For thousands of years, people of India and many other Asian countries have known the benefits of drinking water from Copper Vessels. Ancient Ayurvedic scriptures have stated many health benefits of storing water in copper vessels. Now, the current medical studies are also supporting this ancient Ayurvedic practice.
Copper has many antimicrobial properties. Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency registered copper as the only solid surface material to kill bacteria that may pose a threat to human health. Hospital-acquired infections (HAI) are becoming a major health crisis throughout the world. In the United States, 4.5% of hospitalized patients develop hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), resulting in an estimated 100,000 deaths.
Many hospitals are taking steps to reduce such infections by equipping their patient rooms and operating rooms with copper alloy surfaces, replacing bed rails, tables, and door knobs. Such alterations have helped reduced the number of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) in patients by more than half (Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, May 2013).
What exactly happens when you store water in a copper vessel?
When water is stored in a copper vessel overnight or for over eight hours, a very small amount of copper ions gets dissolved into the water. This process is called Oligodynamic effect which has the ability to destroy a wide range of harmful microbes, molds, fungi etc.
What does Ayurveda say?
Ayurveda states that when you drink water stored in a copper vessel, it has the ability to balance all the three doshas in our body Vata, Pitta and Kapha and also has many health benefits (to know more about the 3 doshas and how they affect your personality and body, read my older post on this topic, click here ). This happens because copper vessel positively charges the water. The therapeutic water from a copper vessel is called Tamra jal in Sanskrit. The traces of copper in a Tamra jal are safe and in fact, healthy.
The right way to drink water from a copper vessel:
1. First, it is very important to buy vessels that are made of Pure Copper
. Do not buy the ones that have other metals mixed in it. Some of the common vessels made with copper are copper water jugs or a Kalash. Nowadays Pure Copper Water Bottles
, including some really Beautiful Hand Painted Copper Water Bottles
and Moscow Mule Cups are also available online. Check out these links from Amazon. Just make sure it is of a good quality.
2. Once you have bought it, rinse it out thoroughly with water. Then fill it with water and cover it. Let the water rest for 6 hours (minimum) to 8 hours (maximum) and then drink it.
3. You can follow this ancient Ayurvedic practice:
Keep water in a copper vessel overnight by your bedside and drink this water first thing in the morning when you wake up. This particular practice is very useful in stimulating your bowel movements in the morning. This practice will keep your digestive system very healthy and set your metabolism for rest of the day. You will feel very refreshed and light every day.
Benefits of drinking water stored in a copper vessel:
1. Prevents water-borne diseases
2. Helps the digestive system to perform well
3. Aids in weight loss
4. Slows down ageing
5. Good for heart health
6. Maintains haemoglobin level
7. Regulates the working of the thyroid glands
8. Stimulates the brain
9. Its anti-inflammatory
10. Fights free radicals
How much is too much?
– Drinking water from copper vessel has numerous health benefits but this does not mean that you can drink this water all day long.
– Drinking water stored in the copper vessel once in the early morning and then in the evening is more than enough to get the required amount of copper for our body.
– Remember you should not drink this copper vessel water all year long. Once you start drinking water stored in a copper vessel you can continue this practice for three months and then take a break for one month (stop drinking water stored in the copper vessel). After a one month break, you can continue drinking water again from a copper vessel for next three months. This gives our body time to remove any excess copper deposited in our body. The body has its own mechanism of eliminating the excess of anything.
Ayurvedic rules are very precise and if we follow them accordingly we will never get any side effects.
See if you can find ‘Pure Copper’ vessels in your regular stores. If not, here are some good quality and less expensive options I found on Amazon, check them out:
If you are in India, here are some good options from Flipkart: Pure Copper Water Bottles , Pure Copper Jugs
Copper utensils stain and darken over a period of time. This happens naturally, due to a process called Oxidation. You might have heard that keeping copper vessels looking new and shiny isn’t that easy. Well, not any more! Here are a few quick and easy ways to wash / clean your copper bottles and vessels at home, and make them shine like new again! Read my other blog on this topic here: How To Clean Copper Water Bottles And Vessels: Quick, Easy, Home Solutions. Read my other blog on how copper water can give you younger looking skin naturally by clicking here.
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Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3312355/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10721936
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/130/2/489.long
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/670207
Note: The information in this article and website is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers before making any diet or lifestyle changes.
