Can The Structure Of Water Be "Altered" So It Is More (or less)
Beneficial To Health?

The discussion below was developed in response to questions asked by several of my visitors.   I have presented the information here in the same format that I originally answered one of the questions.  You might also be interested in my discussion about how to evaluate marketing claims.  I discuss some of the techniques used by companies promoting 'altered' water.

Question 1   Reply and Question 2

Randy,

I enjoyed your website about water.

I am looking for the best home water system and have run across a couple of interesting things.
First, I've heard that reverse osmosis renders water "dead" and can leach calcium from the consumer's bones. There is a system that uses technology used in Japan for 30 years that uses a magnetic field and Far Red light spectrum. I've tried a small cup of this water and it was amazing. The product is from Nikken (I think).

I've been trying to research water systems for about 3 or 4 months now and wondered if you've heard about this and have any thoughts about negative aspects. It seems that if water molecules are broken down into microclusters -- through magnets or electricity, the body is better able to utilize the water. I've tried the Royal Body Care microcluster liquid, and that seemed to help a bit with hydration. I've tried the Penta Water also, but the water is run through reverse osmosis - twice.

I'd appreciate any insight.

M___

Answer 1   Answer 2

Hi M___ -

I am glad you enjoyed my website.

Your questions fall into three categories -
1) the alleged negative altering of water by certain treatment methods (usually distillation or reverse osmosis - sometimes even filtration), and the alleged negative health effects they might have due to the altering of the water's structure or 'energy'.
2) the alleged positive altering of the structure of water (apart from standard purification methods) resulting in beneficial health effects.
3) the 'alleged leaching' of minerals out of the body by highly purified water (usually by Reverse Osmosis, Deionization or Distillation (RDD)). A corollary to that argument is that drinking RDD water is bad because the 'good minerals' critical to health (Calcium and Magnesium, usually) are removed.  I cover this in another discussion about the health effects of drinking distilled water.

Before I discuss the other water treatment methods you mention (categories 1 and 2), I need to mention that the first thing you need to do before investing in any other treatment methods is to make certain that your primary source of drinking/cooking water is free of harmful contaminants. 

Before investing in a treatment method to remove contaminants, you need to have an idea of what contaminants might be in your water - either from testing (if you have a private well) or reading a water quality report (if you are on municipal water).

I am trying to figure out how best to deal with the topic of 'ALTERED WATER' on my web site, because I have had several questions recently concerning various aspects of the topic. I have a MS in biology and a chemistry minor, and am currently involved in clinical research at the VA Medical Center in Denver. A lot of my training and experience has involved evaluating claims for their scientific validity. My eventual web treatment of this topic will have to include an involved discussion about 'What is science', and 'What can a scientific evaluation of a topic tell someone about the "Truth" in a particular situation - in this case the validity of the claims about 'altered' water.

I guess the easiest way to approach this topic is to ask you - What criteria do you, personally, accept as validation (or invalidation) of the claims for a particular product?
Criteria a) Your own experience with the product?
Criteria b) The word of someone you know that had an experience with the product?
Criteria c) A discussion on a website or in a book that lists the experiences of many people with that product - Does it make a difference if the person making the claims has some higher degree (PhD, MD, DC, etc.) after his/her name?
Criteria d) A reviewed* paper in a medical or scientific journal that has looked at the blinded or double blinded** effects of the product on a large number of people and compared the measured effects to those from a similar group (the control group) of people who used a similar, but presumably inactive, mimic of the product being tested (a placebo).

In the case of the 'altered' water, such a study (Criteria d) would involve giving 1 group of subjects 'altered' water over a period of time and giving the control group the same amount of purified but not 'altered' water (without either the subjects or the experimenters knowing who is getting what). All product claims (more energy, better hydration, etc.) would then need to be carefully measured and recorded for each group. After several weeks or so, the water would be switched (without the subjects or experimenters knowing) and measurements would continue. After the experiment had been completed the  the results are tabulated and statistical comparisons are made of the measured outcomes.  Finally, the results would be unblinded (blinding during the analysis phase minimizes any unconscious bias).  If there were real, beneficial health effects of the 'altered' water, the data would show real, positive differences in the results ONLY when the people were drinking the 'altered' water.

To the best of my knowledge, there has never been a reviewed paper in any medical or scientific journal validating ANY of the physical or health claims made by the proponents of ANY of the various types of 'altered' water. All I have seen are variations of criteria (a), (b), or (c). These are called Anecdotal Evidence. I would very much like to find such a paper, so if you know of any study that refutes my claim about the lack of real supporting evidence, I would be extremely interested in looking at it!  Unfortunately, the companies making the water are not interested in doing the experiments - people are buying their product anyway - and scientists believe it to be a non-issue, and are not willing to spend the time and money required to test the claims. One thing to be aware of, the companies marketing the 'altered' water frequently state that scientific evidence is available to back their claims, but just try to get your hands on it!

Anecdotal evidence is not necessarily false or bad (in fact that is how most of the scientific theories got started), but when combined with health claims, a lack of supporting evidence, and very high prices for the products, I would tend to be quite skeptical. There is absolutely no regulation of ANY of the claims made by these 'altered' water companies beyond those imposed on "normal" bottled water. The companies are usually very careful to state that "They do not make any medical or health claims",  If they did, they would be regulated by the FDA and have to provide scientific proof of the claims. 

The companies follow that disclaimer, however, by stating "look what it has done for all these people" - and then let the anecdotal health claims "speak for themselves".

There is an additional complication in trying to assess the effectiveness of certain products that purport to provide some health benefits, the Placebo Effect.  The placebo effect is the observation that a person's expectation of the effect of a "treatment" can sometimes apparently actually cause the expected result even if the actual treatment was never administered.  For example, a sugar pill given as a pain reliever to someone with arthritis might cause a reduction of pain in some individuals.

If (d) is the criteria you use to determine how to spend your money, however, I would stay away from these types of water/treatments.  I have included below several references that discuss various claims made about 'altered water' for your information.

You mentioned that you have had positive experiences with several of these 'altered' waters. Do you know whether or not your positive experiences were 'colored' by your expectations of what the water would/should do? If you have access to some of these water types, you can do some double blinded experimenting on your own (neither you nor the person giving you the water samples would know which water you were drinking - and thus 'what to expect' from the water). If you get together a small group of interested people, you might at least be able to test the idea (or hypothesis) that a person can tell by 'how they feel' if they are drinking 'altered' water or 'normal' water - the taste of the water would have to be very similar though.

Another argument I would use when discussing the effects of 'altered' water would be to use the discussion about 'contamination' of pure Reverse osmosis, Distilled, Deionized, water by the contents of the stomach. Is it realistic to expect that, if there actually are these carefully balanced 'structures' in 'altered' water, that they could survive the highly acidic conditions in the stomach before they finally reached the intestine?

Regarding reverse osmosis rendering water "dead" - I would generally use the same arguments as above. I have not heard of any 'vital force' being attributed to water (by scientists, anyway). Pure water will have a molecular structure of H₂O and will be utilized equally well by the body regardless of treatment methods use on it whether they were traditional purification technologies (filtration, distillation, RO, etc.) or pseudo-scientific treatments as described below.  As the articles below discuss, there are macro-structures to water, but there is no scientific consensus about how they might function in the human body either positively or negatively. There is also, to the best of my knowledge, no scientifically accepted paper that supports the idea that special techniques used to 'alter' the structure of water have any effect at all on the human body.

Several  relevant references:
Aqua Scams The purpose of this site is to examine the scientific validity of the explanations given by the proponents of "alternative" water treatment devices or, in the case of "clustered water", of a fictional alternative form of water that is purported to be a restorer of youth and vigor. My motivation for doing this is entirely non-vested and very simple: after thirty-four years of teaching general, physical, and environmental Chemistry, it disturbs me to see my favorite science presented incorrectly (and often mangled into pseudoscience) in the promotion of processes or devices offered to the public.  Also take a look at his Clustered Water discussion.  

A somewhat less skeptical treatment of "altered water" topics:
Water structure and behavior:  "A number of explanations of the complex behavior of water have been published, many quite recently. In this site, I have brought together a self-consistent selection of these ideas, which I hope will encourage both the understanding of water and further work.  Magnetic water discussion"

--- The references below (and the claims quoted) are listed for information only, and definitely DO NOT represent my endorsement of (or belief in the value of) the products! - RJ

I'll mention one specific type of 'altered water' because I actually listened to the promotional tape that consisted of an 'interview' with the 'creator' of the water. In my opinion, the interview was a very clever mix of truth, nonsense, and truth used in the wrong way (that is, true statements used improperly to support a particular point).
Penta Water (clustered water)
Penta-hydrate starts as highly filtered ultra pure water, which is processed for days to modify the structure of the H2O molecule clusters into their simplest form, similar to the structure of the water molecule clusters found in human cells.  Interestingly, I have been monitoring Penta Water claims for many years

Penta (tm) Water - A Scientific Breakthrough {The company's words - definitely not mine! - RJ}
Like many great scientific breakthroughs, Bio-Hydration Research Lab, Inc.'s chief engineers Bill and Mike Holloway discovered Penta (tm) water by accident. During an experiment in 1996 to remove dissolved solids from water, they discovered that their test water maintained its micro-clustered molecular state, which, under all previous scientific testing, only happened for short, unsustainable periods of time. But the Holloway's water stayed in its micro-clustered state, which allows it to hydrate cells more effectively and efficiently, thereby relieving dehydration, removing toxins and energizing the body faster.
Penta Super Pro (Case)
$47.76 for a case of 24 - 500 ml bottles of Penta Super Pro.  That's 12 liters, and, at about 4 liters/gallon, about 3 gallons of water.  {If my math is correct, that's nearly $16 a gallon (before shipping charges on a 30 pound package) - RJ}

 A site I just discovered from the James Randi Educational Foundation has several interesting comments on Penta Water and the Foundation's attempts to persuade the company to participate in their million dollar challenge. http://www.randi.org/jr/08-24-01.html, http://www.randi.org/jr/08-31-01.html, http://www.randi.org/jr/110201.html (about 3/4 of the way down), http://www.randi.org/jr/083002.html (about 1/2 of the way down) and http://www.randi.org/jr/121903lins.html ( just over 1/2 of the way down)

Here's another type of clustered water.
Clustered Water Online:  In the human body, there are two basic types of water (biowater): Bound water and Clustered Water. Clustered Water(tm) is able to move freely through the cell walls and is necessary to transport nutrients, remove waste, and maintain proper communication between the cells.  Bound water, on the other hand, is water that becomes physically bound to other molecular structures and is unable to move freely through the cell walls.  {A real bargain at only $40 for 4 gallons - RJ ;>}

I can not find anything on the sites below that describes how the magnetic or far-infrared technologies of Nikken's water system actually works. From what I can tell, it is mostly a carbon block filter - and a very expensive one at that (over $900 with shipping), with expensive replacement filters. I could not discover the pore size, but from the contaminants removed, I would expect it would be 1 micron or below.   My ideas about the additional 'altering' of the water by the other elements of the filter would fall into the discussion above.

--- The references below are listed for information only, and definitely DO NOT represent my endorsement of (or belief in the value of) this product! - RJ

NIKKEN MAG & PiMAG "LIVING WATER" PRODUCTS - The aboriginal and primordial PiMag water is made by plants and is the liquid cellular, tissue and sap (blood) components of a plant. {PiMag is NOT a term you will find in any medical, chemistry, biology, or biochemistry book!! - RJ}
PiMAG WATER SYSTEM (CATALOG #1316)
Retail Price ($850)+ 5% sales tax + US Priority Mail = $909

PiMag Water System - The only drinking water system with microfine ultrafiltration magnetic technology and pi!  It's here-the revolutionary technology that makes your drinking water better. The PiMag Water System. It uses four advanced technologies-a combination available only from Nikken.  Block and granular carbon filters screen out common water contaminants.  Ultrafine filtration captures more. Nikken magnetic technology is added. And the pi in PiMag comes from ceramic elements that impart the same energy found in Nikken products with Far-Infrared Technology. For years, this pi water has been used in Asia. Now this patented system is available in North America.  The PiMag Water System is unique. Try it, and you'll appreciate the difference in your drinking water.

One way to determine the performance of a product is to look at the independent certification.  NSF certification of the Nikken water system.
Type Nikken into the 'MANUFACTURER' search box and clicked on 'Search by Manufacturer'.

The results should be:
Standard 42 - Aesthetic Effects
   Chlorine Reduction, Class I
   Nominal Particulate Reduction, Class I
   Taste and Odor Reduction
Standard 53 - Health Effects
   Cyst Reduction
   Lead Reduction
   Turbidity Reduction

Compare that with the NSF certification for the Solid Block Activated Carbon filter I recommend:  It's a high-end and fairly expensive filtration system at $350 - yet only about 1/3 the cost of the Nikken.

The certified list of contaminants removed by all filter cartridges is:

For Standard 042 - aesthetic
   Chlorine Reduction, Class I
   Particulate Reduction, Class I
   Chloramine Reduction
   Taste and Odor Reduction
For Standard 053 - contaminants of health concern
   Asbestos Reduction
   Chlordane Reduction
   Cyst Reduction
   Lead Reduction
   Mercury Reduction
   MTBE Reduction
   PCB Reduction
   Toxaphene Reduction
   TTHM Reduction
   Turbidity Reduction
   VOC Reduction (volatile organic chemical) Reduction - you will see a long list of specific VOCs

I hope this helps. If you have any further questions, let me know.

Best wishes.

Randy
randy@cyber-nook.com

Reply to the above message and question 2:

Randy,

Wow, thank you for taking your time to answer my questions so thoroughly.  You have given me more to think about. I'm looking for water that can hydrate, as I feel dehydrated. In Kentucky, I was able to get Highbridge Water and actually visited the source and the bottling facility located in a cave. It was run through reverse osmosis and ultraviolet light and seemed to hydrate pretty well.  The Penta Water hydrates a bit better, but is currently cost prohibitive to drink daily.

I had no expectations when I drank water from the Nikken System and was skeptical. I was given 3 samples of different waters, and the Nikken water seemed like what my body was craving. I will follow your advise and see if I can obtain some scientific research on it.

For such an essential thing that we need to sustain life, the best drinking water is so elusive.

I've learned over the years that just because something is put on a shelf in a store or on the market that it's not necessarily safe.

Thank you for your continued pursuit of the answers and for sharing your knowledge so freely.

M____

Answer 2:

Hi M____ -

I take the time to answer people who have questions in part because I am troubled by the rampant miss-information campaigns I see, not only on the internet, but in all the media.  A good proportion of the campaigns seem to be designed exclusively to separate people from their money.

Again, I encourage you to try some blinded tests over several day's of drinking various types of water to see if you can really tell the difference in the way the water hydrates your body in the absence of ANY clues as to which type of water you are drinking, . It may be difficult to get a truly blinded test though because, depending on the type or treatment and the materials left in (or removed from the water samples) - calcium, air, other trace minerals, etc. - the taste alone can give away a particular type of water you are drinking. 

Even the faintest hint of a suggestion about what to expect can subtly influence the mind to interpret subsequent events a particular way.

For example, in your Nikken experience, did the representative walk in, immediately offer you three identical-looking glasses of water to drink (with absolutely no comments or explanations about what the samples were or what you might experience), and then ask you to record your impressions about each glass of water - again with no prompting about what you were drinking or what kinds of impressions to be thinking about? In a sales situation that would be the ONLY way to reduce the possibility of the sales presentation influencing the outcome of the "test" - but then many sales people are VERY interested in influencing the outcome of a demonstration!

The response (unconscious usually) of the mind to the 'power of suggestion' can not be over-emphasized - that's why some sales people are so effective, and why experimental studies are so difficult to set up - the experimenters, the subjects, and even the analysis team can be subtly and unconsciously influenced by the minds' expectations. An important part of the scientific review process I mentioned in my previous letter is to try to discover if expectations about the outcome of a study had any influence on the scientists recording or interpreting of the data. As I also mentioned yesterday, the subject of the "experiment" can also be profoundly influenced by the expected outcome. As one of the articles below mentions, "even the course of an illness" can be affected by the mind's ability to modify the body's response to an event (the placebo effect).

In the case of your Nikken water sampling, the situations outlined below (if some of them occurred in your 'test') would be more than enough to predispose your mind to accept a particular sample as "better than" the others.

In the discussion below, situations 1 and/or 2 ' would set the stage' for the mind to be thinking about the great things that will happen when the Nikken water is sampled.
1) If the Nikken representative was pleasant, confident, and seemed to be extremely knowledgeable about his/her product and the way the body absorbs and metabolizes water.
2) If there was ANY DISCUSSION before you actually sampled the water about the treatment process, the benefits of the treated water and/or what was "supposed to happen" when the Nikken water was sampled.

Then, with a positive expectation, any knowledge about the identity of a sample (situations 3 and/or 4), no matter how slight, can allow a difference in the samples to be "detected".
3) If you saw the water samples prepared.
4) If there were ANY comments or hints made during the sampling, like "now, don't you feel great after that sample". It probably wouldn't be that blatant, but even subtle body language or an "expectant look" can give a hint as to the expected response to a sample. That's why double blinded experiments, where neither the experimenter nor the subject knows which treatment is given, are so important.

Anyway, I wanted to reiterate my current thoughts and concerns on the subject of 'altered' water. To the best of my knowledge (and the water chemists I have contacted), as far as the body is concerned, water is water! You will want to drink pure, safe water, but I have not encountered ANY information (that I would accept as scientifically valid) that would convince me that there is any way to modify water so that it is either absorbed into the bloodstream from the intestines or into the cells themselves more efficiently than un-modified water (or move nutrients or waste products through the body any better). ANY WATER should hydrate your body and provide transport for nutrients, gases, and waste products perfectly well! 

If you constantly feel dehydrated despite drinking plenty of water, there may be some physical problem causing the feeling rather than the type of water you are drinking. I am not a physician, so I won't even hazard a guess, but I thought I'd bring that up as a remote possibility.  

Two of the facts that would make it unlikely for 'altered' water to have any effect on the body

1) Even if there were some way to create special clusters (or other alterations) of water molecules and/or minerals and package them in a bottle, I can not imagine that these carefully balanced "structures" would survive intact during the several hour journey through the stomach into the intestines where they would be absorbed. I included a couple of references below that explain environment in the stomach and the absorption process of water into the intestine.  I go into some detail about this idea in my discussion on distilled water.

2) Water absorption is driven by osmosis - a passive process that depends (as far as is known) only on the concentrations of dissolved materials (or solutes) on either side of a membrane (the cells in the intestine and the rest of the body). Basically, water molecules move from areas of low solute concentration into areas of high solute concentration. As described below, the cells in the intestine can increase the concentration of solutes within their membrane (by 'pumping' sodium in, for example), and the water follows by osmosis. The pores are extremely small, and according to my understanding, water enters these pores as single molecules (see aquaporin references below), not as clusters. From my background, I can't see how altered water could have an impact on that process - much less on cellular absorption within the body as claimed by Penta Water. The clusters would have to reassemble within the bloodstream.

According to current theories of water transport into and out of cells, special proteins form small pores in the cell membranes where "the protein forms a channel in the membrane that is .... just large enough for water molecules to fit through (a link to the complete article)." Again, this model leaves no explanation for how water clusters or other forms of 'altered' water might cause a benefit to the body.

If you are interested in exploring the "science" of these 'altered' waters, try to find someone at one of the companies who is willing and able to provide a detailed explanation of:
1) how the water's special structure is stabilized so it survives the stomach - a highly acidic environment.
2) a mechanism that describes specifically how the altered structure of the water interacts with cell membranes to facilitate transport across the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream.
3) exactly how the special structure of the water can impact water uptake in cells through out the body (does the 'structure' cross the intestinal wall intact or reassemble in the bloodstream)?
4) results from double-blind trials of their product, preferably peer reviewed to ensure impartiality, but I would settle for a good description of the experimental method employed.

If you are able to get an explanation that addresses any of the questions above (or similar questions that you devise), I would be EXTREMELY INTERESTED in receiving a copy of the communication and the person's name and e-mail address.

I do not claim to know everything about this subject, but I do know enough to be quite skeptical about certain claims without very good evidence to back those claims up. There is an important saying in the scientific community "Extraordinary Claims Demand Extraordinary Proof".  The claims made by manufacturers and marketers of 'altered' water can be said to be "Extraordinary" because they fall outside the scope of traditional scientific explanations and understanding of how the world "works".

Hope this additional information helps

Best wishes for your quest into pure, healthful water

Randy

Reference below for:
   Placebo Effect
   Digestion and water absorption
   Aquaporins {water pores in cell membranes - RJ}

-------------------------------------

The Placebo Effect  Doctors in one study successfully eliminated warts by painting them with a brightly colored, inert dye and promising patients the warts would be gone when the color wore off. In a study of asthmatics, researchers found that they could produce dilation of the airways by simply telling people they were inhaling a bronchiodilator, even when they weren't. Patients suffering pain after wisdom-tooth extraction got just as much relief from a fake application of ultrasound as from a real one, so long as both patient and therapist thought the machine was on. Fifty-two percent of the colitis patients treated with placebo in 11 different trials reported feeling better -- and 50 percent of the inflamed intestines actually looked better when assessed with a sigmoidoscope ("The Placebo Prescription" by Margaret Talbot, New York Times Magazine, January 9, 2000).
Forty years ago, a young Seattle cardiologist named Leonard Cobb conducted a unique trial of a procedure then commonly used for angina, in which doctors made small incisions in the chest and tied knots in two arteries to try to increase blood flow to the heart. It was a popular technique -- 90 percent of patients reported that it helped -- but when Cobb compared it with placebo surgery in which he made incisions but did not tie off the arteries, the sham operations proved just as successful. The procedure, known as internal mammary ligation, was soon abandoned ("The Placebo Prescription" by Margaret Talbot, New York Times Magazine, January 9, 2000).
{Excellent description, discussion, and examples - RJ}

How does the placebo effect work?  It is easy for the conventional doctor to understand that placebo may be a factor in altering a patient's perception of his disease and symptoms and thus improve them. Placebo effects, however, go far deeper than this and are not simply about the things seeming better but actually being better. This is why they should be part of mainstream medicine.
This area has been neglected in the past because we have been philosophically and physiologically unable to explain how mind can affect body. This is partly because we have separated them in the first place. Modern science, however, has provided ample evidence for a reintegration of mind and body both in theory and practice.

Placebo effects - Background:  The benefits of therapeutic interventions in clinical practice are often enhanced by placebo effects. Placebo effects can be defined as the positive physiological or psychological changes associated with the use of inert medications, sham procedures, or therapeutic symbols within a healthcare encounter. Placebos can also be active substances or real procedures that produce unexpected beneficial effects. For example, antibiotics may be considered placebos when prescribed for viral respiratory illnesses that are not expected to respond to antibiotic action. Placebo effects may also be viewed as a subset of a larger group of mind-brain-body effects such as the psycho-physiological effects of religious beliefs and devotional practices, meditation, faith-based healing, hypnosis, and the effects of cultural and social economic systems on the prevalence and severity of specific diseases.
These effects have been scientifically documented by an increasing body of research. Mind-brain-body effects, including placebo effects, are not fully appreciated in contemporary medicine. {continues with an interesting description of the effect}

The Mysterious Placebo - One of the most significant but widely misunderstood phenomena is the placebo effect. Research shows that the placebo effect can be greater and is far more ubiquitous than commonly thought.

From Placebo to Homeopathy: The Fear of the Irrational The placebo effect is a perfect illustration of scientific exorcism of a disturbing fact (W.A. Brown, Scientific American, Jan. 1998, pages 68-73). Although its existence has been established beyond doubt, all efforts are directed not toward studying its mechanisms, but to subtracting its interference.

....since a placebo promotes healing. It may relieve pain, e.g., headache, and even modify the course of an illness....

More on the Placebo Effect - {interesting, but a bit difficult to follow thelines of thought - RJ}

Digestion and Absorption (Water absorption is explained about 1/3 of the way down - rj)
Mechanism of water absorption. Osmotic water absorption is driven by the absorption of sugars and amino acids and other nutrients. In addition the absorption of ions powers water absorption via the standing osmotic gradient mechanism. Na, K-ATPase concentrated near heads of intercellular channels pumps Na + into intercellular space. Cl - enters intercellular space via tight junctions or basolateral plasma membrane [driven by its electrochemical gradient]. Slightly hypertonic NaCl near heads of intercellular spaces. Draws water osmotically. Hydrostatic flow of water and ions down intercellular channel, across basement membrane, to be carried away by capillaries.

Water
An important function of both small intestine and colon is the absorption of water and electrolytes. Approximately 2000 ml of food and drink is ingested daily, and the volume of gastrointestinal secretions (salivary, gastric, biliary, pancreatic and intestinal) is about 8,000 ml daily; therefore, approximately 10 liters of fluid enters the intestine each day. Of the 8 liters secreted, about 1-1.5 liters enter as saliva, 2-3 liters are secreted by the stomach, about 2 liters enter as bile and pancreatic secretion (about 1 liter each), and about 2 liters are secreted by the small intestine.  (Please note that these figures are approximate, not absolute. Volumes may vary, depending on experimental method and conditions.) Of the 10 liters which enters the gut each day, only about 1 liter passes into the colon, about 90% having been absorbed across the small intestinal epithelium. Only about 150 ml is lost in the feces daily, with the remainder being absorbed by the colon. It should be obvious that any derangement in intestinal fluid absorption would profoundly influence the balance of fluid and electrolytes in the body, and that the normal functioning of the intestines plays a significant role in regulating water and electrolyte balance. The net absorption or net secretion of water in the intestine is the result of bidirectional movements of water from mucosa to serosa (m-->s flux or absorption) and from serosa to mucosa (s-->m flux or secretion). In the human intestine, these unidirectional fluxes exceed net movement 2-3 fold.  The rate and direction of net fluid movement depend on tonicity of the meal, and move toward the achievement of isotonicity {equal concentration of water on both sides of a membrane - RJ}. 
The intestinal mucosal surface consists of a bimolecular lipid membrane, which (presumably) contains small pores or channels. Water and water-soluble substances can hypothetically enter the cell through these pores only, while lipid-soluble substrates can directly cross the lipid cell membrane. Specialized protein pores, referred to as aquaporins (AQP) have been identified in many tissues, including colon epithelium; water channel isoforms in small intestinal epithelium remain to be discovered. Intestinal absorption of water is a passive process and requires movement of solutes. Water accompanies solute and moves across the intestinal mucosa in response to osmotic gradients. The rate of water uptake in any region of the intestine is a function of solute absorption in this region. All areas of the intestines (including small bowel and colon) absorb water, the relative amounts absorbed depending on the presence of solutes {things dissolved in water, sodium, calcium, sugar, etc. - RJ}, and the types of solutes present. In the jejunum, the active transport of sugars and amino acids causes passive movement of salt and water, which accounts for most of the water uptake in this area. In the ileum, most water movement is accounted for by active sodium transport. As described in Johnson (Gastrointestinal Physiology), coupled water and sodium transport involves a specialized mechanism that pumps sodium into the lateral spaces, resulting in relatively high osmotic pressure in that region. Water then enters the lateral space from the cell (transcellular flux) and--perhaps--the lumen (paracellular flux), reducing the osmotic pressure but increasing the hydrostatic pressure. Fluid is then forced out of the lateral space into the interstitial space. The net effect is that isotonic fluid is transported from the lumen into the extracellular fluid. This hypothesis of fluid absorption is illustrated in Figure 12-5, on page 137 of the Johnson resource.

Lecture 52. Gastrointestinal Secretion/Absorption (good diagrams)

Water Permeability of the Alimentary Canal

Stomach - A large J-shaped chamber lying between the esophagus and the small intestine.... HCl - secreted by the parietal cells of the oxyntic mucosa only into the lumen of the stomach, where the pH falls below 2. Activates Pepsin from Pepsinogen. Breaks down connective tissue and muscle. Kills microorganisms.

Small Intestine - site in the digestive tract where most digestion and absorption takes place.... Absorption - The products of Carbohydrate, Fat and Protein digestion are all absorbed in the small intestine, as well as water, electrolytes and vitamins. Most absorption occurs in the duodenum and jejunum.

Aquaporins - the perfect water filters of the cell 
Aquaporins are water channel proteins; they are located in the otherwise water impermeable cell membrane of many plants and animals. There they prevent bursting of the cells, e.g., due to changes of the exterior salt concentration (osmotic regulation). In humans, aquaporins regulate the water flux in the kidney, red blood cells, the eye lens, and the brain, to name just a few..... *** The structure showed that the protein forms a channel in the membrane that is 2 nanometers (billionth meter) long and 0.3 nanometers wide, just large enough for water molecules to fit through, such that permeation of larger molecules is prevented.***
{This site has some neat diagrams!  One reason that clustered water is unlikely to have an effect on the cell's intake of water - H₂O molecules appear to cross the cell membrane singly, not as clusters - RJ}

Aquaporins: Water Channels - Water crosses cell membranes by two routes: by diffusion through the lipid bilayer and through water channels called aquaporins. Functional characterization of the first aquaporin was reported in 1992, but water channels were suspected to exist well before that time, because the osmotic permiability of some types of epithelial cells was much too large to be accounted for by simple diffusion through the plasma membrane. A single human aquaporin-1 channel facilitates water transport at a rate of roughly 3 billion water molecules per second. Such transport appears to be bidirectional, in accordance with the prevailing osmotic gradient.