From Brain Fog to Clarity: How Changing My Water Changed My Life

Things are shifting.

Since moving into the van well over a year ago, I have been drinking distilled water from the grocery store because it's easy to find and fluoride-free.

Why Distilled Water Was Failing Me

The problem with "pure" water

The problem is that, despite being pure, it can oxidize your cells due to its complete lack of mineral content. So if you don't add those minerals, they are robbed from your bones and incoming nutrition.

Plastic bottles and hidden toxins

Not to mention, I was drinking from plastic, which leaches into the water. Yes, the research is gross on this. When you buy water stored in plastic, there is no way of knowing if it was sitting in the sun in a hot box truck or if it was bottled ages ago and sitting on a storage shelf, waiting to be circulated.

What I learned from the experts

Whether it was yesterday or a year ago, I'll never forget the moment a whistleblower reported that a researcher at Johnson & Johnson said no plastic is allowed in their home. BPA-free is just a marketing tool, as some other unregulated, significantly more toxic chemicals have taken their place.

Discovering Structured Water

The cost of distilled water

Not even a week ago, let's see, I have the receipt. Four days ago, on July 16th, after searching locally without success, I went to a charming shop called New World Water. My goal was to buy a glass pitcher and fill it with filtered water, and hopefully recover from the guilt of this habit that was costing me roughly $6 twice a week for 2.5 gallons of dead water after taxes in Washington and California. Yes, that's around $650 spanning just over a year for Pure Life Distilled Water. Nuts right?

Finding a solution that works in van life

I'd searched for glass pitchers that lay horizontally versus vertically, as I didn't want them to tip in the van, and I came up with gallon sizes, but I never did purchase them due to space constraints. New World Water had a hard plastic pitcher with a spicket that I have found essential for living in a van. Believe me, I tried pouring water from wide-mouth 2.5-gallon glass jars, and although it's possible, it's annoying to the point that I started drinking less water.

What OPR really means for your cells

Anyway, they supply water branded with a filter called Biocerna, which adds minerals, increases the pH to 9.6, and has a mild antioxidant effect. Basically, the ORP is from neutral to -80. ORP stands for Oxidation Reduction Potential, which measures a liquid's ability to oxidize (take electrons) or reduce (give electrons) to your cells. For context, regular tap water typically has a positive ORP (+200 to +400 mV), meaning it can oxidize and generate free radicals in the body. -80 is a hell of a step up. This means my cells will actually be regenerated instead of aging from the water I drink.

The Difference I Felt In Just 4 Days

Brain fog lifted

I admit I'm a little disappointed to be carrying plastic back to the van, but filling this pitcher costs a couple of dollars, and I know it hasn't been sitting in the sun. Upon my first sip, I was reminded of the feeling of clean water. Wow. It just absorbs. It feels so light and is not something you have to force down. The next day, I ran a bunch of errands, including driving down neighborhood streets for 2 hours straight, looking for a place to sleep. I had done more that day since landing in this new city. I even worked in a parking lot for hours.

Energy and mood improved

Now, good days do happen with chronic illness every now and then, and true to fashion, you do bust your ass getting stuff done, partly because you can, and partly because you don't want to be in a position to be forced to function when you feel like death. It's crazy how I can go on a walk one day and love the sun and birds, the smell of the flowers, and the next feel like I'm going to faint in a grocery store. It takes a whole pep talk to get presentable to be seen, drive there, and walk through that door. At checkout, every beep is like nails on a chalkboard, and of course, you wonder if this is the time your card is going to be finicky when your body is telling you to please leave; it's just not worth it.

Detox symptoms and cravings

I digress. Since I've been drinking this water for a few days, I have found that the brain fog has lifted. I've had the strength to plan my meals a little better. I've started walking daily. I've started to feel that it's possible to follow through with working for myself instead of being completely overwhelmed and frozen by every task. My mood has improved. I did get some knarly cravings that shocked me, but I realized a couple of days later that it was a mild detox. The point is, I'm a bit more optimistic, I think a little more clearly, and I have a touch more energy, all from drinking roughly 60 ounces of different water with lime per day. It really is true what they say: Change your water, change your life.

My history with medical-grade water

Now let me share something extra nuts. Remember how I said back in 2019, I affiliated with a company called Enagic? I was too sick to work at the time and knew I wasn't employable, and along came a high-commission medical-grade water ionizer made in Japan. I put that sucker on a credit card and never looked back. Medical grade essentially means they use it for healing in hospitals. The pH can be lowered and used for cleaning without chemicals or as a mouthwash. It disinfects, externally killing diseases like Mersa and AIDS within seconds. Clean your home and counters with it. At a high PH, it can degrease your stove or clean your laundry, and more importantly, remove pesticides from your produce. You can fly on a plane with this water, as it's medical-grade; just show them a certificate.

The science behind reduced water

The Kangen water, from the Enagic machine attached to my tap, which I was drinking before entering van life, has a pH of 9.5. Not because they added baking soda to it to make it more alkaline, but because it goes through a process called electrolysis that creates hydrogen. Hydrogen acts as a free radical scavenger and an antioxidant. It has an ORP range of -400 to -800, meaning it powerfully gives back to your cells instead of oxidizing, aging, and taking from them. Again, a positive OPR is very bad in this case. My distilled water was +200 to +400. Yikes! No thanks, I don't need help aging. I wish that had sunk in earlier.

A visual reminder of the difference

For a visual reference, I'd like to show you what I looked like drinking Kangen water daily and what I look like now. These pictures are four years apart. In the first photo, I was eating healthily, drinking Kangen water, and juicing celery. In the second photo, I had been exposed to mold and suffered the aftermath of a dysfunctional relationship while drinking distilled water for a year. My older Instagram stories also illustrate this beautifully. P.S. With the iPhone 15, my camera quality increased from the first photo to the second. There is no editing.

Lessons Learned & Next Steps

Looking back at my journey

During the time I was with my ex a few years ago, I had dabbled in sharing this water, but my focus was on him, rather than my health and security. I was in love, then codependent, then ill, followed by being alone. I watched as team members who joined this group made six figures, and then turned them into seven. (Not typical results. Not an income claim.) Meanwhile, I saw it as impossible with my self-esteem, and what I didn't understand was mold-induced brain fog from the house I was living in.

Why water matters more than supplements

My point is, after this experience, I feel renewed that I was lucky to find Enagic and damn savvy to research it. I know it even more now as I've tried to detox and have side effects from nearly every supplement. The water can assist me to remineralize and detox for less than a month, rather than what I was paying for in largely wasted supplements. Electrolyzed reduced water has also been published in studies to assist in digestion, allowing any supplement I do take to be more readily absorbed by my body. Imagine the healing progress I could be making, and the increased ease in my mental capacity toward earning if I were drinking a -800 ORP over a -80. If I can feel a change within days, it really is true what they say, "change your water, change your life."

Sharing the shock, not selling

I sat down to write today, not to sell this ionizer, but to share the shock of the difference in my body's capacity after 4 days of drinking water that benefits it. As you can tell from all this... content, I'm blown away. With that said, I have never been more committed to Enagic as a company. Ask me anything! There are also numerous medical studies conducted on electrolyzed reduced water, which may not be reported in the mainstream media because it competes with the interests of Big Pharma. That's another story, and the reason none of us are allowed to make medical claims, haha. If you have questions, I am all ears. If you would like to invest in a Kangen machine for your health or as a business opportunity, offering time and location flexibility, I can assist you with that, too.

A final note

I originally wrote this post on July 20, 2025. I posted it on Patreon because my website was being reborn from being dormant since 2019. It's now August 23, 2025, a bit more than a month of drinking structured water, and I made a little video just talking about how life is so different without brain fog. Cheers.