John Willard III joined Andrea Donsky and Lisa Davis on Naturally Savvy Radio to talk about Willard Water. [The following transcript has been edited for print.]
Listen to the full radio interview here.
Naturally Savvy: We all drink water, and if you are not drinking enough, you really should. We have got John Willard from Willard Water here to tell us how to enhance water.
I have a big glass of water with me right now. It’s so important to stay hydrated. There is a lot of information out there about enhancing water and getting enough vitamins and minerals. Tell us your thoughts on this, John, and tell us the story of your grandfather.
John Willard III: It’s really quite fascinating to see how much the mindset toward water has really changed in the last couple of decades or so. Certainly, 50 years ago people thought, "whatever water I drink, whatever I put in my body, it really doesn’t make that big of a difference." I think that goes for natural products of history as a whole. We're in the middle of what I happen to think is one of the golden ages of water development where people are starting to realize that what we do with the water, the kind of water that we drink, can absolutely affect the body’s ability to do a variety of different things.
Read more about 8 reasons to drink more water
NS: Your grandfather was a chemist. Tell us a little bit about him.
JW: My grandfather, Dr. Willard, got his PhD in chemistry from Purdue University. In the mid-1960s he was trying to develop a trace mineral water (I won’t bore you folks with all the details of what he was doing). He always called it dumb luck: he was working on this trace mineral water and he started adding a couple of other things to it. He began to drink it and test his blood cells for the effects of toxicity, and he noticed that it was boosting the movement of platelets in his bloodstream. That product was what he called a 'catalyst additive to water', and is today what we call Willard Water.
My grandfather, was I really believe, one of the first – if not the first – to really start experimenting with how the water we consume affects the body. He began to do a lot of research throughout the late 1960s in conjunction with a biologist at Purdue by the name of Dr. T.W Perry. He used it on plants, some humans drank it, he gave it to livestock in the area. He began to realize that what we were seeing was an increased efficiency in the bloodstream. The water that was in the bloodstream was actually what seemed to be serving as a catalyst in the body. The program 60 Minutes did a story on my grandpa in 1980 and I happen to believe that’s one of the things that really launched what's called today, The Structured Water Revolution.
NS: 'Structured Water' – that’s so interesting. How has it changed over the years?
JW: Fifty years ago, people really didn’t think their water could make a difference. Most people don’t understand when we talk about things like altering the structure of the water by adding our Willard Water to it. People say you can’t really alter the structure. But in fact, anytime you add something to water – if you add Kool Aid to water – it's actually altering the structure of that water. What my grandfather was saying was that the liquids we consume can have a difference, can make a really big difference, in our bodies’ ability to do a variety of different things. Keep in mind that our bodies are about 75% water, so the efficiency with which that water is moving throughout your body can absolutely affect a variety of different bodily functions.
NS: Let’s talk a little bit about filtered water and it’s importance. What’s your opinion on this?
JW: I think that you can argue it both ways. My grandfather always used distilled water when he added Willard Water to it because he felt like it was important to have what he called a 'blank slate' when you are dealing with water. But I also think that there are a lot of naturally occurring minerals (especially where I am from in South Dakota) that come into the water that we drink, so when you filter that out you are also filtering out those minerals. I think the argument can be made both ways.
NS: What about concerns about the fluorine content in city water? Can we trust that towns do a great job taking out impurities so there's no need for a filter? How do you know if the water in your taps is safe?
JW: I don’t think you do to be quite honest…
NS: I was thinking that after I asked!
JW: I don’t think you do. Some of the testing they are seeing in places like New York, L.A and other big cities – it’s not just the fluoride in water, it’s a variety of different things. They are finding traces of drugs in the water now – people dump their pills down the drain and it ends up in the city’s water supply. I do think there is a very legitimate argument to be made for filtering water in places like that. Here in South Dakota we don’t have as much of a problem with those things, and I think in a lot of rural American communities they probably don’t have those problems.
NS: What do you think about fluoridation? You have people who are against it and people who are in favor of it. Where do you stand?
JW: Honestly, I am generally more in favor of it, but I think that there is always a situation where you can get too much of it. That goes with just about anything that we drink and eat. But I think that there is also the obvious fact that our teeth are much better than in a lot of other developed countries, and we have a much lower incidence of gum disease, etc. What people tend to forget is that gum disease can actually kill you. It can cause a variety of different problems. We see that with dogs – vets always tell us to brush the dog’s teeth because gum disease can lead to a variety of different ailments. It’s the same thing with human beings. So I tend to be on the fence a little bit on the subject of fluoridation. One thing that we also forget about here in the developed nations is that we have the luxury of having these arguments because we are living to our nineties. In a lot of underdeveloped countries they are living to their thirties. And so I tend to take all of that with a grain of salt.
Read more about what's in the water supply
NS: That is a good way to think about it. I notice that a lot of these water enhancers are colored because people just find water boring. That’s not what Willard water is about.
JW: It’s about adding more effectiveness to the water. We have two different Willard Water products. We have a water product with trace minerals (and that goes back to what my grandfather really believed in – he was trying to develop a high-density trace mineral water). And we have a product that we call Clear, which is basically nothing more than a catalyst when it’s added to water. We still don’t know after 40 years of science and research (from the University of British Columbia, University of Washington, University of Central Florida, PUrdue University, the list goes on) and we still don’t understand why it’s doing what it’s doing. We can replicate the effects on the human body. We can replicate the effects on cells. We can replicate the effects on plants. But what we can’t figure out is why it’s doing it. Certainly we do understand that the way we are consuming this water is having an impact. As I said, I think my grandpa was a little ahead of his time on that.
Listen to the full radio interview here.
If you would like to learn more about Willard Water, visit drwillard.com or call customer service at 888-379 4552.
[Editor's Note: Willard Water is also great for furry friends. Click here to read about health benefits for pets.]
Image: StockPhotosforFree.com
