On My Health Scare

(The following piece is written and published from the writer's experience. Do not take the article as proper medical advice nor a substitute to your ailments, be it similar to something close to such thing. Please seek a professional to diagnose your symptoms and reach out for help. You're an able human being and you don't deserve to suffer.)


Alright, Kris, so what happened to you?

If you frequent grocery stores, you'll notice there are different kinds of water: purified water, spring water, alkaline water and distilled water. Water is water, right? Wrong. Different waters contain different properties to which experts—let's hope they're experts in their field(s)—say that such kinds of H₂O are safe to drink. Take your pick, and be happy. There's nothing to worry about because it's *just* water, correct? Wrong...again.

For our fellow fans and readers of this website would know that I began having health issues that triggered since the month of March 2022. My whole intention was to lose weight, like any other weight-insecure American. I found that I knocked off a couple of ounces by drinking cranberry juice, due to its "system cleaning" benefits (I weighed around 230+ pounds). Looking back, it was the laziest, almost counter-intuitive, technique to lose weight. Worse, the weather began to get hot and my thirst increased. Like an idiot, I got carried away and went ahead to purchase the "mainstream" brands of juice, namely Ocean Spray. Heading into the month of April, I noticed I hadn't routinely used the bathroom despite all this consumption. Something's going on, but I don't know what it is...
Food poisoning? False alarm.

I began feeling numbness in my neck area. The last thing that made me feel this way was because of food poisoning. I was gradually feeling weak and had trouble breathing properly. I rushed to urgent care and they suggested I be diagnosed at a hospital without any testing. After that quick visit, I had trouble even driving back home, so I called the paramedics. They rushed over and found that I was fine and my heart rate was normal. Thinking it was something I ate, I shrugged it off completely and went ahead to work on this website and going to my 'nine-to-five.' However, it got worse:

On May 17, 2022 was the day I nearly collapsed and couldn't move for the life of me. I didn't understand why. As I was rushed to the ER after calling 911, the nurse came over to ask me questions about my symptoms and why I was there. After telling her, she immediately realized it before blood was drawn from me: dehydration. I was angry at myself for allowing this to happen a second time in life, as the previous time was back in December 2018 though not as severe. After several blood tests, the physician walks in and concluded there's nothing wrong with me. Not really: I developed anxiety as a result of the entire ordeal, and the physician suggested I seek help. Thinking it was because of the job I previously held, I did A LOT of reflecting since jobs were getting hard to come by. Nevertheless, my anxiety worsen; There were nights I couldn't sleep, even though my body wanted to rest, and times when I took Zzzquil but had no effect. If I knew to stay hydrated and drink water, then why was I not getting any better, despite my anxiety acting up?

"Think before you believe."

Back in 2016, I watched a video linked on a sports website dedicated to debunking the operations of what makes pro and college sports on TV the way they are. The video shared on his website featured a man doing the same thing on his YouTube channel, despite being terminated for "exposing the truth." It wasn't long when he decided to expose the "truth" about food and beverages we consume on a daily basis. He spoke out against drinking tap and bottled water, and suggested alkaline and distilled water. Like an unthinking individual assuming it's a fact, I took his advice, sans him not having any kind of professional degree or certification in Food & Health. While I knew the benefits of alkaline water, it got expensive for me to purchase so I went with distilled water. It was the kind of water I drank for six years after watching that video. Here we are in 2022, my dehydration struck and distilled was my go-to water to keep hydrated. Okay, so why wasn't I feeling better by the month of June?



While I quenched my hydration and catching up with my daily meals, my body began acting weird. Being able to think started to hurt, brushing my teeth began to trigger aches even if the bristles don't touch my gums, my bodily muscles felt weak almost like I was shaking, and my bone density started to get weaker. Due to these ailments, I couldn't even hold a job because I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. I'm able to eat meals slowly but normally, I'm now hydrated and using the bathroom as normal. What the heck?

Keep your friends close, and distilled water distant

On July 15, 2022, I called my hospital to connect me to an immediate advice nurse because of my body feeling strange, to which she suggested I go to urgent care...again. Unlike the previous visit, I actually was checked by this new physician who did all the tests for me. I told her I had trouble urinating, likely a possible urinary tract infection (UTI). Since she wanted a urine sample, I told her I needed some liquid since I came in for that trouble alone. Her assistant was kind enough to give me some water from their break room, and after a sip, I knew it was regular spring water. After finishing the drink, within less than thirty seconds, I rushed into the bathroom to "fill the cup." After the tests were done, I was negative. While the physician told me to seek help and follow up with my doctor, I knew the "hydrating companion" I had felt like my biggest enemy almost in attempt to kill me: distilled water. It wasn't long when I stopped by the grocery store after my visit and bought five gallons of regular spring water.

At the grocery store, I even took extra time to research the negative effects of distilled water. According to those in-the-know, its pure properties contain no salt or minerals—elements the human body needs. While it's pure, clean water, distilled also rubs off those salts and minerals off your body. Okay, so why was I okay back between 2016 to 2021 but not as of late? My meals that time were steady but extremely high in salt, cholesterol and carbohydrates—junk food, mostly. I gained so much weight, even during the pandemic/lockdowns, that even though I knew I had minor discomfort, I still endured my regular activities. When my dehydration struck due to excessive consumption of sugar-y drinks, distilled water hydrated me but worsened my bodily functions. That was the culprit which made me suffer from anxiety, making me see a therapist every week, all because of how unusual my body was acting. It was the worst feeling I've had all my life, all thanks to having watched a low-key video on YouTube by someone who isn't a professional and believing him for it, as well as trying to cut corners when it comes to weight loss.

Number 117: The episode number that brought light back into the tunnel.

After gradually getting back to normal, I checked my YouTube channel to keep up to date with the ones I'm subscribed to. One of them was Mikhaila Peterson—a podcast host and CEO of her own company. I decided to pass time to watch her piece about a presentation she did at TEDx—her currently most viewed video to date. On the video, Mikhaila talked about the symptoms she had as a child, and how her Lion Diet made her feel normal and able again. It wasn't long when YouTube recommended a video talking about the Carnivore Diet with Dr. Berry—a one-hour interview talking with Dr. Berry, his business and health issues he had that prompted him to stick with a full meat diet. It was salvation to me given all I've went through. Why do I consider that "salvation?" I found that distilled water consumption is popular among vegetarians and vegans, and while different diets work for different people, it's not something I can do nor become. I've personally eaten vegetarian/vegan food products before but I can never be one. You do you, of course, but for me, not for me; I'm too carnivorous. After watching Mikhaila's interview video with Dr. Berry, I played the video on loop so much it became music to my ears. The importance of protein and salts we need in our body is so critical, I can't imagine Life without it. Along with the necessary vitamins from other food products, it's the key to basic functionality of our body. Granted, I'm not a health professional, but it was the kind of diet that best worked for me, making recovery much faster than I thought. I have learned so much about health, from the dehydration and distilled water "poisoning." Full body recovery is taking time, but I'm feeling a huge difference in a good way.

"But, Kris, here you are watching another video on YouTube. Aren't you repeating the same mistake?" Not concisely, as the interview video from Peterson's channel was from a certified professional. My recovery required trial and error, but slowly, I'm feeling better. I'm doing fine, though, thank you.

I learned my lessons, as you can see, despite all these ailments costing me some jobs I've held previously. Lesson learned: Never take advice from someone on YouTube, unless they're a healthcare professional with a website and certifications/degrees to prove it. A dangerous notion, isn't it? If censoring explicit content isn't the top priority at YouTube, perhaps this will be—approving and certifying real professionals making advice videos on their website. Maybe someone should tell the folks at YouTube because...whew.

As for distilled water, even my doctor advises against it, suggesting I go back to regular bottled water. I feel it'll take time for my body to catch up with the salts and minerals but I've been feeling wonderful after about three weeks of cutting out distilled water and counting. I achieved all this without needing medications of any kind since I knew what happened to me was a silly mistake that could've been prevented (even though one nurse I've spoken to was so desperate to get me medicated). I believe companies ought to place a huge warning label on distilled water given the negative effects it has on the body. They ought to sell them at hardware stores instead or something. In contrast to such, health organizations around the world ought to reinvest time to discuss the effects of distilled water. This is not something you drink when dehydrated—something I didn't know until later. (Even some of the nurses and physicians I've spoken to felt confused about my bodily issue with distilled water. This needs to be attended to as water is humanity's element for survival.)

To all our fellow readers, visitors and fans: Please don't make the same mistake I did. Now that you've read this far, you now know. Never cut corners when losing weight, healthcare professionals ought to create emergency visits specifically for mental health, distilled water consumption ought to be re-evaluated and discussed, and never take suggestions/advice from someone on YouTube who isn't a certified professional. I also learned that that same person on YouTube happens to hate dogs; Not the best person to listen to for diet, health nor any kind of advice, are they?

(Sincere thank you to all our readers and fans. Thank you to Mikhaila Peterson for that great interview with Dr. Berry. Lastly, thank you to YouTube for terminating the account of someone who wasn't a certified practitioner recommending stuff we shouldn't be consuming nor considered, even though it was my fault for believing that person.)

This is Kris speaking for Food For The Saints.

Kris Caballero

Founder and operator of KCU Network, Kris has been writing since he managed a personal blog created back in late 2005. Despite publishing articles and reviews from time to time for the network's website, Kris enjoys studying the sciences, namely Math, playing old video/DOS games, reading non-fiction books and listening to sports radio.

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