How Crunchy Is Your Water? The phases of Aqua Maturity for Health Seekers

Water is a fundamental element. It’s not optional. Every cellular process, every fascial glide, every mitochondrial reaction, every action and recovery depends on it. Yet most of YOU PEOPLE still treat it like an afterthought.

The average person walks around under-hydrated. Of those who finally start “drinking enough,” many are still operating at the lowest tiers of water quality drinking tap, or plastic bottled like a baby would a bottle. A smaller “crunchy group” knows to drink out of a stainless or glass option. Just about no one goes further into the water rabbit hole hydrogen-rich water, deuterium considerations, structured water, or the vessels that actually change how water behaves. Right now it’s still considered “crunchy” just to avoid plastic bottles. Almost nobody talks about the rest.

Allow me to introduce my very own water maturity phases as people progress.

Phase 1:

Chronic Underhydration (The Default)

Most people live here. They drink when thirsty (already late), rely on coffee or soda for fluid, and wonder why they feel old, tight, tired and slow to recover. Volume is the absolute foundation. Without enough water, every higher intervention is wasted. This is the lowest rung.

Phase 2:

Plastic-Bottled Water (Quantity Without Quality)

People finally hit a daily volume goal… by drinking from single-use plastic. Microplastics, plasticizers (BPA, BPS, and their replacements), and chemical leaching are real issues. The water itself is often purified or municipal source with chlorine byproducts and stripped of minerals. You fixed the quantity problem and created new ones. This is still the most common “I drink plenty of water” habit.

Phase 3:

Sufficient Volume From Glass, Stainless, or Quality Filtered Tap

Better. You remove the plastic variable and start protecting the water from unnecessary contaminants. Filtered municipal water or basic purified water in glass or stainless steel is a meaningful step up. Many people stop here and feel better simply because they’re no longer chronically under-hydrated and plastic-loaded. The water is still relatively “empty” of beneficial minerals and structure.

Phase 4:

Natural Spring Water or True Mineral Water

Now the source itself carries minerals—calcium, magnesium, bicarbonate, silica, and the rest. Natural spring water that hasn’t been heavily processed retains a more complex mineral profile than reverse-osmosis or distilled water. Taste improves. Absorption and cellular function improve. This is the first level where the water itself starts contributing rather than just filling volume.

Allow me to get a little nerdy and show

Multi-generational studies in rats drinking purified/low-mineral water showed lower calcium and magnesium content in bone and teeth, weaker biomechanical properties (e.g., reduced strength and strain resistance), and disturbed bone metabolism markers — even when overall bone mineral density (BMD) measured by DXA was not always significantly different.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4372292/

Human data is more observational and context-dependent:

• Children: Long-term drinking of very low-mineral water has been linked to lower bone mineral content, reduced height growth, lower osteoblast activity, and higher bone resorption markers. 

• Adults / postmenopausal women: Higher calcium intake from mineral-rich water is associated with better vertebral bone density. Conversely, populations relying heavily on desalinated or reverse-osmosis water (very low in calcium and magnesium) have shown higher rates of osteopenia/osteoporosis and signs of bone decalcification in some studies.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11111201/

Phase 5:

Spring or Filtered Water + High-Quality Trace Minerals

In order to make it to this level you have to understand that the body is thousands of electrical signals firing off at one time transferring from south to cell through water, water void of any minerals does not carry an electrical current.

spring waters still fall short of the ideal mineral ratio for modern depleted diets and high-output bodies. Adding a full-spectrum, ionic trace mineral concentrate (or carefully chosen mineral drops) restores what processing and soil depletion have removed. Magnesium, potassium, and the broader spectrum of trace elements matter for nerve conduction, muscle function, and fluid balance. This is where many serious athletes and biohackers currently operate.

Phase 6:

Mineralized Water Used for Infusions

Once the base water is solid, it becomes a delivery vehicle for more of natures compounds. Herbal infusions, light mineral soaks, or teas and tinctures turn water into something way more functional. This is still rare. Most people who add minerals never think to use the water itself as the medium for further compounds.

Phase 7:

Hydrogen-Rich Water

Molecular hydrogen dissolved in water acts as a selective antioxidant. Targeting the most damaging radicals (hydroxyl radical and peroxynitrite) without disrupting beneficial signaling. Studies demonstrate the strong effects on exercise recovery, lactate clearance, muscle soreness, inflammatory markers, and metabolic recovery. I use Tablets, instead of generator bottles, both are great, and will move you into a different category of functional health. The evidence here is stronger than most people realize and continues to grow, particularly around performance and recovery.

Phase 8:

Considerations of the .01% (Low-Deuterium / Deuterium-Depleted Water)

Deuterium is a heavier isotope of hydrogen. Natural water contains a small amount (typically ~135–155 ppm depending on geography and source). Nothing your body cannot handle however,elevated deuterium can interfere with mitochondrial function, ATP production, and thus every biological process. Modern sources of that elevation are Man-made agricultural chemicals (most notably glyphosate and related herbicides) disrupt the body’s (and the food chain’s) ability to maintain healthy deuterium homeostasis. Glyphosate interferes with key enzymes involved in NADP+/NADPH cycling, flavoprotein function, impairs oxygen delivery to mitochondria, and reduces the production of deuterium-depleted (EZ) water. Grain-fed livestock raised on glyphosate-treated crops therefore tend to yield higher-deuterium fats, proteins, and dairy compared with grass-fed counterparts. In addition, when glyphosate is metabolized it can further feed deuterium into certain pathways. The net result is a higher systemic deuterium load from both drinking water and the modern food supply. Deuterium-depleted water (DDW) lowers that load. Research shows signals in metabolism, mitochondrial function, certain cancer-adjunct contexts, and recovery. It has a downside though, it is expensive. But you can still lower the deuterium burden without the price tag by changing the lifestyle choices.

Prioritize a diet that emphasizes grass-fed animal fats, butter, tallow, and wild-caught seafood (fats oxidize to water that is substantially lower in deuterium than carbohydrate-derived water) while minimizing grains, sugars, and most high-glycemic plant foods that are naturally deuterium-rich. If your purchasing a glass bottle of water somewhere choose drinking water from higher latitudes, higher altitudes, or glacial/spring sources when possible; these are naturally lower in deuterium than equatorial or heavily processed city water. Support the body’s own cleaning mechanisms through regular aerobic or zone-2 exercise (sweating + fat oxidation), periodic cold exposure or cold showers non-shivering thermogenesis and metabolic water production, and heat/infrared sauna or sunlight (promotes sweating and also helps influence water structuring). Adequate deep sleep and intermittent fasting further aid deuterium fractionation and cellular cleanup. Hydrogen-rich water or simple practices that favor hydrogen over deuterium (grounding, certain polyphenol-rich foods) can provide additional gentle support. None of these fully replaces high-purity commercial DDW, but together they reduce incoming load and improve the body’s ability to keep mitochondrial deuterium levels lower—exactly the goal for most people who cannot or prefer not to buy the expensive product.

Top Tier — Quantum Water

Most discussions of water stop at chemistry (minerals, pH, contaminants, H₂). Quantum Water is when you understand water as a dynamic, charge-separated, light-responsive medium that can exist in different organizational states.

1. Structured / Exclusion-Zone (EZ) Water

Gerald Pollack’s research shows that water next to hydrophilic surfaces forms ordered layers that exclude particles and solutes. These exclusion zones can extend hundreds of micrometers—far beyond the few molecular layers classical chemistry expected. The EZ region tends to be negatively charged; the bulk water beyond it carries the opposite charge. The result is a natural charge separation that behaves like a battery.

Key drivers of EZ expansion:

• Light, especially infrared (around 3 µm is particularly effective)

• Hydrophilic surfaces

• Certain forms of ordered motion

Sunlight, near-infrared sources, and even body heat can expand these zones. That’s why simply leaving water in clear glass in sunlight for a period of time is one of the simplest structuring practices. The energy isn’t just heating the water; photons appear to help build the ordered phase.

2. Motion and Vortexing

Gentle, coherent spinning or vortexing is used by many practitioners to encourage ordering. The idea is that laminar, spiraling flow supports coherent structure more effectively than chaotic turbulence. While the laboratory data is stronger for light and hydrophilic surfaces than for every commercial vortex device, the principle of ordered motion influencing water’s organization is consistent with the broader picture of EZ formation.

3. Vessel Intelligence

The container is not neutral. It’s an active interface.Copper vessels remain the strongest traditional and practically supported option. Storing water in copper for 8–16+ hours produces measurable antimicrobial effects through contact killing. Trace copper also leaches into the water in amounts that are generally safe and biologically relevant when done correctly. Avoid acidic liquids, don’t leave water in copper indefinitely, and don’t over-consume. Used properly, copper is both a purification surface and a mild mineral contributor.

Uranium glass (Vaseline glass) sits at the extreme edge. It contains uranium oxide, which causes the characteristic green fluorescence under UV light. Radiation exposure from intact pieces is typically low for display and occasional handling. It’s interesting as a physical demonstration of material-water interaction and light response, but it doesn’t belong in the daily drinking rotation.

Putting It Together: Practical Quantum Water

A workable daily or near-daily protocol looks like this:

Start with the cleanest base water you can (spring or well-filtered + minerals if needed).

Place it in copper or high-quality glass.

Expose it to sunlight or strong near-infrared for a period (even 20–60 minutes of good light can be useful).

Vortex with a frother in a coherent spiral for 30 seconds.

Consume within a reasonable window while the structure is still influenced.

The biggest, most reliable gains for most people still come from fixing volume, eliminating plastic, improving source quality, and adding minerals. Quantum Water is the refinement layer on top of that foundation.

If you’re someone who likes exploring these layers, reach out. Get in touch on my socials.

Ask Questions — Stay Curious — Stay Well.

John Fitzgerald | Performance Coach, Biomechanics & Fascia Specialist | MI Golf Health

Michigan, Aug 2026