Metabolic Processes

Approximately 75% of our body weight is water and water makes up over 80% of our brain and 90% of our blood. Since water is an integral part of everything the body does, there is now evidence to indicate that insufficient hydration of the body can, in itself, lead to or exacerbate specific health conditions and illnesses.[1] Water therapy has been reported to reverse or minimize such conditions as premature aging, arthritis, heartburn, back pain, asthma, hypertension and migraine headaches.to mention just a few. In addition water has also been shown to provide the following important benefits[2]:

Water helps the body absorb and assimilate nutrients into the blood stream and internal organs.

Proper hydration helps the body resist the formation of kidney stones, urinary infections, and constipation. Water also accelerates the excretion of toxins and wastes from the body.

Most physicians agree that the most important prescription for good health and nutrition is to properly hydrate the body with pure, clean water. Water is the essence of life on Earth and sufficient hydration is essential for the proper functioning of all life as we know it. Along with the thousands of doctors who use and recommend the Wellness Filter® in Japan, several hospitals have outfitted their entire facilities with commercial sized Wellness Filters® (Appendix D - Installations). The Wellness Filter has been measured to change the physical characteristics of the water (e.g., surface tension, reduction-oxidation potential, and solubility). The result is a fresh, enhanced water that is engineered to emulate the famous Hunza water in Pakistan.

Digestion & assimilation of nutrients - Users of the treated water were observed to digest their food more quickly and thoroughly than subjects using untreated water. Treated water has been shown to assist the body in achieving a natural alkaline state. Nutritional supplements have been shown to be transported into the blood stream faster than with untreated water. At the cellular level, osmotic pressure is reduced and the transport of biochemical reactants across cell membranes is increased.[1]

[2] Real Simple, May 2001, www.realsimple.com, Time, Inc.

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Water, the essence of life and the basis of good health. Welcome to a new experience in water.

The Wellness Filter® system.

Americans are living in a new age of health consciousness. There is hardly anyone that is not taking a variety of nutritional supplements or trying a new diet or home exercise machine to make them look better, lose weight or achieve optimum health. This expanded health consciousness has lead to an unprecedented pursuit of natural or holistic approaches even within the established medical community. It is no wonder that American's spend more than $30 billion a year on nutritional supplements, herbs, homeopathic medications and the like. Today, tens of thousands of physicians, chiropractors and health practitioners are even including such supplements in their practices. It is becoming more common every day to have a patient leave the doctor's office with a nutritional formulation in hand as part of a particular health therapy. Unfortunately, despite the new openness within the medical community to explore the benefits of nutritional and natural remedies, most practitioners overlook or underemphasize the single most important element of any health program.water. No matter what the specific health or fitness goal, one cannot achieve the maximum benefit from any health program without drinking the right kind of water in the proper amount. All experts agree, that next to the air we breathe, water is the most important thing we will ever put in our bodies. It is surprising that so much time and money is being spent on supplements, organic foods and natural remedies (some of which are very subtle and delicate) but little attention is given to the quality and effect of the water with which those items are taken.

One of the reasons for this is that Americans pride themselves in having very high quality water from every tap and assume that all water is the same. A thorough study of water in America and the world in general tells a different story. A few well-placed hours on the Internet show that the world is in an unprecedented water quality crisis as well as water shortage. Depending on what part of the country one lives in, it is easy to find trace amounts of nitrates, pesticides, heavy metals, radioactive compounds, petrochemicals and parasites coming from the local municipal water supply. The toxins and free radicals in these waters are made significantly more toxic to humans by the addition of chlorine -- a compound mandated by the public health department. The Environmental Protection Agency now reports that individuals who drink and bath in chlorinated surface waters (i.e., water from lakes, rivers and shallow wells) have a 50% greater likelihood of getting cancer in their lifetime. [1] [2] Most consumers are surprised to learn that one can absorb up to 600% more contaminants in your body in a ten-minute shower than in all the water consumed in a day.[3] In January 2000, Sixty Minutes, the investigative TV program, reported that as many as 100 million Americans were drinking water contaminated with MTBE, a gasoline additive that has been leaching into our water supplies since 1992. MTBE is believed to cause cancer in concentrations as low as 10 parts per billion and unfortunately local water companies are helpless to remove it. Because of such contaminants, two out of every five households now have a water filter or drink bottled water, as will be discussed later, with no assurance of safety. The problem is that the average consumer and even most medical professionals do not know what is the best way to treat water or the best source of water to drink.

As indicated above, failure to heed what type of water one drinks can negate or diminish the benefit of whatever supplements or health protocol is being followed. However, there is a significant difference between water purification systems and the type of water they produce. Depending on the type of system one uses and the way one drinks, it can positively or negatively affect one's health.

[1] "Cancer Incidence and Trihalomethane Concentrations in the Public Drinking Water System", George L. Carlo. American Journal of Public health, Vol. 74, No. 5, 1984, pp. 479-484.

[2] "Organic Chemical Contaminants in Drinking Water and Cancer", American Journal of Epidemiology, Vo. 110, 1979, p.420.

[3] "Showers Pose a Risk to Health", Ian Anderson, New Scientist, 9/18/86.

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Why the Wellness Filter

Read why thousands of people all over the world are choosing Wellness over the rest

Is water quality all that important?

Since water is essential to life and aids the body in virtually all of its functions including waste elimination, lubrication of the joints, transport of vital nutrients to our cells, regulation of body temperature and metabolism, repair of damaged tissue, mental performance and much, much more, it would reason that the quality of the water one drinks affects all those areas as well. Put bluntly, the quality of your water can actually determine whether you are accelerating the aging process, destroying or damaging cells and tissue, or even increasing your risk of health conditions like cancer.

How are the Wellness Filter® products unique from other filters on the market?

Developed almost two decades ago in Japan, the Wellness Filter®, unlike other water filters, is designed to both purify and enhance, thus improving the vital role that water plays in our health and nutrition. America's water supply, once the safest in the world, now contains over 2000 contaminants that can reduce water's beneficial effect on our health, and in some cases, can actually cause increased rates of extremely serious health conditions. The Wellness Filter®, designed to remove these contaminants, then changes, adds to, even makes the water better, with proprietary enhancement media. This produces clean, natural tasting and nourishing water with a quality that is outside the reach of conventional water filters.

The Wellness difference: Simple filtration VS Purification and Value

The Wellness Filter® employs multiple layers of treatment media that clean, purify, and then enrich the water much the way the earth does when it naturally recharges water. Now available for the kitchen, the whole house, the shower, and a portable system for traveling, the Wellness Filter provides an unsurpassed ability to remove an extremely broad spectrum of contaminants while creating an energized water for the health-conscious consumer.

The Wellness Kitchen Filter attaches to your kitchen faucet (adapter Supplied) or can be mounted under counter (additional charge for adapter). It is designed to give better than bottled quality water for less than 5 cents per gallon. Crafted with convenience and value in mind, the kitchen unit has 2 carbon block filters which need to be replaced annually. The mineral cartridge never needs to be replaced.

With sleek European styling, Wellness Shower Filter is designed to reduce dangerous chlorine and other contaminants by more than 99% -- seventy percent greater than the standards that are even required by the NSF! It has the same water filtering and enhancing media as the whole house system and also has a backwash feature that can extend the life of the unit to up to two years, but the cartridge does have to be replaced periodically.

The Wellness Home System, which treats the water as it enters your entire home, contains a fully automated version of this patented backwashing design. This feature activates itself each week while you are sleeping and backwashes the contaminants out of the filter, regenerating it for continued use. With its use you can rest assured that every ounce of water that comes into contact with you, your family, your pets, even your food, will be of the highest quality. (Find out the real Wellness difference: Enhanced water.read on)

The real Wellness difference: Filtered water VS Enhanced water

In addition to providing safe, clean, pure water, the Wellness Filter® products are all designed to deliver enhanced water of a quality found in only a few rare natural sources. Utilizing 5 specialty layers of enhancing media, each Wellness Filter® product changes the water by: 1) increasing the ease of absorption (thus promoting easier hydration and detoxification), 2) adding certain trace minerals for optimum cellular health and 3) adding reduced ions, which give the body a mild anti-oxidant effect. Although the Wellness Filter® is not a medical device and no medical claims are made of its use, thousands of users in Japan and the US have reported improvement in numerous physical conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, irritable bowel, gastric reflux, and arthritis, to name just a few. Find out why the Japanese Ministry of Health has installed Wellness Filter®s in over 100 government hospitals and why the Hippocrates Health Institute (number one rated medical spa in the world) recommends the filter to all of its patients. Improve water's already vital role in your life and your family's by getting a Wellness Filter® today.

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Wellness Filter® Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Wellness Filter® Process and what makes it so unique?

Unlike traditional water treatment filters, the Wellness Filter® is actually two complementary systems in the same unit. First, it is a purification system, which is designed to remove a broad range of contaminants through a multi-layer filtration section. This purification section produces clean, purified and delicious tasting drinking water. Second, the water goes through an enhancement section where the water travels through five sequential layers of rare and exotic Japanese media. These layers of enhancement media temporarily change the physical and chemical properties of the water by increasing solubility, adding trace minerals, changing surface tension, and adding negative ions. Water is the essence of life on this planet and next to the air we breathe, the most important thing we will ever put in our body. Water positively affects every function in our bodies as it does with animals and plants. The result of this enhancement process is that water's vital role in our lives is given a boost. Studies have shown that Wellness Filtered water can be absorbed faster, that it offers a mild anti-oxidant effect (which reduces free radical attack and slows the aging process), and that it facilitates detoxification. Japanese, Australian and US users have reported numerous health benefits from regular consumption of and bathing in Wellness Filter water. Finally, through the Whole House filter's patented design, the unit periodically backwashes the filter, which purges it of accumulated contamination and dirt and regenerates it for long-term use .

How does the Wellness Filter® regenerate the activated carbon in its purification section? My local water dealer tells me this is impossible without destroying the carbon.

Activated carbon has been used for over a hundred years to treat and purify water. Convention home water filters that utilize activated carbon are designed to be routinely replacement with new cartridges - the greatest long-term expense for these types of systems. This is the accepted practice in the US due to our society's orientation toward disposables. What your water dealer may not know is that on an industrial scale, activated carbon is regenerated on a regular basis in order to avoid the expense of routine replacement. These regeneration systems utilize one of three methods to purge the carbon of contaminants: steam, high temperature air and solvent extraction. The Wellness Filter® utilizes the latter method in an ingenious process. During the backwash mode of operation, water is first exposed to the enhancement media in the lower portion of the filter before it contacts the activated carbon section of the filter. The enhancement section increases the solubility of the water and also adds negative ions to the water. The combination of these changes allows the backwash water to compete with the carbon for previously adsorbed contaminants and literally pulls them back into solution where they ultimately end up going down your drain. This has been independently verified by independent Japanese and US laboratories. However, no process can remove 100% of the adsorbed contaminants and even with routine and thorough backwashing the carbon will eventually lose its effectiveness.

Do all Wellness Filter® products have the unique ability to backwash and regenerate themselves?

No. Only the whole house unit has this award-winning feature. The kitchen and shower units contain the same enhancement media as the Whole House Unit and the Wellness Shower Filter does have a backwash feature which extends the life of the filter up to two years but the cartridges in the Kitchen and Shower units must be replaced periodically.

If the Wellness Whole House Filter is designed to last 10 years, is there a problem with bacteria accumulating in the activated carbon portion of the filter? I have read that carbon filters can accumulate bacteria and actually become toxic over time.

You are correct; many carbon filters can become toxic with bacteria if they are not changed at the proper time. The Whole House Wellness Filter does not have this problem due to its backwash feature. Routine backwashes have been shown to keep the filter clean and clear of bacteria for its entire life. The backwash is assisted by the presence of Taicho stone as the last media in the normal treatment cycle (first media contacted during a backwash). Taicho is naturally bacterial static and fungi static meaning it resists the growth of bacteria and fungus. Taicho was first used in Japan in 850 AD by a famous monk who had local towns people add a few pebbles of Taicho stone to their drinking water in order to stop an out break of deadly E. coli. It stopped the epidemic and has been used ever since as a natural media for keeping water free of bacteria.

I have a softener. Can I replace my softener with a Wellness Filter whole house unit?

It depends on several things but most importantly how hard you water is. The Wellness Filter® is not a softener and does not remove calcium and magnesium. It does however condition the water and make it behave as if it has been softened provided the level of hardness is not too high (i.e., below 200 ppm). Also, many softeners are there to remove high levels of iron as well as soften and the Wellness Filter® is not designed to remove excessively high levels of iron. The best way to find out if a Wellness Filter® will help your hard water is to have it tested as discussed above. We will then tell you exactly what we can do for you.

Why does the Wellness Whole House Filter® cost so much?

There are two aspects to the cost of this filter that should be considered.

First, the design of the Wellness Whole House Filter® is unlike any on the market today. Its patented backwashing system eliminates the need for the expensive replacement cartridges required by conventional filters. Each filter is precisely made to exacting standards and designed to give you years of unparallel use. Most conventional filters are made from inexpensive and disposable materials while the Wellness Whole House Filter® is engineered to last 10-years or more, with little or no maintenance.
Second, and most important of all, the Wellness Filter® is two systems in one (i.e., purification and enhancement), having six different types of high quality, media where most other filters have just one. Some of this media are both extremely rare and expensive to mine and refine. As an example, the far infrared ceramic media, which produces negative ions in the water without electricity, is made in part from a stone called Tenko-seki, which is available from only one mine in the world.

While the initial purchase cost of the Wellness Filter® is higher than others, it will give you pure and enhanced water for less than 5 cents per gallon - the lowest cost we have found.

What specific health claims can the Wellness Filter make?

The Wellness Filter makes no health claims because it has not been submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration for medical evaluation or clinical review. While the Japanese Ministry of Health has actually evaluated the Wellness Filter and has granted one of its media the status of being the first and only certified natural medicinal mineral and has permitted Mr. Naito's company in Japan to make specific health claims about the use of its water and its media, these rights do not transfer to the United States. Wellness has only reported the experiences and data of other Wellness Filter users. Wellness Enterprises is planning a series of clinical studies in Australia including one focusing on the effect of Wellness Filter water on diabetes. However, until it has concluded such clinical studies, it will not make any medical or related claims.

Will the Wellness Filter® fit my kitchen tap?

The Wellness Filter® comes with an adapter kit, which will fit most traditional outlets but will not fit some of the designer taps that have pull out handles with a flexible hose. There is an under counter unit to alleviate this problem and for those who just don't want the filter on their counter tops.

Is the Wellness Filter® just another new unproven fad?

The Wellness Filter® has been in use in Japan for more than 15 years. The Japanese Bureau of Health has tested and approved the Wellness Filter® concept and approved its use in a number of medical applications. Over 500,000 thousand units are in constant daily use. In addition, Japanese life insurance companies will reimburse 70% of the cost of the Wellness Filter® when it is prescribed by a doctor - the only water filter ever to be granted this consideration.

Why did it take so long to introduce the Wellness Filter® here?

The filter's inventor, Haru Naito, concentrated his efforts in Japan during the product's 18-year life there. He is very demanding on quality and was reluctant to bring the filter to the rest of the world until he had found the right marketing partners and could personally oversee its introduction into the US and other countries. In 2000, Haru decided to move back to Oneonta, NY where he attended college and personally launch the introduction of the Wellness Filter into the US. He chose Oneonta because he wanted to create local jobs there with the creation of Wellness Enterprises - his way of returning the friendship that had been shown to him by the local people while he was a foreign exchange student.

What are some of the more harmful organisms and chemicals removed by the Wellness Filter®?

Chlorine & chlorination byproducts such as trihalomethanes
Cryptosporidium and other parasites
MTBE
Pesticides and other toxic organics
E-coli and other bacteria
Suspended solids
Radon
Heavy metals & lead
Radioactive particulates

What independent standard testing has been performed on the Wellness Filter®?

The Wellness Filter was tested and certified to NSF 42 standards by Spectrum Laboratories, Inc - one of NSF's nationally certified, independent laboratories.
The filter was independently tested by PPB Laboratories of Gainesville, Florida for its ability to remove low levels of MTBE and was found to quantitatively remove all MTBE at influent concentrations of both 10 ppb and 120 ppb.
In 1995, it was tested and evaluated by the World Health Organization (WHO) on behalf of the Chinese Government and found to meet or exceed all WHO drinking water standards. During this testing it was awarded the distinction of being the number one rated filter of the 90+ filtration systems submitted for testing by the WHO.
The Japanese Ministry of Manufacturing has completed extensive testing on the filter and has certified it as meeting or exceeding WHO standards for water purification.
The Japanese Waterworks Association tested and approved the Wellness Filter® system.
Independent testing conducted by an Australian University (based in Sydney, New South Wales) found that the Wellness Filter® meets the testing criteria set down and established by the Australian National Health & Medical Research Council.

Is the Wellness Filter® used medically to treat skin conditions in Japan?

Yes. It was these properties that lead the Japanese Ministry of Health to install the Wellness Filter® in over 100 of their health treatment spas and hospitals throughout Japan. Japanese citizens of all ages receive spa treatment with Wellness Filter® water to assist in the treatment of these conditions. Japanese researchers found that the filter produces water that is both therapeutic (because of the mineral effect and high rate of hydration) as well as bacteria static effect. In addition, the Japanese believe that the negative ions produced by the filter aid the skin in healing faster if it is damaged or burned.

Can the Wellness Filter® water really help my teeth and improve dental health?

Yes. In independent studies, magnetically treated water was shown to dramatically reduce over 40% of the bacteria that leads to gingivitis - one of the principal causes of gum disease. In addition, there are independent studies linking the presence of gum disease with an increased rate of heart disease (i.e., believed to be related to the release of harmful bacteria from the gums into the blood stream). While no formal studies have been conducted on the Wellness Filter® and heart disease, there is some logic that if Wellness Filter® water can reduce the bacteria that causes gum disease and this bacteria can increase the incidence of heart disease, then there may be a corresponding reduction in heart disease among Wellness Filter® users.

Why should I care if water is easier to absorb?

With the increased hydration rate of Wellness Filter® water, it will be more readily absorbed into your body making skin and hair softer. In addition, good hydration with water is one of the most important and effect ways to detoxify the body of its wastes. The better we remove our wastes and toxins, the better we will perform and the better we will feel. The increased solubility of the water and the increased rate at which it moves through the body is also believed to enhance the absorption of vitamins and minerals into your body and promote better digestion.

I have read that Wellness Filter® water makes flowers, fruits and vegetables last longer. Is this true and if so, how does it do it?

Wellness Filter® water has been shown to have natural anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. Cut flowers last longer if you can control certain systemic infections of their circulatory systems. Wellness Filter® water has been shown to curb such infections and to extend the shelf like of roses by almost 100% over roses that are preserved in regular tap water. Our water is also easier to absorb (i.e., hydration is easier and quicker) and is able to travel to the extremities of the plant much longer helping it to continue its biochemical processes longer even though it has been cut off from its roots. With fruits and vegetables, its hydrating ability and anti-microbial properties are able to keep the fruits and vegetable plump, fungus-free and bacteria-free longer so that they will have a longer and healthier shelf life. The water will also more effectively remove pesticides and harmful bacteria from the exterior surface of the produce. The USDA reports that 10% of all outbreaks of E. coli in the US can be traced back to produce in our supermarkets.

Will the Wellness Filter® treat well water or just municipal water?

It will treat both municipal water and well water, however; we require that all well water be tested first before we will sell a system for well use. This is done because some well water contains excessive levels of staining compounds like iron and manganese that should be pre-treated before installing a Wellness Filter and we do not want to misapply our filter for such applications. You can have a local laboratory test your water or we can arrange for a national laboratory to give you a comprehensive water analysis. To get the national lab analysis, you can call National Testing Laboratories at (800) 458 - 3330 extension 223. Ask for the Water Check test kit and tell them that you are associated with Wellness Filter. They will give you the wholesale price of $175 for the test.

Backwashing sounds like a difficult task. Is it and how often do I backwash?

No, backwashing is easy. The Whole House System automatically backwashes itself once a week, while you sleep. Once the unit is set up, it is virtually maintenance free. Traditional filters without Wellness' backwash feature would require a filter replacement if clogged by excess sediment.

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