What’s in Your Water?
11 February 2008Bottled Water – To Drink or Not to Drink.
I was reading the February 2008 copy of the Readers Digest this week and came across a really interesting article about bottled water. I admit I am the consumer who purchases an average of 48 bottles of water a month just for myself, and I then I also buy 48 of the little half bottles to send to school in my children’s lunch boxes. The basis of the article explained that not only is bottled water not regulated and checked as it should be, it also comes in those little toxin leaking plastic bottles, that leach nasty chemicals into the water. Adding to the health problems it also causes an excess of plastic in our landfills; and according to the article up to 80% of those bottles are trashed rather than recycled. Yikes! I set out on a quest to find some information to A: make myself feel better about all the bottled water I have already consumed and B: if it really is that detrimental to my health what can I do instead, after all I aim for my eight 8oz glasses of water a day to keep me in my best health possible… right?
The more research I did the more confused I got, is it safe to drink or not? I discovered that it is often straight municipal tap water put it into a convenient plastic bottle that we are drinking. The problem comes when we accidentally allow these bottles to heat up either from storage, transportation or simply leaving them in a hot car. The tap water can become contaminated from leaching plastic and then you drink it causing a negative effect on our hormonal systems resulting in all kinds of health problems.
However not all bottled water is taken from the tap. There are plenty of companies who do bottle from an underground water source. This then poses both the problem of ensuring water purity and the heated plastic bottle problem.
According to the website Fastcompany.com “… Thirty years ago, bottled water barely existed as a business in the United States. Last year, we spent more on Poland Spring, Fiji Water, Evian, Aquafina, and Dasani than we spent on iPods or movie tickets–$15 billion. It will be $16 billion this year. …” Its worth reading the entire article - especially to read their take on the social responsibilities of drinking bottled water. The story is often more far reaching than we can ever first imagine. In part of the article we learn that “Fiji Water produces more than a million bottles a day, while more than half the people in Fiji do not have reliable drinking water. …” Which makes me ask “how socially responsible is that?” Is there a way we can ensure that Americans have all the bottled water they desire while also ensuring that a basic need for the Fiji people, amongst others, are actually met. Personally I have no idea how much it costs the makers of Fiji Water to collect, bottle and market their product, however I do know that from my own limited experience, it is the most expensive bottle on the shelf at our local supermarket, and its also the bottle I see certain famous folks carrying in the photos of the tabloid magazines I read while in the aforementioned supermarket. Thankfully, for their part Fiji Water is actually making strides to help the Fijian people in their quest for clean drinking water, you can learn about their efforts at Fijiwater. It certainly looks as if they are taking some of their social responsibility seriously and giving back to the community in Fiji.
The Natural Resource Defense Council [NRDC] has an article on their website – it is an online petition to the FDA (1999), their report is in bullet format, so it’s a nice easy read. It also helps to answer my ‘Is bottled water really safe” question. And if you go to read the article you can see that their answer is “not necessarily”. Their 4 year study of the industry and the governing body concluded that you cannot be sure you are getting a better product than the tap water you can get out of your kitchen sink. More worrying for me is the answer to question 3. in this article:
“… Could the plastic in water bottles pose a health risk?
Recent research suggests that there could be cause for concern, and that the issue should be studied closely. Studies have shown that chemicals called phthalates, which are known to disrupt testosterone and other hormones, can leach into bottled water over time. One study found that water that had been stored for 10 weeks in plastic and in glass bottles contained phthalates, suggesting that the chemicals could be coming from the plastic cap or liner. Although there are regulatory standards limiting phthalates in tap water, there are no legal limits for phthalates in bottled water — the bottled water industry waged a successful campaign opposing the FDA proposal to set a legal limit for these chemicals.”
Now why would they do that? Why would they wage a campaign against better regulations affecting our health? Wouldn’t it behoove us all to know exactly what we are dealing with here? Wouldn’t it be more responsible to worry about people’s health than profits? Believe me, I am not against these companies making a profit, I like to have a choice, and I am aware a free market ensures that, but I would also like to know that I am making a good choice, not one that can negatively impact say, my ability to have children a few years from now.
As for me, after reading all this on bottled water, I am going to install a good filtration system on our kitchen faucet, and I am going to purchase some of the stainless steel water bottles I have seen in the local health food store and start filling my own bottles before I leave the house. When choosing your water vessel of choice be sure to read these two articles before you head to the store (Plastic Water Bottles and Nalgene Update). While at home I am going to ensure we all drink from a glass; how civilized! If nothing else, I did realize that even though the stainless steel or glass drinking bottles may be over $10.00 each as an initial expense, I am already paying for the tap water in my kitchen, meaning I will save hundreds of dollars a year after my initial investment in the filter system and re-useable safe bottles. How to ensure your municipal water supply is a good choice: You should get a water-quality or consumer-confidence report from your local water company, or if you are on well-water get it tested yearly - for more information call the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline 800.426.4791 or visit the safe-drinking-water site.
Now with all that money saved… maybe a trip to Fiji could be in the works after all!
Make an adjustment, stay healthy ~ be happy: Call Dr. Paul or Dr. Susan at (303) 674 1500 to schedule a consultation or email office@fontanachiro.com
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