Clean water myths and why bottled water will make you sick - Part 5
Clean water is what you are looking for to drink to your hearts content while keeping your peace of mind. Do you instantly think of grabbing bottled water?
Is that color-less, pure, fresh, crisp liquid going down your throat, really “clean”?
Clean water has become a concern for many people. It is a reality that our water has been (and still is) contaminated with pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, industrial solvents and even prescription medication as you read before.
Bottled water is sold to us like a happy solution
They boast of their purity and sell us an image of pristine, virgin sources surrounded by untouched forests.
You might lean towards water in a bottle because you think it’s a healthy, pure and good tasting alternative. Believing it is the best option you have is a belief marketed to you with misguided information and facts open for debate.
Bottled water costs 3,000 times more than tap (!)
Bottled water is not as great as they make you think it is. Tap water also has issues that we covered before but bottled water is basically just tap water bottled.
And although bottled water is sometimes convenient, it is not always clean
According to an article in How Stuff Works, an infamous example of how bottled water companies misguide us was Alaska Water, (no longer sold). It stated on its label: “Alaska premium glacier drinking water: pure glacier water from the last unpolluted frontier” – but upon further investigation, they realized it just came from a groundwater source in the city of Juneau, AK supplied by their water utilities division.
Brand names can be misleading, right? “Arctic Spring Water”, “Everest Water”, “Glacier Mountain”, “Yosemite Water”… etc. You get the picture.
Cases of bottled water ready for distribution.But most bottled water is sourced from public water systems
Unlike tap water, regulated by the EPA, bottled water is regulated by the FDA as a food product, allowing for less frequent quality testing and making consumer water quality reports only voluntary. Tap water regulations are very strict as it is a public service and it’s quality is vital to public health.
You might not remember, but in 2007, Aquafina, a Pepsico product, finally had to concede that its bottled water came from tap water and would start disclosing that in its packaging as “public water source”.
Bottled water is expensive and there are many bottle water recalls. Some of the contaminants that have been found in recalled bottled water are: benzene, mold, sodium hydroxide, kerosene, algae, yeast, sand, fecal coliform, glass particles, sanitizer and event tiny insects.
A Reuters article back in 2007, eye-opening! (Reuters, July 27, 2007)Additionally, plastic bottles are exposed to high heat throughout transportation and for this reason it is not fresh
If you still have bottled water at home, store them at room temperature and out of direct sunlight and away from any harsh chemicals (like paint thinners).
You should only keep it stored in the right conditions for just a year, not any longer.
So, don’t leave your plastic water bottle in the car on a really hot summer day and don’t stack water cases in the garage with no AC. A chemical known as phthalates, that are added to certain plastics, may leach into the water after prolonged heat exposure.
If you think bottled water is a healthier alternative to tap water, think again!
Both bottled water and tap water have contaminants in it, even though they are not at such high levels as to pose a health risk (imminent death), they are still there.
Bottled water is also highly acidic and with little mineral content giving it a flat taste. Tap water has a more alkaline pH and has important minerals in it good for your health.
“Clean” water from a bottle is not cheap and you can achieve the same level of “purity” by using a Brita or PUR filter.
But, if you want up to 99% of contaminants removed you need a high quality filter that has the technology to remove contaminants in several stages to increase purity of the final liquid, this is where we can help you.
One of the best ways to truly purify water is through filtering it through several layers of carbon filter, ceramic media and other high-tech material.
This is becoming all too common nowadays (NJ.com, June 24, 2015)More importantly, and I’m sure it is a concern you have, it is environmentally unfriendly
It takes 1,000 years or more for one plastic bottle to decompose.
Most of these bottles never end up being recycled but left in the trash or landfills where they leak harmful chemicals into the ground contaminating groundwater, further exacerbating the cycle of water pollution.
I know of some die-hard bottled water fanatics that even use it to brush their teeth and make coffee. That’s an expensive mouthwash and java!
Plastic pollution spectacle, a reminder to properly dispose water bottles.Clean water in your home is used not only for drinking but also for cooking, washing your organic produce and showering
Don’t you think we need clean water within the privacy of our own homes for healthy living?
We want clean water to be clean, but also to be able to clean, right?
Let’s see how well water does all that…
Part 6 - How do we use water for healthy living?
How Stuff Works – Science, How bottled water works, www.science.howstuffworks.com
International Bottled Water Association, Bottled water storage, www.bottledwater.org
Reader’s Digest, Everyday wellness, www.rd.com
Natural Resource Defense Council, The truth about tap, www.nrdc.org
