When it comes to health recommendations at Pinnacle, we are constantly talking about healthy water intake for bladder health and overall health. Often, we will talk about the importance of getting 50% of our body weight in ounces of water per day. This is important for both getting and staying healthy.
Just as important as the QUANTITY of water we drink, it’s also vital to discuss the QUALITY of the water we are consuming. As you may have seen a recent podcast about detoxing or even listened to it, I shared my personal journey of learning about detoxing for health which included a bit about getting the cleanest water possible.
While years ago, I would have thought of a water filter costing more than $30 to be just too extravagant, my research into getting healthy and preventing and treating cancer brought me to the harsh reality that we are literally surrounded by toxins… including in most sources of water.
This includes our tap water as well as most bottled water. WHAT?!
Yep. Even though our tap water IS filtered to some extent, municipal water processing facilities do not have the capability to filter out many carcinogens that are just not regulated. This can include lead, arsenic, pesticides, hormones, plastics, chromium 6, nitrates, disinfection byproducts, and perchlorate (otherwise known as rocket fuel).
This is NOT just a Flint, Michigan problem… cancer-causing toxins have been found in the tap water in homes of ALL 50 states.
I would challenge you to research YOUR home zip code at https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/ to see what toxins have been found in your area. It can vary widely between locations. For example, in our hometown of Vancouver, there are 8 carcinogens detected at high levels, with arsenic being at 525 times the established safe levels! In Anaheim California, there are 17 chemicals that exceed safe levels including Uranium!!
Why isn’t bottled water a good alternative to tap water??
Unfortunately according to EWG.org, an 18-month survey of bottled water revealed that just 2 bottled waters of 188 make public 3 basic facts – Ozarka Drinking Water and Penta Ultra-Purified Water – 1) list specific water sources, 2) treatment methods on their labels, and 3) offer a recent water quality test report on their websites. So while bottled water is treated to taste better, it may be no different than our tap water in toxins. And surprisingly, water bottle manufacturers are NOT regulated by the FDA with regards to safety testing or what they have to report to consumers as does municipal water.
Bottled water also costs exponentially more than tap water, and most come in plastic bottles, which can leach endocrine-disrupting chemicals into the water that we will be drinking. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can majorly affect our hormonal cycles and symptoms related to our hormones. This can include issues with our periods, perimenopause symptoms, low libido, fertility, and more. At any time in a water bottle’s journey where the bottle is heated up in transit or storage, the chemicals will then leach into the water. Not good!
So what is the recommendation by EWG? Filtering our tap water. And while a common refrigerator carbon-based filter can make our water taste better, it won’t be able to remove all of the carcinogens mentioned above as well as fluoride if we choose to eliminate this. A reverse osmosis filter system is considered the best. This can be the type that we have at Pinnacle called the Aqua Tru which sits on a countertop and has three filters or something like the Berkey Water Filter that is a stainless steel countertop filter. These countertop filters are much less expensive than a whole house filter system that can cost thousands. A bonus with these countertop filters is that they can ensure that your water is safe to drink, even if an area’s water becomes contaminated due to a natural disaster or other event.
(I will say that Aqua Tru filters often have promotions where they are offered at $100 off of their $449 price tag, so definitely look out for that if you are in the market for a water filter system.)
Information like this can easily be overwhelming, and difficult to digest and act on. It may feel too out of reach financially at this time, which is completely understandable! It is my hope that as we all continue to look towards bettering our health, that we realize that making choices like where our water comes from can make a major long-term impact for the better. Unfortunately, our governments are not able to provide us with toxin-free drinking water, and it’s up to us to take steps to remedy this issue.
The next time you are at our office, feel free to try a cup of our Aqua Tru water and see what you think. We have zero financial ties to the company for recommending them, just want to do what is best for our staff, our patients and practice what we preach.
Here’s to CLEAN drinking water!
Source: Is Your Bottled Water Worth It?
