers or religious nuts
would bite on this one, but gullibility and stupidity apparently
know no bounds.
UN-clustered water
An alternative view is that
ordinary water is all-too "clustered", and holds that these
clusters impede the flow of H2O molecules into and
out of our cells. Since this conception of water is closer to
the modern chemists' view of water behaving more as one gigantic
cluster, it may well be that un-clustering is the way to
go! Some sites that I have come across are profiled below.
implosion
of electromagnetic and subtle energy fields emanating from
the device (which does not use magnets or require
electricity) with those of the water that is to be treated.
The interacting causes a restructuring of the physical and
energetic properties of the water and is referred to as
revitalization. It is like a tuning fork which causes one to
resonate similar to the other when in close proximity.
Water, which is subject to such an influence, undergoes a
change in its structural composition.
Another site markets another
water treatment device. As they explain it,
Water
molecules come in clusters rather than single molecules. Tap
water has very large clusters (10 to 13 molecules per
cluster). The [machine] use electrolysis to reduce large tap
water clusters from their original size into 5 to 6
molecules per cluster. The smaller cluster size gives the
water excellent hydrating properties, high solubility and
good permeability.
Those who hold that merely
smashing macroclusters into microclusters is just going
halfway should consider this one whose product purports to
have
more
electrons than normal water" and whose molecule "is one half
the size of the normal water molecule which makes it more
permeable to the cells...and allows the body to assimilate
it more rapidly.
Another H2O-shrinker
site:
When [our
water], which is much like dew, replaces the energy of
common water, the new liquid is technically just water.
However, these molecules are smaller and do not occupy as
much space as other energies. Therefore, this water is far
easier for living cells to absorb, and is a much better
moisturizer.
Other weird water sites
Nordic nonsense: more absurd pseudoscience
Another site is so full of
hilarious nonsense that it deserves its own commentary. Their
product "is based upon a new revolutionary concept in Water
Treatment... It processes all the Water in a direct way, leading
it into a double helix spiral, which creates a vortex energy
field. It uses Mother Nature's own methods of generating energy
within the Water." The site contains links to a "research page"
full of bogus pseudoscientific results based on "photonic light
emission" and Kirlian photography, a long-discredited Russian
invention. This same outfit, which is located on Denman Island
(a well-known neo-hippie community) near Vancouver Canada, also
peddled devices that are supposed to protect you from "geopathic
stress, negative earth radiation, and electromagnetic fields."
Another product that falls roughly into
this same catagory is modestly described by the manufacturer
as "The Greatest Preventative And Healing Discovery In The
History Of Mankind". This elixir is sold as a concentrate that
is added to ordinary water. Their pathetically English-
challenged technical information page describes it as
a formulation of sodium
micel, supercharged by the additional electrolytes of castor
extracts which react to form a stable polymerized compound.
When the catalyst's heavily charged ions are incorporated
into the formulation, or the metabolism of a living
organism, often a new or better function can be obtained and
so it was.
... and so it evidently is! In a brief
lesson in physiology, they tell us
When you give the body
the right kind of water, it allows the blood to flow to the
cells and thus we function more like in the manner nature
designed us to. Toxins are the cause of death before time.
The right kind of water is critical to stop degeneration of
the body. When our body is loaded with toxins, it cannot
replace the cells in like kind. Each cell will reproduce in
a lesser kind ... thus, the aging process escalates.
Uh, huh!
Some really weird stuff
What has this guy been smoking?
A now-defunct page invoked
sacred geometry, and
conscious materials to raise the energy of oceans, rivers,
drinking water and humanity. This evolving photon and [CACA]
technology has dramatically improved the condition of the
Pacific ocean, lakes and rivers in the U.S. and around the
globe. Our oceans and environment are polluted and low in
the vitality that is needed to ensure not only our own
survival, but a shift in consciousness of the planet and all
life on earth. We believe the water technology presented
here will prepare the earth and humanity for the coming
shift."
They offered an aluminum " [CACA]
Photon Disk" ($75) "designed to educate water how to evolve
from 6 sided polygons to 12 sided polygons", increasing " [CACA]s
ability to access and store information.. an important step in
water evolution."
To the above we might add
that the body and soul as a whole can likely only resonate
with universal FREQUENCIES OF LIGHT AND WHOLENESS from our
shared universal divine source of being to the extent
allowed by the quality of our individual whole self
reception and transmission powers. These powers must
obviously work within the limits of both our organic and
spiritual states of being. WATER would seem to be one of the
most important of all major organic factors that define
those limits. The idea of 'baptism' would certainly support
this . . . and it may turn out that the original idea was
much more than just a "symbol" of a cleansing experience.
What sayest thou John the Baptist?
Duhh....!
Magic from magnesium
One of the goofiest products I have come
across are "Prill
Beads" which consist of "magnesium oxide infused with Life
Force." These magical beads "have a natural affinity to
anything unnatural. This is why they help rid the body of
heavy metals, toxins and dead proteins." Water that is treated
by these "prills" is claimed to have smaller molecules (for
better absorption by the body) and is restored to the state
found in amniotic fluid and "primordial dew". How do they make
this magical stuff? By magic, of course! Their device
can be pictured as a
configuration of the Force of Love. An outer ring containing
more than 120,000 pounds of the Crystal form of Love ... and
an inner ring where the force is stored. ... Anything placed
in this space, simply becomes magical.
What could be easier? The site,
containing some of the silliest we have seen, also claims that
your treated used bath water will help restore the aquatic
environment after it disappears down the drain.
One that got away: the strange saga of "IE-Structured Water"
I have made reference in this
site to "the reputable scientific literature", meaning generally
those scientific journals that only publish articles that have
been "peer-reviewed" by persons the Editor believes to be
knowledgeable in the field and who have no connection with the
author. This usually works reasonably well, but not always.
In 1996, a physics journal
published a paper by Shui-Yin Lo and others entitled Physical
properties of water with IE structures. According to this
article, "stable rigid structures (called IE structures which
stands for ice formed under electric field) can be formed from
water molecules at room temperature and normal pressure." The
authors go on to report the results of various measurements on
this water (dielectric constant, conductivity, etc.) Because
this was a "letters" journal intended for rapid publication of
new results, no details of the experiments were given, and
peer-review, if it occurred at all, must have been cursory at
best. As is commonly done, experimental details and other
background information were referenced as "submitted for
publication", but I have not been able to locate any subsequent
article.
Lo's affiliation was given as
a university in China, as well as a California company, American
Technologies Group (ATG). ATG was apparently marketing a device
called "The Force" that was purported to increase gas mileage
and improve engine performance when placed in the air intake
system of an automotive engine. The active ingredient of this
product was supposed to be "IE crystals", which the company
described as "a new form of ice stable at room temperatures."
This obvious fraud attracted the attention of the Oregon
Attorney General's office, which brought action against ATG as
is described in detail in the OAG's Financial FraudWeb site.
What went wrong here? It
appears that the journal that published Lo's paper is a rather
middling one, which is a polite way of saying that it attracts a
disproportionate number of papers that did not or could not pass
muster elsewhere. This should stand as an object lesson to those
who bleat on about how the "scientific establishment" suppresses
the work of those who challenge its paradigms. It does no such
thing, of course. It merely tries to keep third-rate work from
polluting the collective knowledge base.
Some postscripts:
* An interesting article Ice
physics and the UMIST affair describes another paper delivered
at a conference devoted to "Stable water clusters". It turns out
that this work was sponsored also by ATG.
* See American Technologies Group: what are they up to now? for
a much more complete and exquisitely documented story of this
sordid saga, along with information about other scams promoted
by this now presumably defunct outfit.
References
Keith McCall's
Water Stupidity
page has a lot of good stuff on structure-altered water, as
well as on Benveniste's "water memory" experiments relating to
homeopathy. He also favors us with some choice irate letters
from True Believers, along with his responses. (One of the
personal costs of being in the pseudoscience-debunking game is
dealing with crank- and hate-mail from people who have no
conception of the distinction between science and
pseudoscience.)
There is a short article on
CACA in the
January 2001 Bulletin of the North Texas Sceptics.
Martin Chaplin's
Water Structure and
Properties site is a scientifically sound, well laid-out
collection of articles on water and its structure which I highly
recommend. One of these pages has some interesting information
and links relating to water clusters, "polywater", and
CACA.
Much of the nonsense
surrounding structure-altered waters is similar to that
associated with the much older (and widely popular) form of
quackery known as homeopathy:
NCAHF paper. -
Saul
Green talk at Harvard - The idea that water can retain any
kind of "memory" (as Benveniste suggested) is not supported by
much evidence, although a
recent carefully-done study does raise this intriguing
possibility.
For science teachers: see
Using
pseudoscience as a teaching aid for some interesting ways to
make use of pseudoscience sites, and some chemistry-related
examples.
The truth about human ageing
- In an attempt to counter the widespread commercial hype and
lies regarding anti-ageing products, 51 leading scientists in
the field of aging research collaborated on a position paper
that sets out the current state of the science.
Some goofy writings on water:
Biomagnetism and water (Y. Ohno and H. Reminick),
Structured water as an alternative medicine (J. Bender),
The Power of Water (J. Manning), Water: Essential to
Existence (D. Stewart and D. Routledge).
music,
words spoken, words typed and taped to the glass containers,
photographs and long-distance thought messages. Some of the
photographs are amazing and all of them show a response from
the water.
Well, many of the photos are
quite nice, but the shapes of ice crystals are highly
dependent on the conditions and rates of freezing, so Emoto's
interpretations have no scientific validity.
Wiccan water. Water apparently plays a
role in Wiccan ritual; a now-defunct site had an amusing bit
about "sun water, moon water, crystal water, water
rituals... Call forth the Magick of the Spirit of Water to
fill your home. May the Water that flows through you bring
blessings to this family." ... which brings us to
Urine Therapy - another form of magical
water quackery; a typical site is
Shirley's Wellness Cafe (I don't think I will be dining
there soon!) At the
jesus-diet.com site presided over by a
"Naturopathic Urine Therapist (the initials say it all!) we
were informed that "Jesus drank urine." (Ah, sweet breath!).
Our
top rating for the dumbest water clustering scam of all goes to
this one. How does it work? Why simply by "Divine Law for
Physical Manifestation Through Spiritual Matrices and Dynamic
Intent", and it's all implemented in a 14-Mb computer program.
Actually, water-clustering is only one of its minor features;
this software turns your computer into a machine that transmits
your prayers directly to God! Basically, you just type your
prayer into the window, optionally choose a "sacred geometric
form" or a picture of a medicinal herb that reinforces your
prayer's intent, press ENTER, and away you go!
Other weird water sites"The Message from Water" is a book by Masaru Emoto containing photos of ice crystals from waters which have been exposed to
These
structure-altered WunderWassers fall into two groups, claiming
either that the ficticious water clusters are
Dr.
Mu Shik Jhon, President of the Korean Academy of Science and
Technology, and the Honorary Chair-Professor of Korea Advanced
Institute of Science and Technology and a world authority in
water research ... is the originator of the 
We
succeeded in adding the 
Yet
another product ("Catalyst-altered water.. a more efficient form
of water") is supposed to have been discovered accidentally by a
late John Willard, a chemistry professor at the South Dakota
School of Mines. (It would be interesting to see if there is any
evidence for this!) It's hard to believe that a legitimate chem
prof would promote such bunk.