Welcome Back to The Synergetic Health Newsletter! 

January 23rd, 2025. Greetings from Da Nang, Vietnam! Second time is a charm after my first attempt to visit this country was denied. It’s only been a couple days but I’m really enjoying it so far and will likely stay awhile. Legit beachfront cities are few and far between, especially ones where you can stay in a boutique hotel for $30/night and have a good meal for under $5.

I’m staying near My Khe beach, recently named of the best 50 beaches in the world. So lots of beach walks, Pho, Vietnamese coffee, and blending in with the many other foreigners who also have discovered this beautiful stretch of coastline.

Today, I’m excited to tell you about Informed Water, the latest discovery I’ve found in the holistic health world. I’ll also introduce you to two types of natural meditation that I often use. Have a great day!

💦 The Science of Informed Water

Dr. William Bengston has dedicated over 35 years to researching healing with an open, questioning mind. "People misuse the idea of skepticism quite often," he explains. "They confuse it with being a believer - either believing everything or believing nothing. I don't know enough to be a believer. I say let's find out."

What is Informed Water?

The human body is 99% water by molecular volume, and emerging research suggests water might be far more remarkable than we've understood. Dr. Gerald Pollack's work at the University of Washington has revealed a fourth phase of water, called "Exclusion Zone water" or EZ water, which can store and transmit information. This discovery, written about in SHN #80, helps explain how water might serve as more than just a passive substance in living systems.

Building on this foundation, Dr. Bengston's research shows that water can capture and retain healing information. His team has developed a method to create what they call "informed water" - water that has been systematically treated to hold specific healing properties. They've observed unexpected frequencies emanating from this treated water, suggesting fundamental changes in its structure.

"We find frequencies coming out that shouldn't be there," Bengston explains. "When we take this to Jerry Pollack, the leading water researcher, he tells me, 'This means you have a reliable scientific anomaly.' The water is doing something that defies our current understanding, but the effects are measurable and reproducible."

The process of creating informed water has evolved through years of research. Bengston's team first developed the therapeutic properties through careful experimentation, then designed a device that could reliably reproduce these properties in ordinary water. This technological breakthrough means they can now produce large quantities of treated water while maintaining its effectiveness.

"We can store healing information in water, and now we can make enough for a million doses," Bengston explains.

The Evidence

Bengston's research, which can be found here, began with laboratory studies that produced incredible results. "I have 20 mouse experiments with cancerous mice that have 100% death and we cure them and the mice are cured for life and reinfections won't take," he explains. This means the treated mice not only recovered but became immune to the cancer - they couldn't be reinfected. Even more surprisingly, their blood could transfer this immunity to other mice: "You can take blood from that mouse and put it into another fully infected mouse and it'll cure that mouse of cancer." These findings suggest the healing information becomes encoded in the animal's biology.

"We've gotten ridiculously good results with all sorts of things that I just don't know how to tie together," Bengston admits. Three clinical trials involving over 300 participants documented remarkable improvements: tumors reducing or disappearing, arthritis symptoms improving by 98%, and some wheelchair-bound patients with neurological conditions regaining their ability to walk. The trials showed success with conditions ranging from Multiple Sclerosis and fibromyalgia to bipolar disorder and chronic fatigue.

In the most recent U.S. trial, 59% of participants reported improvement in their primary condition by week 8, with up to 71% noting improvements in secondary conditions. However, Bengston emphasizes that healing isn't instantaneous: "For most people they didn't notice much for two weeks. It's not like you're taking it and start flopping on the floor and levitating."

The Clinical Trials

Bengston and his team have conducted three major clinical trials testing informed water. The most recent study focused on COVID-19 patients, involving 160 people entering hospitals. The results, as he describes them, were remarkable: "This water, for reasons that I can't understand to be kind...blew away the medical intervention."

The trials were rigorously designed - double-blind, randomized, and placebo-controlled. Neither patients nor doctors knew whether they were getting treated or plain water. What makes these results particularly interesting is that unlike conventional treatments, the water showed no side effects.

Earlier trials involved broader applications. In one study, 86 U.S. volunteers took drops under their tongue for eight weeks. Another study with 91 participants in the Netherlands and Belgium compared different delivery methods - sublingual drops versus infused jellies. Both showed significant improvements in physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being measures.

Understanding the Results

These studies challenge our understanding of placebos. Bengston argues that the placebo effect might be more physical than psychological, suggesting that separate groups in studies might not be as independent as we assume. He's even found placebo effects in mice and cell cultures - subjects that presumably can't experience psychological effects.

"I have placebo effects in mice that are the same as people," he notes. "I don't think the mice believe." This observation raises questions about how healing actually works.

Understanding How It Works

Traditional science struggles to explain these results, but the research keeps yielding consistent data. When asked about the mechanism, Bengston maintains intellectual honesty: "I don't know how the water works. The water works - I can show you it works, but I can't tell you exactly how." This mystery has attracted attention from mainstream scientists.

The research has begun appearing in conventional biology journals, which typically reject anything that seems unconventional. "The biology journals who you would think would have trouble with this... say we can't find a flaw in what you're doing," Bengston notes. These publications come after intense scrutiny of his methodology and results.

Current Applications and Future Directions

Currently, two main products have emerged from this research: "Recover" and "Restore." Recover is geared toward antiviral applications, while Restore is for general health support. The recommended protocol typically involves taking drops under the tongue, with effects usually noticed within 2-4 weeks.

Bengston emphasizes that results aren't instantaneous: "It's not usually anything approaching instantaneous magic... Whatever it is, there's a real process involved and I think it's up to your body - what does your body need, what does your body want, what can the water give to you?"

The research continues to expand. Current projects include work with veterinarians for animal studies and collaborations with medical schools in Europe. As Bengston says, "The doors are opening."

What This Means for Healthcare

Perhaps the most significant implication of this research is its potential for scaling healing. Traditional one-on-one healing methods, while effective, can't reach everyone who needs help. Informed water might offer a solution to this limitation.

However, Bengston maintains his skeptical approach: "I don't know how the water works. Jerry [Pollock] doesn't know how the water works. The water works - I can show you the water works, but I can't tell you really how it works."

This uncertainty doesn't diminish the potential importance of the findings. As more research emerges and more scientists engage with these ideas, we might be witnessing the early stages of a shift in how we think about healing.

Looking Forward

The field of informed water research represents a convergence of rigorous science and unexplained phenomena, which is squarely in my wheelhouse of interests. While much remains to be understood about the mechanisms at work, the growing body of evidence suggests this area deserves more attention from the scientific community.

As Bengston says, "The world is seriously more interesting than what we give credit for." His work asks us to maintain both skepticism and openness - to follow the evidence where it leads, even when it contradicts our existing frameworks.

TLDR: Dr. Bengston's 35 years of research shows water can store and transmit healing information. His informed water produces measurable effects in lab studies and clinical trials, with no side effects.

🧘🏻‍♀️ Two Approaches to Present Moment Awareness

Looking for a new way to practice meditation?

Natural meditation offers two distinct doorways into present moment awareness. You can choose either approach based on what resonates with you:

Option 1: Pure Presence

• Find a comfortable position, sitting or reclining

• Close your eyes or keep them softly focused a few feet ahead

• Let go of all attempts to direct or control your experience

• Allow your attention to move naturally wherever it goes

• Don't try to achieve a thoughtless state or any particular experience

• Let thoughts, sensations, sounds, and feelings simply be as they are

• Make no effort to fix, understand, or change anything

• Rest in whatever is naturally occurring

Option 2: Self-Inquiry

• Begin with the same comfortable posture

• Turn your attention toward questions like "Who am I?" or the Zen koan "What is Mu?"

• Look beyond your usual thoughts and concepts about yourself

• Rest in the questioning itself rather than seeking conceptual answers

• Stay with what's prior to thought and memory

• Allow yourself to step into the unknown

• Let go of any preconceptions about what you might find

• Trust your natural instinct to recognize what's most fundamental

Both approaches are equally valid paths to the same recognition. It’s important to avoid making it into a task or trying to achieve any particular state. Whether through pure presence or direct inquiry, natural meditation is allowing what already is to reveal itself— without trying to force anything.

Give both methods a try and see which one resonates more with you. Technically this is “meditation” practice, but doesn’t require focusing on the breath or listening to a guided track.

𝕏 Thread of the Week

🌡️ Bryan Johnson vs. Ray Peat: This post compares two contrasting approaches to longevity and metabolism: tech founder Bryan Johnson's mostly vegan, calorie-restricted Blueprint diet versus the late researcher Ray Peat's animal-and-fruit-based philosophy. Their key disagreements center on three main areas: nutrient density versus ease of digestion, their opposing views on saturated fats versus polyunsaturated fats, and their contrary approaches to metabolic rate (Johnson aims to reduce it while Peat advocated maximizing it). The author, and me, lean toward Peat's theories, particularly regarding metabolism and fats.

☯︎ Tao Lin’s Spiritual Evolution: I recently enjoyed this article about one man’s exploration of the DMT-world and near-death experience research: “For me, smoking DMT and reading about NDEs has made life seem less like a stressful, inscrutable test and more like a casual adventure in an explorable work of art, a partially self-created novel-movie-game with a rewarding surprise ending, returning us to the glorious home that we forgot we had when we left it.”

"Why do souls come to the universe? Maybe living a life is like reading a novel or playing a computer game – educational, recreational. Maybe embodiment is a rite of passage, like the vision quest in Native American cultures."

💼 The Truth About Hard Work: This conversation between Naval Ravikant and Kapil Gupta explores how we think about hard work. They both argue that grinding harder is not the key to success. Naval points out that in today's world of leverage (through code, capital, and people), judgment often matters more than raw hours worked. Kapil goes further, suggesting that hard work is often used as a psychological shield – a way to justify potential failure. Instead, they propose that real achievement comes from genuine desire and natural alignment with one's talents, where what looks like "hard work" to others feels like play to the person doing it.

🔗 One Hitters

🏋🏻‍♂️ The Evolution of Fitness Trends (NYT Article)

🧴 Make your own magnesium spray (How-To)

🧍 Unlock the body’s three keys (Video to Improve Posture/Alignment)

✈️ The cheapest places to live in 2025 (Article)

📚 Read my e-book, “Self-Development for Authentic Living” for free.

🔗 If you know anyone who loves learning about these types of topics, send them this link!

📰 To read all past newsletters, go here.