Haymaker’s Oat Water
Because we’ve been temporarily without a home water-filter, we’ve been buying lots of bottled water for drinking. That made me decide to revisit the question of pure water and whether it’s really good for the body.
We all know that refined flour is bad for you because the healthful nutrients have been removed, and that we should avoid refined sugar because our body is overwhelmed by that pure chemical. We don’t find these things in nature for a good reason. But what about refined (“pure,” demineralized) water? Intense filtering (such as distillation, reverse osmosis, and electrolysis) strips water of trace minerals and other micro-elements. The result is simple H2O, and our body expends minerals and electrolytes in its attempt to manage it.
Balance is paramount to health. Just as refined grains and sugars overburden and eventually deplete our bodies, so can too much pure water create a continual, losing struggle to maintain that vital balance. You can read this report from the World Health Organization (WHO) about the health risks of drinking demineralized water. (Did you know, for example, that pure H2O is a very unstable substance, and will draw carbon monoxide from the air, becoming very acidic?)
I certainly do not intend to discourage you from keeping hydrated—especially during these hot summer days. Water is vital to every single function of our bodies, which themselves are more than 60 percent water. Eight glasses of plain water, however, may not be the ideal way. What about water enriched with precious vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and probiotics? No, you do not need to buy those expensive health drinks. You can use simple and inexpensive ingredients already in your kitchen.
I myself prefer to drink my water with a small pinch of unrefined sea salt, a sunny slice of fresh lemon or lime, a splash of raw apple cider vinegar, or infused with tasty herbs (various blends of nettle leaf, peppermint, oat straw, shave grass, red raspberry, etc.). I’ve also started to experiment again with fermented beverages.
Nutrition researcher Sally Fallon stated in an interview with the Wild Abundance Radio Show [08/25/2010] that the Chinese and Native Americans avoided drinking plain water. Instead they prepared broths and teas to quench their thirst without upsetting their metabolism. Fermented drinks, especially, were prized by many traditional cultures as both refreshing and health-promoting. The beverage section of Fallon’s cookbook Nourishing Traditions is an international collection of such drinks.
An easy recipe included there is ”Haymaker’s Oat Water.” As its name suggests, this is an excellent drink for those who are working hard in the sun—and it’s very simple to prepare! It is superior to plain water for quenching the thirst, as liquids containing dilute sugars and mineral enzymes are absorbed faster and retained longer by the body.
Haymaker’s Oat Water
The following is taken from Sally Fallon’s cookbook Nourishing Traditions, with my own notes in italics.
1 gallon filtered water
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup lemon juice or raw apple cider vinegar
We tried this recipe first with the vinegar, and it was not a hit. The lemon juice was much better received!
1 cup molasses, optional
We like the addition of molasses, but not this much. My recommendation is that you add a little at a time, adjusting the amount to your own taste.
Mix all ingredients and keep at room temperature [in a covered container!] several hours or overnight, stirring occasionally.
The result is a dark amber beverage that tastes, according to Second Brother, like “lemonade with gingerbread.” (I’m thinking that you could definitely add some fresh ginger to this brew...)
Second Brother drank this while doing yard-work. It effectively quenched his thirst without upsetting his stomach, and he enjoyed the warm but refreshing flavor. I plan to make more next week, when I hope to do some intensive weeding in the garden in preparation for our autumn planting.
Paintings: Julien Dupre is one of my favorite artists. I enjoy his many paintings of French peasants working and enjoying their noon refreshment in the fields. These images of hearty haymakers seemed especially appropriate for this post.
Photographs and text © 2011.
Friday, August 19, 2011