As a matter of fact, energy is everywhere, and not only in minerals, metals, or plants. Nature's sunlight, air, water, and soil all provide energy. However, as the damage from environmental pollution worsens, modern humanity is becoming further and further removed from natural forms of energy, making that energy increasingly inaccessible.

A strong proponent of a comprehensive physical and mental approach to preventive medicine, John D. Young, chairman of Chang Gung Biotechnology, suggests restoring health and energy through regular exercise, a sound diet, and positive thinking.

Good water exists in unpolluted natural environments. The photo shows a waterfall in Taipei County's Wulai. Its waters are renowned for being rich in negative ions.

Sunlight, soil, water

Walking into the Natural Health Center at Chang Gung Biotechnology in Taipei, the first thing to catch one's eye is the full-spectrum lamps designed to help modern urban office workers rediscover light energy.

To prevent ultraviolet rays from causing sun blemishes to appear on people's faces and to guard against premature aging, protecting oneself from the effects of sunlight has become an important task for modern people. But while various forms of sunscreen beauty products are guaranteed hot sellers during the summer, people often neglect the importance of sunlight's energy to human beings.

Young states that in Scandinavia and the US, close to 10 million people suffer from depression every year. Insufficient sunlight is an important factor contributing to the incidence of depression.

On average, people living in cities spend 80% of their time indoors. Does long-term lack of exposure to sunshine lead to a deficiency in light energy? The intent of full-spectrum lamps (the ultraviolet portion has been eliminated) produced by Chang Gung Biotechnology is to simulate the light in natural environments, giving people easy access to the nature's energy.

Energy in the soil also has a profound influence on human beings.

Young notes that modern agricultural methods are overly reliant on the use of fertilizers and pesticides, depleting the soil of important elements. He points out that millions of years ago, the upper layers of soil contained at least 84 different minerals, while today, the average soil sample has no more than 30. Soil imbalances lead to crops grown in such soil also lacking these sources of energy. When people today eat such energy-poor food, it is virtually inevitable that chronic diseases result.

Minerals are important catalysts, says Young, facilitating the combination and action of enzymes and hormones in the body, as well as regulating cellular metabolism. However, the human body is not capable of producing trace elements on its own, and must therefore rely on food to replenish their levels. To restore the energy of soils to feed healthy human beings, Young has vigorously advocated the use of organic cultivation methods that do not damage the environment or soil. He has also introduced a series of cleaning products that do not pollute water or soil.

The natural world is an inexhaustible source of cosmic energy. Unfortunately, modern lifestyles are increasingly alienated from nature, with stress and ailments ever more prevalent.

Energy water?

In addition, drinking "good" water can also increase people's energy.

Some time ago, water was the subject of a dispute. One person spent NT$20,000 to buy eight bottles of "energy water" for which amazing therapeutic powers were claimed. After drinking the water and finding it had no effect, the buyer felt he had been cheated, and took his grievances to court.

Chemical testing determined that so-called energy water's chemical components were hydrogen and oxygen, just as with regular water, and that it did not possess any special power. From that time, the term "energy water" has been disparaged, becoming nearly synonymous with "pseudoscience" and "crackpot ideas."

This incident demolished the reputation of "energy water" products, and to avoid being affected by negative perceptions Yang avoids using the term "energy" to describe the water he is promoting, calling it instead "good water."

For human beings, 70% of whose bodies consist of water (water accounts for around 35 kilograms of 50 kilograms in body weight), calling water the ultimate source of life's energy is no exaggeration.

Because of the importance of water to human beings, water has long been a key topic of discussion among those seeking better health and fitness. Water filters with various functions and "energy waters" from different locations around the world are commonly seen. Electrolytic water, ionic water, pure water, natural spring water, and so forth--people are happy to imbibe them all as drinking water so long as they're not expensive, costing NT$20-30 per bottle.

In recent years, scientific research conducted in Japan has proved that deep-sea water contains cosmic energy. The Deep Sea Research Department of the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center in Muroto City in Japan's Kochi Prefecture has studied seawater from 320 meters below the surface, discovering that it contains more than 60 different minerals. These minerals not only enable marine organisms to grow rapidly, but also have a therapeutic effect on various types of dermatitis. Deep-sea water has thus found fame, being called the "blue gold" of the 21st century. A 30-milliliter bottle of water sells for NT$840. In addition, this type of water has also been used in various types of cosmetics.

The secret to longevity

John Young has been involved in research on water for more than 20 years. He points out that water is the exchange medium for all matter in the body, and is the best solvent. Once matter is dissolved in water, chemical processes such as metabolism, digestion, and detoxification can occur. Within cells, water is combined with organic compounds, and therefore the ability of water to penetrate cells and dissolve other substances will directly affect the activity of cells in the human body.

Young's interest in water stems from personal experience.

Around 1986, Young participated in a study on enclaves of long-lived individuals undertaken by the US National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Twelve scientists including Young did research in a Hunza village adjoining the Himalayas, numerous settlements of Guatemala's Mayan Aborigines, and on Japan's Ryukyu islands.

Generally speaking, such concentrations of unusually long-lived people are located in remote rural areas, where inhabitants must toil arduously to raise crops. What most attracted Yang's attention was that these enclaves shared a common characteristic--all had natural sources of "good water."

"The water in each location was very special," says Young. The water flowed down from high in the mountains or surged up from underground. Due to resonance with the Earth, vortices, propulsive forces, and fluidity are produced in the water. Friction between water and certain ground elements results in energy conversions involving high zeta potentials, removing pollutants from the water and releasing trace elements into it. As a result the water changes from acidic to mildly alkaline, while the continual buffeting causes its large molecular clusters to break down into small molecules that are easier for people to absorb.

For organisms, because the molecular clusters in "good water" are small and readily absorbed, they can easily penetrate the cellular membrane. They can carry more energy and dissolved oxygen into the cell, assisting in metabolism and transporting waste that has accumulated in the cell out of the body. In this manner, the vigor of the cell can be increased, toxins removed, and immunity improved. Such water offers benefits for human health, as well as for plants, fish, or small animals raised with it.

Like a fine wine

Just like a premium vintage, good water is recognizable immediately upon tasting it.

"The body has instincts. We did many animal experiments, which showed that wild animals are very accurate at selecting good water," Young says.

Good water does not need to be created, as it already exists in nature. However, natural good water is limited in quantity. Therefore, how can the water that comes out every household's taps be turned into good water? That is the question that Young's research seeks to answer.

People have many misconceptions about water. Young believes that the idea most in need of changing is that alkaline water is necessarily good water.

"It's a very simple matter to make water alkaline. However, alkaline water does not provide any benefit to the body. What matters is the type of material used to turn the water alkaline," Young stresses.

Chang Gung Biotechnology's "Nano-Water Restructuring Reactor" uses simple devices and physical principles to emulate activating processes that occur in nature, such as vacuum implosions and vortices, to modify the structure of water. The equipment also adds trace elements required by the human body, enabling it to conform to the five key principles of safety, health, hygiene, benevolence, and environmental protection.

It begins in the mind

Even more surprisingly, water has the ability to sense and remember.

According to the research of Masaru Emoto of Japan's IHM Research Center, water can sense informational energy from text, sound, and thoughts, thereupon influencing its wave frequency. For example, signals of benevolence, gratitude, and reverence can cause water to produce beautiful, structurally complete crystals. Contrarily, if water detects signals of resentment, anguish, and anxiety, grotesquely shaped crystals will appear.

This research center used various types of water crystals captured using high-speed video photography, publishing them as the book Message from Water, which aroused much attention and discussion.

"True energy comes from within," Young points out. When a person emanates feelings of gratitude or is filled with benevolent thoughts, the speed of his heartbeat changes, synchronizing with the world's resonant frequency. In like manner, when a person's heart is full of gratitude and goodwill, water will produce beautiful crystals, and fruit and vegetables cultivated with it will be particularly plump--which goes to show how strong the energy of good thoughts is.

Young affirms the power of positive thoughts, saying "Whether you're producing good water or drinking it, you must be in a benevolent state of mind to have "energy water" that truly lives up to its name.

Everything begins with the mind. The mind must be filled with benevolent thoughts about the environment, nature, and the living things of the universe. If one begins training oneself and taking exercise, then according to Young, the vast energy that springs from within will be enough to stir the mountains and rivers.