The summer is upon us and we all know that staying hydrated is essential. Water is the best solution to quench thirst and prevent fluid loss. After all, water is imperative for body to function.
But have you paid attention to the quality of water you consume?
Making sure you drink enough pure water is one of the most powerful steps you can take for better heath. However, it’s not as easy as it sounds…
Problem with bottled water
Grocery stores are packed with different options for bottled water. But if you think, you’ll get pure water from a bottle, you’re out of luck: an independent test performed by the EWG (Environmental Working Group) found thirty-eight low-level contaminants in bottled water. Each of the 10 tested brands contained an average of eight chemicals: DBP’s, caffeine, Tylenol, nitrate, industrial chemicals, arsenic, and bacteria were all detected. Some of the chemicals detected have been linked to health effects, including cancer and methemoglobinemia (blue baby syndrome). Two of the brands tested even bore the chemical signature of municipal tap water, meaning that they were chemically indistinguishable from what comes from the faucet.
There are other similar tests done as well, and they strongly indicate that the purity of bottled water cannot be trusted.
Another concern is the bottle itself. An Environmental Working Group investigation found that PET plastics, the type used to make plastic water bottles and marked with a #1 code on the bottom, contain dozens of chemical additives, manufacturing impurities and breakdown byproducts – a total of more than 80 potential contaminants that can potentially leach into the water, including formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and antimony. Most plastic bottles contains BPA and phthalates, which mimics hormones in your body.
Leached out chemicals of plastic are found in the blood and tissue of nearly all of us. Exposure to them is linked to cancers, birth defects, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption and other ailments.
Not only are plastic bottles a major problem for humans, but they also take a huge toll on the environment, and the animals on our planet.
Plastic cannot biodegrade; it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces. It’s made to last forever. Plastic spoils our groundwater, attracts other pollutants, threatens wildlife, piles up in the environment, poisons our foodchain and costs billions to abate.
So drinking from glass bottles whenever possible will not only benefit your heath, but the whole world in general.
(If you wish to find a stylish glass bottle that doesn’t break, this is what I rock at the gym.)
What about tapwater?
You may believe that tap water is a healthy and safe source of water. However, while tap water is a far better option than any type of soda, it’s also generally loaded with a large number of toxic ingredients that may cause health problems.
For instance, chlorine or chloramines are added to most municipal water suplies to sterilize the water. Chlorine itself is pretty safe, but it interacts with organic material in the water to form more than 600 DBP’s. DBP’s have been linked to liver, kidney and nervous system problems.
Fluoride on the other hand, has been listed to the list of top development neurotoxins by Harvard Medical School. A surprising fact is, that the fluoride that is added to our water supplies is actually hydrofluorosilicic acid,– a hazardous waste product from the wet scrubbing systems of the fertilizer industry. Luckily in Western Europe, 97 percent of the population drinks nonfluoridated water.
Aluminum is also found in municipal water supply and it can cause health problems including hyperactivity, learning disabilities, gastrointestal disease, Parkinson’s and liver disease, and skin problems.
Arsenic is a powerful carcinogen linked to an increased risk of the development of several types of cancer. 56 million Americans living in 25 states drink water that contains unsafe arsenic levels. http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/trace/arsenic offers a map showing where and to what extent arsenic naturally occures in groundwater across the US. Arsenic is not easily removed by most carbon filters, but can be removed by reverse osmosis filters and distillation. My recommendation for reverse osmosis filter is this. It’s similar to what I use at my home.
In addition, chemical fertilizers and pesticides used by the farming industry are also washed into the water supply via rain runoff.
Water filteration
The best choice to obtain water that is toxin free, is to to invest in a water filteration system. Ideally, installing a whole house water filter system would be the best choice, but if that’s not feasible, installing a water filter for your shower would be the next best option.
This may come as a surprise to many, but when you take a shower, water comes in contact with your skin and also with your lungs, when you breath in steam. When water is contaminated it can cause far more harm than if you drank it. Shower filters are also a lot cheaper than many drinking water filters.
Installing a shower filter will significantly reduce your chemical exposure. You also do a tremendous favor to your body, since your body won’t have to detox those chemicals, your hormones won’t be disrupted, and your risk of developing environmentally triggered disease will be significantly reduced.
Shower filter will also make a huge difference on your skin and hair. I’ve been using a shower filter for a year now, and I couldn’t live without it. Here’s what I recommend.
Steer away from functional waters
Supermarkets’ beverage aisles are full of ”functional waters” fortified with everything from vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, fiber, oxygen and even protein. It can be really tempting to buy these, but if you take a closer look at the labels, you’ll notice that they often contain a lot of disreputable ingredients like high fructose corn syrup and aspartame, which can be dangerous. All the bright colors and tags are really alluring to children as well. I have explained to my children that it’s only a marketing trick in order to get us buy those, and these types of drinks will only make us sick in the long run. Luckily, they understand this, and will only drink homemade sparkling water most of the time. We use filtered water and soda stream machine to make our drinks. To spice up our drinks, we may add some lime or lemon wedges, cucumber and mint leaves, or even some stevia. The only brand that doesn’t have a nasty after taste in my opinion is this. We love orange flavor in our drinks.
Lately we’ve been into diffused waters. We love this bottle.
Also, if you’re traveling with children, it’s good to have this purifying bottle with you, to ensure you’ll always have pure water around.
If you miss your sport drinks, just add a pinch of high quality salt to your filtered water and you’ll have a much healthier option.
Living water, aka structured water
Structured water is physically different from what we typically drink as water. It’s chemical structure is not H2O but H3O2. This kind of water occures within our cells. It also occurs in natural springs when cold mountain stream first comes bubbling out. This water has a negative charge and can hold and deliver energy, just like a battery. Researchers believe that structured water can provide the energy for the electronegativity of our cells, which empowers them to perform all their biological functions. Structured water also hydrates us more effectively than regular water.
Creating structured water
Fresh fruits and vegetables are full of structured water, but tend to lose it once they’re cooked or heated. Juicing vegetables is a great way to get structured water. We have this juicer at home.
Spring water is another great source. The deeper the spring, the better, as pressure creates structure to the water. The mineral content of spring water also helps build structure.
You can also try to cool water to about 4 c degrees to add more structure. Drinking chilled spring water would be ideal. You can find the spring closest to you from this website: www.findaspring.com
Australian naturalist Viktor Schauberger found that circular motion of vortexes adds structure and oxygen to water. The swirling movement of water is also a key means of purification. Other experts also believe that this motion gives the water molecules a tighter structure. You may have experienced this while swimming in flowing bodies of water, such as mountain streams or ocean. The revitalizing feeling is amazing.
I’m currently dreaming about this vortex machine that will transform your filtered water into structured H3O2.
Most of us don’t think much about the quality of water, even though it’s the key to our health. Hopefully after reading this article people will realize that tap water can’t be trusted and that bottled water is often just really expensive tap water in the bottle. Filtering shower water and your drinking water is definitely your best bet.
If you found this article useful, I would so appreciate it, if you could share this forward.
Thank you always for reading,
Johanna xx
Suomalainen teksti aiheesta löytyy täältä:
Sources:
http://www.ewg.org/research/ewgs-water-week/toxic-tuesday-purity-not-guaranteed
http://www.ewg.org/research/ewgs-guide-safe-drinking-water
http://www.ewg.org/research/ewgs-water-week/mad-monday-what-you-dont-know-may-hurt-you
https://biodesign.asu.edu/news/perils-plastics-risks-human-health-and-environment
https://plasticpollutioncoalition.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/222813127-Why-is-plastic-harmful-
Dr. Joseph Mercola, Effortless healing
