Dr. Dana Cohen | Quench, Structured Water, & Optimum Hydration

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00:51 Which means you'll unfortunately never hear my voice again. 1930s President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed the nation through a series of radio broadcast known as the fireside chats His aim was to reassure the common man that our society would recover from its troubled times. I'm Greg Carlwood These are the higher side chats. All right, people! Welcome to The Ride as we swing back into practical yet largely unknown areas of health and wellness because you can't navigate the rough waters of the vast conspiracy without first taking care of you and yours

01:44 And whether by design, ignorance, arrogance, profit or some sad combination of the lot. The people we would typically look to for health-related guidance in our society are over prescribing petrochemicals and quick to jump too expensive invasive surgeries all while ignoring some of the foundational aspects of a healthy person like diet sunlight exposure and the topic of the day optimum hydration Because we hear from so many guests that we should avoid sugar or carbs, but rarely does optimizing the water levels and water sources of our mainly water bodies ever really come into play. And as today's guest often states the old government-sponsored recommendation of eight glasses a day is not the way and what she brings to the table is actually a bit different than what you might expect

02:34 In fact, today's guest Dr. Dana Cohen complimented THC on our interview with Dr. Gerald Pollack on the fourth phase of water also known as EZ or structured water and mentioned that she incorporated Dr. Pollack's work as well as some other new and intriguing water science into her new book Quench Beat Fatigue Drop Weight And Heal Your Body Through The New Science Of Optimum Hydration A book she co-authored with Gina Bria, an accomplished anthropologist who is an expert on hydration strategies around the world and the head of The Hydration Foundation. A primary source for information on hydration and the science of structured water

03:14 And while Gina brought the study of people and various indigenous practices to the table, Dr. Cohen contributed by offering many case studies from her general practice that show the shocking power of proper hydration for people dealing with a whole range of issues. Dr. Cohen has been in practice for over 15 years trained under the late Dr. Robert Adkins and is held in high regard by both peers and patients for her nuanced practice of integrative medicine Her passion for integrative medicine stems from her belief that medicine is an art and a patient-centered, holistic approach is the vital first step on the path to overall health and wellness. Dr. Cohen's practice emphasizes the individual and she has helped countless patients limit their dependence on prescription medications by harnessing the power of diet, nutritional supplementation, and lifestyle changes to find health

04:07 So at a time when water supplies around the country are in piss-poor shape and plastic water bottles are offered up as a backward solution, we pick up where we left off with Dr. Pollack's exciting science of structured water and dive deeper into real world life advice around high quality hydration! So let's do it one of the wonder women of water and a pioneer of personal hydration education and the first guest I've booked through Instagram, Dr Dana welcome to The Higher Side Thank you. Wow, thank you so much for having me I feel like this is my coming out party. I love it and i'm really psyched about this one we cover a lot of wild and crazy stuff around here but structured water has really intrigued me and it seems like a lot of the audience would agree

04:52 What the most common comment i would get when it comes up is hey this is awesome information but how do i use it and that's exactly what your book about, can you even have an endorsement from dr pollack himself on the back of the book where he says quench will set the standard for understanding the life giving issue of keeping hydrated. And that's high praise from someone i definitely respect a lot But I guess one place to start would be to ask you how you stumbled upon this science of structured water because as crucial as it is, it doesn't seem to be on a lot of people's radar even still. Good question! So almost five years ago now, I get a phone call from Gina Bria my co-author and I think a friend or patient that I had told her she runs something called the Hydration Foundation

05:40 I told her about me and she called and asked to come speak to me. It was a vague hydration concept, but I remember thinking oh okay here it goes she's going to give me some multi-level marketing water purifier kintsu knife bonsai scheme! But you know what? She sounds really nice let me hear what she has to say so she comes in And she is sitting in front of me and she looks at me and she says, so I've been researching how desert people hydrate. And she said, I think I made a connection between my mother who was in a nursing home... And what had happened was her mother had required many visits to the emergency room for severe dehydration requiring IV fluids. And then she remembered the research he'd read about the Tarahumara tribe of Mexico. And these are these elite distance runners

06:31 and they would use chia frescas, basically chia infused water to hydrate. And they would run 50 mile marathons on that. So she had the nurses put chia seeds in her mother's morning juice and never again did her mother have to go to the hospital for dehydration. She opens a bag, she pulls out a chia-infused smoothie and sits in front of me and she says, The question I have is do you think we can hydrate through food? And I remember saying to her, oh my god Gina. I said, I've always been searching for my book and I just didn't want to write another book on hormones or thyroid or something where you have to go see your doctor. I really wanted it to affect so many people and I've known that this chronic low-grade dehydration affects so many of us." And I said do you want to write this book? This is not where this was going to go she wanted just information for her foundation and so that was the start of it. So we decided to write the book together

07:35 And then we really dove into the research. She had told me about the research of Dr. Pollack and this gel water, and I remember my mind was blown thinking we all know that water exists as liquid ice and vapor but now there's this other phase of water? It is just when you think we know everything about medicine in our bodies We don't, we know nothing. And so she blew me away and so then we really dove into that research and come to find out water the simplest molecule in the world is unbelievably complicated and I remember a year in I'm thinking what did I get myself into this? This is so beyond my...I am not a water researcher and come to find out there are so many water researchers and not all of them agree

08:23 But they all do agree that there is another phase of water. And so we looked at Dr Pollack's research and then incorporated it in the book was born from there. Awesome, that is a great setup! It is so interesting that you would think that water would be one of THE most studied things ever and I guess the aha moment for me is when Dr Pollack kind of broke down that water molecules are studied a lot but they're often studied in isolation You don't get the study of the communal relationship between water molecules and that's where a lot of this stuff comes into play right exactly exactly how literally have water structures how they layer upon each other and what happens with them is really fascinating it's interesting i was actually thinking about should i put off this

09:13 this talk that we're having because in October I'm going, first time of going to the water conference which is in Germany this year and I'm thinking about it. I'll have so much more information then but will do a catch you up after that. Yes! I actually wanted to attend that myself but the international ones... You know I got along with the conferences and those international ones are just..I mean they're hard to get too. It's dedication The way we've been looking at water science i guess the way it's been studied is like trying to learn how to build a building by studying one brick yeah, you know its relationship on how these things fit together that builds the overall structure and our bodies mostly water so obviously this is crucial.

09:57 It's really crucial and you know from my standpoint I'm a clinician, not a researcher. And so like I said when i was started to dive into this stuff I was literally completely overwhelmed and wanting to say like I can't do this! I can't give this kind of information! What is even more interesting from the clinical standpoint we can't even measure low-grade or subclinical dehydration in humans there are no great ways. We have some ideas But there's no test. There is no test to look at, well what is your perfect optimal hydration point? When you look at the book that we wrote it's really based on how you feel and what feels great and then in my talking to patients and really looking at that

10:41 from my clinical standpoint. But yeah, there's so much we don't know it's mind-blowing to me. Mm-hmm and I did want to ask you a little bit about your career overall as you said You've been at it for 20 years and your bio of course mentions integrative medicine And this holistic approach you've adopted as opposed to popping up petro pill for everything Which is another thing? I wish more doctors were doing so kudos to you for that. Thank but well What is it about the medical structure we have that has everything so backwards in your opinion is at the education doctor receives is the insurance companies influence of pharmaceutical reps why do we get in this mess.

11:21 Yes to all of those and I'm very fortunate. I you know took a chance and right out of residency, which by the way I was already two hundred thousand dollars in debt and miserable And so I can't turn back at that point You know hating what i've chosen having always wanted to be a doctor from the age of three never wavered now i'm finishing up residency not very happy in my chosen primary care career and was so fortunate and lucky to have literally saw an ad for a world-renowned wellness center in New York City looking for a doctor, and it was Dr. Atkins. And so I came right out of residency working for him and right into a completely different model. So I've never taken insurance in my practice. I've never had a practice where I have to see six or eight patients an hour

12:12 So I'm not the best person to answer that question because i've never been in it But, I still think and even in my model like my model is constantly changing The one-on-one medicine of what I'm doing Is still not working. We need a community To heal somebody so We're still searching for it. I think my model is still one of the best, but it's still not there so we're looking at health coaches and communities and maybe group visits and how can we get the most that people can afford to see? Most integrative medical doctors don't take insurance. It's still not ideal

12:50 But yes, the education that doctors receive. I'm assuming your crowd all knows that I had two weeks of nutrition and that was basically here's what your B vitamins do to your body, here is what vitamin C does and that's kind of about it more biochemistry but not even enough biochemistry so the schooling and then the insurance companies they're a mess it's such a mess So, I wish I had better answers for you but I think it's changing. This movement with using health coaches and group visits is happening in communities and even online groups of how can we get this information out there to the masses? One of the reasons why I wrote the book –and I'm sure you agree– is very simple. It is written for the masses to read.

13:38 always, even with my patients take into account well what can they afford? You know we talk about a blender in the book. The blender I think I even go so far as to say go buy a $5 blender and use blender in a thrift store you know whatever it takes that doesn't have to be a four hundred dollar Vitamix blender. Yeah absolutely! I think that's a great overall answer and I always like to get a little context for how person ended up where they are and its great that you found of path forward that You didn't have to completely give up on all the education you had a mast and obviously the death that comes with it but you can also be proud of what your doing so i think that's a beautiful thing thank you.

14:16 And yeah, you know you hear about all these new drugs and the side effects just seem to be as severe or worse than what they treat. People are faced with these one-sided trade offs on their health but if you get into your diet hydration and sun exposure you get all those things right there really is no side effect it's just good for you! In that sense it does seem like miracle medicine when compared to the best efforts of big pharma Yeah, definitely. It's interesting you talk about side effects of medications and my first patients always ask well... And some patients come in and they're not really even sure why they're seeing me and what is your philosophy? My first philosophy is to try to keep people off of medications using diet and nutrition it's such a line I use almost 10 times a day so the more we learn about how medications are out there and what they're doing

15:11 I work a lot with anxiety patients and especially my practice is mostly women in their perimenopause, in menopausal age. And there's there was a lot of anxiety there. It's so easy to write a prescription and what they're being put on and not really understanding what they're taking or what they're doing. The beauty of how do we say this? Lowering inflammation with diet and nutrition is so far a greater way to go In my opinion, there's just no comparison. Well I'm with you and let's define optimum hydration early on here because we're really not talking about just drinking more water as you say eight glasses a day is not the way well what is the way? What do you consider the principles of proper hydration

16:01 Well, it's hard. So as I said earlier we can't measure it. There was one test that we could measure it there are a couple things out there like body impedance analysis that looks at your cells, the hydration of your intracellular and extracellular fluid It is still not perfect. That test can also measure something called phase angle of your cells which is more about health of your cell that might be better The jury is still out on that so its not perfect I think there are little things that you can look at. Once again, I'm a clinician so I'm going to give some very easy basic things that we should be looking at. You want to look at the color of your urine. It shouldn't be

16:45 orange or brown, or even clear. We want it to have a nice light straw color urine we're meant to be getting up and peeing every two or three hours if you're not doing that I mean i know there's times I'll sit in my office for 10 hours straight not go to the bathroom once all day that's problem You want to look at symptoms If you're thirsty you're already long gone. We should've took care of that hydration before you were thirsty What else constipation fatigue we think that this afternoon fatigue or brain fog is probably the first sign that you're dehydrated and we like to say that my co-author and I would like to say that before you reach for sugar try hydrating better. You know, we always think oh my blood sugars dropping most likely it's not that most likely its hydration first

17:35 So those are some things we can look at. We have some principles, desert people certainly don't hydrate by drinking eight glasses of water a day. But what they do is front load their water. So by waking up and front loading your water, drinking we like to say 16 ounces so a lot of water first thing in the morning add some electrolytes by using real salt or electrolyte there's some good electrolyte products out there. There are bad ones too but some good ones and maybe a little lemon for minerals so front loading your water Some other things you can do is drinking a glass of water before every meal. And that's a little controversial, I always get a little pushback on that because people are like we're told never to drink while you're eating but I think when you get that fluid in before your meal there's actually some good research based on that. People who are dieting will lose five more pounds than people who aren't doing that but that's one way to get extra fluid in

18:39 And then a big one, and it's gonna sound... A lot of the stuff that we do sounds so instinctual and maybe even commonplace. And that's a smoothie a day, a green smoothie a day is so powerful in how it can heal us. A green smoothie is defined as a blended vegetable, so blended greens and water. Blend them up and you can add other things to them like if you wanna add chia or coconut milk or something, like coconut water. It doesn't... You know you can make it's not an ice cream smoothie meaning like milk and fruit but it's greens first with water and then you can do some sweetness with either a fruit or something like that.

19:24 Yeah, you say drink for maximum absorption which is that 16 ounces of water with a pinch of sea salt and squeeze the lemon when you wake up. And then also that green smoothie day and it seems like just those two things... You call the quench plan like a five-day plan if you were to start with just those two things you think that people would feel radically different inside of a week right? or a few days, yeah. Yeah it's really quick and I have to be honest even my healthy patients my yogis, my athletes they notice the difference people are not doing you know but it has to done day in and day out really look at hydration first are you feeling hydrated? Are you doing all the things? Are you getting up to pee? You know are you doing all these things too? Are drinking enough? And its not saying not drinking any water but some water

20:17 Lots of greens eating non processed foods you know the plan is really a plan to get people to just eat cleanly eating not process food so we do give some ideas in there getting the sugar out your diet getting the process foods out. Yeah. Yes, and this getting your water from plants fruits and vegetables thing is probably the most important point as you mentioned with your co-author looking at desert cultures they're breaking open plants like aloe or chia seeds in there getting their hydration from the plants themselves because there isn't a lot of water available and then you study these people and find out they're actually quite healthy compared to our modern Western ways

21:00 I just think this is so interesting because we hear about structured water and a lot of people think okay well how do i get a glass of that and it's just the wrong way to think about it because nature knows how to generate this easy structured gel phase water happens inside the plants. And its why places like the gerson institute are treating cancer with green smoothies, healthy cell water charged by sunlight seems more and more like super medicine that armors us up against Almost anything but when i first heard about the gerson institute which is in mexico just outside of san diego think they have a satellite office here but there. Kind of in that realm where are the united states is kind of kick them out from doing their thing and i just thought how could you heal something like cancer or something so severe with a smoothie but it seems like the key to understanding that is the structure water

21:54 I think so too. Our bodies are amazing, amazing machines. You give what it needs to do its job and it does better than any medication or anything that we have out there. We're still learning that. That's what is mind-blowing to me. There were a few things in the book that Talk about that. So it sounds once again, it sounds so simple a smoothie like you know most of your people already know that but we're giving you the background as to why and I think It's fascinating and hopefully We can get more people to start doing it. I love that documentary What's the one about this fat sick and nearly dead? Hmm. Did you ever see that one? Yes, I have good one Yeah That was such a good wine. And mean basically all he did was drink green smoothies for months and

22:42 changed his life. And I can't tell you how many people I've asked, you know to start with that is sometimes You know, I see sick patients. I see a lot of chronic illness. I really see sick patients So I always try to bring it back to those people and I hope that some of those people are listening to you and this podcast You know That's really what we're looking for but when I see these really sick people sometimes it's so overwhelming like I can't take literally 90 pills a day or even supplements, sometimes what I do. So start here let's start here Let's just make it simple for people and once that stone starts to turn and roll in the right direction then they can add things on but yeah for the chronically ill people That's an incredible step And even for the really healthy people now you understand why

23:36 You mentioned this pinch of sea salt in our water i think that's kind of counterintuitive to a lot of people of course we know there is a huge difference between himalayan salt or sea salt and typical table salt it's not the same thing at all like kinda difference between sugar that's inside fruits and vegetables versus conventional processed sugar but You were further that is an electrolyte what can you tell us about why that pinch of sea salt and a glass of water is useful what does it doing for us yeah so i just wanna differentiate something as well because. I'm starting to really rethink the whole sea salt thing. And only from the case of plastics in our sea salt, and yeah it's yet another reason why we have to get plastic out of our lives. It's tainted most sea salts there has been a lot of information that has come out recently

24:29 And, you know it's just something for us to think about the sea salt. So I really like there is a product literally called Real Salt or the Himalayan Pink Salt. The sea salt I think we need to start looking at a little more closely and see about the plastic problems with it. Sorry no it's a great point because so much of our environment is tainted even when we have the core ingredient and it has useful uses its still changes in a lot of cases but yes if you can get. The plastic free salt mainly like he said the himalayan saw let's stay away from the ocean lets go to the mountains for pure salt but why is this all ten there helpful from just hydration perspective

25:10 Well, because it has an incredible range of minerals in it versus sodium chloride which is table salt. There's not a lot in there so the real salt has a full range of minerals that make the water more easily absorbed into our cells we need it It's from the electrolytes and more, and minerals. Iodine... Although you have to look and see if there is iodine in it sometimes You can get the real salt that is iodized So that's the basic reason. It just has so many more minerals in it than table salt Fair! Yes, its like..I would think water without salt would be better then with it but I get what your saying And it is so scary how much we have to really

25:56 Focus in on every little thing because there's just so much manipulation out there and so much pollution and of course you write a book about bottled water which seems to be the only solution to our dirty water we've been given in my lifetime, add such a non answer and i even learned recently you know you can look at bottles that say bpa free. And you get a false sense of security but their more chemicals than just ppa theirs bbc india is About a dozen or more different chemicals that probably are still reaching into your water from plastic made from oil but because. BPA is the only one that's gotten any attention you can slap a bpa label on it and people equate that to this is perfectly fine for me and thats not really true no no we're at the same of so they think nicotine

26:45 Like that is gonna turn out to be disastrous as far as i'm concerned nicotine by the way i'm not talking about anything else. I am worried about the vaping in general say the truth i mean i have a fondness for another substance i like to smoke and baby has taken over that as well and i'm a little concern i'm like you know i guess you guys will be the guinea pigs but we'll see how this rolls out in a decade or two sure it might be more convenient, I'm skeptical i really am you already are hearing the term popcorn long and i don't know if that's even just isolated to. The nicotine vapes in some of those cartridges can swap it out,

27:21 I don't know it's gonna be a scary thing a rude awakening in the generation or so yes definitely i just came from a conference of mine share conference actually jj vergence conference and. Some really big heavy hitters were there david asprey and mccullough lots of incredible people and there was a booth their, i'm blanking on the name i literally just got back to have you been gone through all my cards information they basically take spring water and box it and put it in a box with a little spout on it. And I was like, I love this! So great because we mentioned in the book about findaspring.com which is basically...it will tell you springs near you natural water springs that are near you but honestly I've never gone and take five gallon bottles and fill them up that's sort of big ask for somebody. It is, it is

28:11 It's an idea, it's an idea worth sharing and these people actually box the water in a really healthier way. Sure sure! I definitely think that is a great idea. It kind of always bothers me because I get pretty high quality water delivered you know those big blue five gallon jugs and its like natural mineral spring water What is in this big plastic job and i'm like well they don't deliver any other way i don't know i guess some doing better than some people but i am still worried about that last component how do we get it to the house and something other than plastic box water would be great like the old milkman or glass you know bring it back.

28:51 Yeah, I think about Mountain Valley Spring. That's known as the best water and they do sell it in different size glass bottles too so that you can lift them easier and I think that they deliver and they've created a whole network all over the states. Spring Mountain Valley. Beautiful! Learn something every day. That's the point right? And this is a severe issue dehydration you mention low grade chronic dehydration some estimates are as high as seventy five percent of americans would be in that camp i want to read this paragraph from the book because it's pretty powerful for anybody who's thinking oh big deal right about now and you write. As little as two percent reduction in hydration leads to measurable cognitive loss,

29:39 That is less than 1 liter of water loss. Just enough for your sensory capacities to diminish, apprehension diminishes and appreciation is depressed. Life is less colorful and that's your brain 2% dry. And that happens to most of us somewhere in our day often by 3 o'clock we are floating in low-grade dehydration. By 9 we are sputtering near empty over over every day throughout our lifetimes we dry out. This accelerates aging every day and when you put it that way this is no small thing, that little amount can have just huge effects and I don't think many of us are paying that close of attention. Yeah i agree and like I said I see it every single day in my patients one of the things I always ask do you think you're well hydrated? And even my healthy ones when

30:31 talk to them about it and really, really have them make a few shifts. They notice the difference in their practices exercise practices in their life and the way that they feel during the day. And those are the healthy ones you know? So yeah, I think its even more than that unfortunately there's no way to eat really measure that can you believe that is a controversial statement It is believe or not that 75% are chronic low grade dehydration There people who just don't even I don't think that's controversial, or that even is true. But I can tell you it absolutely is and there's some good research we lay out in the book of what that's doing to us and some of things that I already talked about low energy, cognition, constipation but then even aches and pains and headaches. Everybody knows a headache means they're dehydrated

31:21 But then the bigger things and the things that I think we lay out some pretty strong evidence are certain cancers it puts you at risk for, like colon cancer and bladder cancer. And even diabetes and even Alzheimer's Yes i was gonna ask you exactly what are some of those more serious conditions that this mild dehydration can stack up to and alzheimer's is something that it just incredibly on my radar i've had grandparents who had it seems quite scary, i smoke enough weed to be concerned about my memory it's just a thing but we don't change our habits which has kinda look for other ways to worry about it but

32:01 That was really interesting to me because you say not only a fiber my alger would be another one but you say all timers is being kind of equated to almost type three diabetes what's the deal there okay so i mean this is not news and this is not any this is not new information it's not really that controversial in most Doctors and scientists now are really agreeing that metabolically, Alzheimer's is a metabolic disease. And blood sugar plays a huge role in the formation or the turning on the gene for Alzheimer's. So yeah it's a very real thing that's not controversial at all. Wow! Yeah this was first I had heard of it but anyway

32:46 Any more information i can get on alzheimer's im always stacking it up you know. You have to read david perlmutter then he is the neurologist, Who are you a green brain and he's got about his new one out coming up called brainwash. Yeah very interesting key really he does it so eloquently some of our liquid like i could ever possibly give it that's awesome yes i know of grain brain, i would definitely add that to the list was along with two awesome people doing awesome stuff And of course, we're a bit familiar with Dr. Pollack's work as we discussed but you do write about some other water science and research going on that is related to his work but also different What is happening in the science of structured water that is exciting you?

33:34 So, you know it's really interesting. There is a lot and like I said this is what I'm going to come back to after my conference in October there at this MindShare Conference there was booth with a guy he works with Pollack He's actually in Seattle with Dr. Pollack has created a device where you inhale structured water so creates the structured water You have to keep it very close to your inhaling particles of structured water He believes that you can't drink structured water in a glass. because it doesn't last that long. Once it hits the glass, the easy maybe even start to creating along the sides of the glass... I think the science is still all so new of how do we get this structured water into our cells better? And there's people who are doing these like jewels or gemstones putting them in water that's creating structured water. I think once again, the science is so new

34:35 But, you know from a clinical standpoint I have patients that are using these structured water devices the same as even alkalinized water which is a completely different thing. There is no science around the alkalinized water stuff and logically when you think about how the alkalinized water... As soon it hits your stomach its no longer alkaline right? But, I have patients that swear by it. So once again the science is so new and so not out there but this inhaled structured water was something that was really fascinating to me and really interesting. It's backed by some clinical research and I can't wait to meet him again in Germany because he started talking to me and I was like blown away

35:25 Blown away nice overwhelmed. Yeah, yeah and ailing it sounds really interesting I can get on board with that Yeah And this was also in your book that I thought was great But a research group from Cornell University has found that water forms a quote spine of hydration around DNA the lead author of the study says New results give us very strong support to a picture where water at room temperature Can't decide which of the two forms it should be in high or low density, which results in local fluctuations between the two. Water is not a complicated liquid but rather two simple liquids with a complicated relationship." I mean wow that's just such an interesting way to put it! Right so my thoughts of why we put that in there is because

36:13 Once again, not every scientist agrees with Dr. Pollack about the H3O2 so let's delve into that for a second. Sure! Dr. Pollack talks about the way that water layer upon each other or structures upon each other and it is in that layering he came up with an equation like when you added them up that it actually turns into H302 as opposed to H20 And it's because of those electrons and how they're shared, because there are pulls. There are energetic pulls amongst these molecules so when they layer they share electrons and it becomes H3O2 Not everybody agrees with that I have to say that was the most logical thing that I've read But my point in putting out this article is that they all do agree that there is some other phase of water

37:02 So it is, it's fascinating and so interesting. And once again we can get this structured water by eating more plants to put it so simply. Yeah! It seems...it definitely simple but I always like the why behind stuff because actually I never discount the power of the mind like you mentioned alkaline water if people think its helping them? We know that the brain Can do miraculous things when you have the power of belief i mean that's the placebo effect in a nutshell so i think sometimes just learning the why actually helps to strengthen. My mind is no this is helping you know now i had a smoothie since reading your book and i definitely felt as if i was,

37:49 Like pop i doing a lot more for myself than just before cuz i was thinking is this helping me or i would doubt it more and that science in all that data helps to reinforce the idea that no this is like, you know super food and then not kind of informs the brain and i jus think it goes back and forth into actually strengthening at the mall are u gonna line. The things we know are good for the physical body with what your mind thinks is good for it I love it. Yeah, and that whole placebo effect is something my whole career in integrative medicine was one of the big takeaways in my very first conference probably one of the teachers had said it that you know integrative medicine doctors welcome the placebo effect as opposed to other doctors push it away like why? Right You know yeah so it's interesting

38:39 It is and you mention your co-author gina's studying of the terror who mara tribe the private covered in that well known book born to run a run fifty mile marathon just for fun obviously hydration is gonna be important there and they. For men corn beer and then put chia seeds in that and then they take a small pouch of chia seeds for the road, add that's pretty unexpected as you said i guess what more can be set about chia seeds and general or their power me would you just put them in some water and let em. Let him load up that jail stay around number how should we use chia seeds

39:22 Yeah, so great question. Chia is the standout superfood in our book I love chia seeds. Although, I have yet to see it...I had a little bit of go between Dr. Mercola and myself about chia seeds because he's really into the lectins now. Lectins are byproduct of certain beans and they do form in chia seeds as well if you don't soak them. That's why we're supposed to soak our bean overnight. It gets rid of those lectins and lectins can be really harmful. So, I am thinking about that a little bit more. Aside from that, chia seeds. Yeah you could put them in water they don't have any taste if anybody has ever made a chia pudding when you soak them they literally form a gel around them They get bigger and suck up that water and it's in that gel

40:09 It's very hydrating. It holds onto hydration better for us. I love sweets, I love dessert so I make chia puddings it's the easiest thing there are a thousand recipes online on how to do that and it could be as simple as coconut milk with chia seeds and some blueberries and maybe a little touch of honey to sweeten it or I like monk fruit which is lohan is another name of monk fruit thats now my new favorite sweetener that has zero grams of sugar, it's very low glycemic. It doesn't affect your blood sugar." So, that's another way. You could just throw them in your smoothies let them sit for 15 minutes for them to gel up a little bit. Yeah they're great and then not only that the omega-3s that they carry so chia seeds are very rich in ALA or alpha linoleic acid which is our parent omega 3 it can help create DHA and EPA which is our Omega three from fish oil

41:04 and we need those. And I measure a lot of omega-3s in my practice, actually do blood tests where we can measure those things and almost everybody is deficient in ALA. So chia seeds pack a huge punch of giving us that ALA in our diet. Interesting! Yeah you know sometimes I'm out with friends, we go into a 7-Eleven and I'm looking in there and it's like if I'm trying to drink a non sugar beverage with no artificial sweeteners that isn't in a plastic bottle. There's almost nothing in this entire store I can drink, but if you go to some of the health food stores there is a beverage called Mama Chia and I can't necessarily vouch for it but it is in a glass bottle and it is chia seeds basically. You drink it and its like drinking blended jello. It tastes pretty good. Its all chia seeds at the top but that might be something thats good out there

41:59 Yeah, I've had it. I love it. It tastes really good. You know what? To be honest though...I mean I've had a handful of times and I have to look and see. I never really looked at the ingredients. I just love the glass bottle. I love the taste of it so I would want to go back which I will do yeah they got some of the components that are cursory glances like them i be good but of course it always becomes a problem to these health shows is all have listeners commenting you know give me exactly what to buy tell me exactly what to do and it's like well, a lot of these guests they. have these practices this is their bread and butter they don't wanna be endorsing certain products because, they're not involved with those products. Products can change their ingredients you never really know so it's a very delicate thing to recommend specific product some could even say it's a conflict of interest I know its frustrating people but we're trying to give me the tools to help yourself

42:53 Yeah, I mean if you're in that kind of a situation. I like bubbly sparkling water so Pellegrino is my go-to and I have no issues. I stand behind them. I have no financial gain from that. I wish I did but I don't. Right on! So we mentioned this Tara. who mara tribe that your co-author has studied other other things on the anthropology side that you find interesting cuz i was fine that it surprising i didn't realize when i started the show that so often and very different subjects we would look at indigenous cultures and find that wow, their knowledge is actually quite deep and its pretty unfortunate the way we consider them uncivilized or savages and really there are now which is

43:40 quite more robust than we give them credit for. Are there other things you've seen Gina look at through her anthropology practice that tie into this at all? Yeah, yeah. It's funny I told her too. I was like God if I had to do it all over I would have done my undergrad in anthropology. I wish I had! I find it fascinating and so interesting and I envision that someday I'm going to travel the world and really look at and speak to indigenous healers and really... That's my dream to really delve in and speak to them because I think there is so much knowledge untapped knowledge Mostly doctors and scientists are so close-minded to it, but these are things that have been... I mean take acupuncture. Gosh it's been practiced for so many years and only now is it finally gaining in acceptance But yes, I like the story she tells about the Bedouins why they wear dark hooded capes and coats because it creates a humidity tent

44:32 in the deserts. Yes, you know that so interesting right? Yeah yeah That was a good one did you read any that you want to point out well that was definitely when I was going to mention because we've all seen people walking in the desert with black cloth over their head and often covering the mouth and nose And you think yeah I guess it does make sense that creates a hydration pocket that's right over your breathing and you're probably taking in good moisture that way It's weird how they do these things that you know you think i would never do that walk around flags on a hot day but it's actually very useful for ya and people learn these things in their environment sometimes don't always, no the nitty gritty science behind there just like what we've been doing this for generations and it just works yeah amazing.

45:22 On the subject of acupuncture another thing that's big in this book is movement or really fascia it's a fairly i think recent discovery at least i only heard about recently but, fashio is like a whole nother system of the body and also ties into the structured water stuff right. Well, we tie it in. This is sort of the big thing that I think was also another aha moment for me. Yeah fascia is this connective tissue webbing that surrounds every cell every organ in our body and A few years back, gosh probably maybe seven years ago now there was a very brilliant French I think it was a plastic surgeon actually Dr. Guimberto had decided to put a camera under the skin of a living person to look at fascia

46:13 Which is interesting because before that fascia had never really been studied. As a medical student, as scientists when we look at cadavers we break through the skin and cut away everything and it's the dried desiccated fascia that we throw away and then get right to the organ or vessel whatever it may be so its' the first time anybody ever looked at living fascia It's beautiful and it's incredible to see the video footage that he took of it. But what we realize, and this was the mind-blowing part is that fascia is a delivery system of hydration much like a hydraulic pump. Before that, we've only ever thought that hydration gets moved via blood and lymph at the very tiniest vessels through osmosis then does water get leaked out at the very end?

47:08 The fashion you see it i mean you could physically see it so when we. Bob our head up and down or say yes and no with her head where creating fluid in and out of our brains like a hydraulic pump its squeezing in and out and We like to say yet another reason why sitting is the new smoking. You're squelching delivery of hydration to your periphery, so we have to get up and move because movement is a hydrating act." Yes yes and obviously you have a lot of little micro movements in the book with diagrams that are easy to see they don't translate to audio all that well but just in principle

47:50 The idea of moving around i mean i guess you could even say that that could be a contributor to why yoga is so powerful for so many people i mean it's just stretching and moving your body and making sure. That all that water can move throughout twisting is a micro movement twist your whole body, you know thought about this recently that sort of sad but now with the new cameras in front of your car that show you what's behind you We no longer even move our head to look behind us to move our car out of the driveway. A lot of people complain about that movement, but it's such a good movement to do. You're really sort of moving and twisting so the micro-movements we created are just simple movements. They're just bending and twisting and turning in addition to whatever exercise you do. We need to move all our joints and all our extremities

48:43 And one more element I wanted to try to squeeze in here before we start wrapping it up is sunlight or red light, infrared light, sauna. All these things seem to kind of speak to the same mechanisms but how important and beneficial are these things in your opinion? Incredibly important and we are just touching the surface of how important sunlight is, infrared near-infrared and far infrared light saunas those kind of things. So it's also based on Dr Pollack's work it is...and then some new science that comes out it is light that creates

49:21 more of this structured water, or he calls it easy water. Dr. Gerald Pollack does in our body and even light that we don't see it aids in hydration but there was even recently an article I don't think this one made into the book It might have been after the book was published maybe did no I think it did that We are much more like plants than we ever imagined In a sense that we make energy from greens chlorophyll sunlight and water. So we need those three things to make energy, and that's photosynthesis. And yeah it is so fascinating that we need these things to make energy if were not exposing them let alone the vitamin D stuff I mean that is big for the sunlight but yeah right sunlight makes more structured water in our cells

50:13 And it's super, super important. Yeah! It seems like mammals are a lot more plant-like than we initially thought and... How crazy is that? Like...? It is! It's very crazy I know who knew But you know what makes sense if the sun What the plants are using for fuel and they're making these fruits full of structured water it makes sense that you need to get any biological being out into the sun to have light do its thing and structure that water. It also bring it back to the meat we eat, probably why cows should be out in a pasture and not cooped up in some

50:53 Covered tin little warehouse thing like they are hallelujah exactly Exactly, and then they're just the greens thing you know so those who don't like vegetables Like you are doing damage to your body You need to eat greens and that chlorophyll is not just a supplement chlorophyll is what makes vegetables green So your kale and your spinach, you have to figure out a way if you don't like veggies to get that into your diet. And smoothies are the easiest way to do it. You don't even taste it. Yeah yeah well said! This is a really extreme thing that I figured I'd just ask about because its hard for me to even believe but...I've interviewed people who say they do it but have you heard about the breatharians out there? These people who say

51:38 for a period of time sometimes years don't eat and they just stand in the sun at sunrise and sunset, add it just seems like impossible but there's a couple documentaries on it of course i'm not gonna monitor someone for a year to see if they snuck a twinkie or something but. There is a movement people out their called breatharians that are saying that they're getting all their energy from the sun And they don't eat food at all that's what they're saying some say they drink water. Some say they don't yeah that's beyond my mind is blown i have no idea i can begin to imagine it's a weird thing but um, i figured out at least bring up because on the subject of

52:24 how much mammals seem to be like plants and we have this weird photosynthetic type of process. There's people taking that to the extreme, but I'm still skeptical. Well it... That's me too if anything i am open-minded too. You better believe I'm going to go look that up after we hang out I definitely had a good time. I appreciate all the work you do and just the time you've taken to talk to us today, I think you've done a great job taking some cutting-edge science of water and breaking it down for real world application we do a lot of shows that touch on alternative medicine and treatment protocols

53:00 Almost seemed too good to be true, but this science of structured water and the importance of sunlight, being in nature... These are the keys to understanding why some of the simplest things have the most dramatic results. And before we go do tell people about Anything else you're working on the things offered on your website or where they can follow you definitely put up a lot of great stuff on instagram. Thank you so i basically just working out and in private practice in new york city my website is ww dot d are dana cohen dot com, you could find links to instagram and facebook there and yeah i have my book quench it's available on amazon anywhere books are sold

53:41 And that's really what I'm doing. I'm focusing on seeing patients and speaking, that kind of thing. Awesome! Well you do have a lot of case studies in the book that just show time and time again that these protocols definitely work. It's going to be nice if we can connect again after that conference but has there been any other research that you've come across since the book came out that you wish you could have got in there? You know what, I'll let you know after we go to the meeting. That whole inhaled easy water structured water thing was fascinating to me and the clinical studies that have gone on with that The big things that come to mind are the things that we just talked about like plants with photosynthesis

54:23 Yeah, I can't think of anything that's sort of mind-blowing right now. But I will fill you in sure thing yeah no worries it's changing all the time this is new science exciting and this conference i'm sure is going to be pretty awesome so we will talk then and This has been really insightful thanks again keep doing what you do and take care out there Thank You Greg! I had a great time thank you so much Alright guys, how about that? Dr. Dana Cohen bringing the heat, bringing the quench plan and bringing another reason to respect your local moisture farmers It's simple eat your fruits and vegetables you've heard this all your life but now you know why I do understand if some people think this is a little broad or basic or light for a full THC

55:17 or just as far as general health advice goes? Because that's true, it's not very complicated. But I've just been so interested in the work of Dr. Pollack that i wanted to hear from someone else who is also inspired by his work more knowledgeable than me and someone who is applying all that stuff to a health and wellness practice because that's not exactly dr pollock's focus area I mentioned that this was also the first show i booked through instagram and that's absolutely true. I got a message from doctor dana that she liked that show and she sent me her book and here we are, actually tend to like following up with guests who compliment me on an episode not because i'm susceptible any kind of flattery but because they kinda

56:14 get what we're doing here. They've heard an intro before, they've heard a completed show, they know the context and the little nuances in the details about my approach versus other approaches not a huge deal but I just feel like okay we're gonna get in the groove a little bit easier because you've heard a THC episode before But Instagram, it's funny because of all the social media accounts I have. Instagram definitely suffers the worst. I think i've only had instagram for a little over a year maybe i've never mentioned it on the show but I got it because Sam Tripoli is such a fan of it and I told him I didn't have the energy to manage another social media account

57:01 And he made a very good point that I should at least lock down the Hireside Chat's username while it was still available. And that was great advice, because look at me now! Booking guests straight out of Gram Town! So maybe it is largely simple advice but I think it's nice to have a reminder why corporate food is just so different and so bad for you It's dry...it's empty You know cut open an orange with a new appreciation for that juice inside The whole thing even looks structured. And another reason we did this is because that was a question I got A LOT after the Dr. Pollack show, Well what water should i drink? How can I get more easy water in my glass? and that's the wrong approach

57:49 It's all about those fruits and vegetables, and I like the simple but bold claims of The Quench Plan. Drink a glass of water with a pinch of high-quality salt... ...and a little lemon in the morning? Have a green smoothie? And do that every day for five days, and you will just feel better! We're dehydrated because a cooked to death corporate burger and fried potatoes and a Pepsi is not a meal?! It's not giving you good water content anywhere. I love french fries, but they're like a barren wasteland in terms of water content and i do think we know people who drink too much water or they think that their health is fine their diet is fine because they're chugging eight glasses a day. I think it's important to note that while there

58:40 Mind is in the right place. They're trying to do better There's probably a simpler and more effective answer And I'll tell you if you go to the natural grocery store around, you look for those Mama Chia drinks I think they are pretty great low sugar They even have one with injected caffeine and they taste like drinking jello I'm a big fan of those drinks and just Dr. Dana's advice overall, i have felt a difference after kind of adopting the quench plan for a week or so. I'm not even religious about it but I definitely still feel a bit better! I'm just slow to adopt sometimes even if I know something is good for me...I really need to be beat over the head with it as to why before I take the advice

59:37 Meditation, kind of the same way. It's shows like Jim Elvidge and Nesim Haramein that help me to put in that extra effort and make sure I make room for meditation in the day because its benefits have been drilled into my head over and over again You can also look for healthier electrolyte beverages that don't have those Gatorade levels of sugar which was part of The Plus Show her recipe for a homemade healthy sports drink But I'm into it. And i'm a little jealous that she's going to the water conference! That's where she's gonna run into people like Mark LeClair and his work on cavitation bubbles or nano-bubbles, and the infinite energy potential in the entangled universe... Watch some of those presentations from previous years and you'll get why I have this weird water obsession now. Water and light, and you'll feel all right

1:00:34 But there were little things in Dr. Dana's book that really make you think about the western habits we have and how we typically try to buy some artificial thing, to mask the issues that come from our lifestyles like skin creams or anti-aging creams And as she says, inner hydration is better for your skin than any cream or oil. Screw Noxzema! Eat a damn plum lady!! You know? I'm messing around... But sometimes we worry about a superficial or cosmetic problem and we buy stuff for it

1:01:14 And we never think we could look or feel better just by fixing our diet, staying at the proper hydration level and leaving all that other stuff on the target shelf. I'm glad we got to fold in a little fat talk too! It's pretty impressive that she worked under Dr Adkins and that little section helped round out our two hours a bit better for sure. They are related topics they have a synergy between them And I thought another great thing about the book was the contributions from her anthropologist co-author. Just add it all to the list of areas where we see a wisdom in indigenous cultures that we don't seem to respect nearly enough! Have you seen Naked and Afraid? Try to last three days outside, and not want to just end it all

1:02:06 We look down on them for not having a smartphone, but we don't even know how to keep ourselves alive for a week without suckling at the teat of our precious insulated society. It's just something I find interesting... But good stuff! It's nice to hear that structured water is becoming more of a field and that there are different takes out there, different opinions like the quote about water being not one complex liquid but two simple liquids with a complex relationship? That's something I'll be mulling over for a while. So what did we learn kids? Again and again, stick with nature It has done much better job of feeding the world than Monsanto ever could But if you only heard the first hour today Of course you missed a lot of added details and subject matter in the second hour that we have for plus subscribers Sign up at TheHigherSideChats.com That is all we ask

1:03:02 You get an extra hour of all of our shows, bonus content and joint sessions like we had last night where we open up the THC stage to the audience. Those are fun! But it's really the extra hours of the main show or the THC music covers that people are after In this plus episode we talked about beating fatigue specifically with optimum hydration, the idea that concussions might actually be a modern phenomenon brought on by lower brain resilience. And then a real sweet spot structured water electromagnetic systems of the body and cell phones how to optimize a keto diet moisture stealing factors of our modern way of life The idea that jet lag might mainly be severe hydration

1:03:51 And something I needed to hear, cooking oils and smoking temperature. It seems that even when we try to do right by cooking at home We could be killing ourselves By not knowing Basic Cooking 101 That's me! Then we laid out the fruits and vegetables with the highest structured water content All good valuable information But the cell phones and the electromagnetic system of the body, and some of those hydration-stealing factors of Western life should intrigue this audience for sure. And in higher side news it seems like 90% of issues with the new site transition are over Some people have reported being signed out a few times on their podcasting apps Well that's gonna happen until the developers are completely done working maybe another week

1:04:43 But you can pull up thehiresidechats.com in a browser, download or play any shows from there and of course we're not going to stop working on these things until they are 100%. I'm a podcast listener and i want to know that my listeners who are paid can simply put their username and password on Podcast Addict or the podcasting app and that's all they got to do! That is the standard and we will get there I also saw that a lot of you who do have those old accounts with the billing sync issue, A lot of you have cancelled and re-signed up. And i do appreciate that it makes my job easier It gets you back in the game faster and with a better long term solution Of course you can cancel now and then wait until That time is up before you signup again No need to do it right away Just wait till the accesses revoked and then Sign Up

1:05:39 But I'm glad most of the kinks have been straightened out. And i think we have a really, really nice setup going forward and all that said thanks for listening! Thanks for sticking with me during the transition. I'm trying to bring you the heat pick up Dr Dana Cohen's book Quench if you want to dig further or follow her on Instagram and follow me too. I need to get those numbers up so people realize we do have a good sized audience Because you know, it's all about perception. Or at least perception that gets people in the door Plus I post a lot of pictures of my cats and that's why we're all online right? Anyway stay hydrated people and have a good one! I've done my part Your move dry guys dehydrated humans and engineers Of our moisture stealing society You're fucked Well i want what its like to be a rainmaker

1:06:38 I want what it's like to know that i've made the way. I store it in boxes with little yellow tags on every one, and you can come and see them when I'm done. Well I want what its like to be a superhero. I wonder where i'd go if i could fly around downtown, yeah From some other planet I get this funky high in the yellow sun Boy I bet my friends will all be stunned They're stunned Yeah

1:07:41 Straight up, what did you hope for and about here? If I was someone else would this song fall apart? Strange where we're at when we started this gig. I wish the whole damn world would listen to THC! I wonder what it's like to be the head honcho I wonder what i'd do if they just did all what I said. I shout out in order, this may be something that'll make me wanna change my hair tone, my tone yeah, yeah Straight up why did you hope to learn about here? If I was someone

1:08:50 Would this song fall apart? Strange, where were you when we started this game I wish the real would listen to DAC Please don't change Please don't break all the arm that thing That seems to work it all and for you please Don't change at all for me To UMG Straight up, what did you hope to learn? If I was someone else would this song fall apart? Strange that we all would restarted this gig. I wish the real world were just a vaseline chain