Bottled water is criticized by some prominent environmental organizations. After all we’re talking about water in a bottle costing more than gasoline.  Bottled water is also shipped long distances. Due to the environmental and social cost bottled water has been subject to intense scrutiny. As a result, many environmentally conscious consumers now believe that bottled water is unsafe. As an ecologist with extensive experience with water I think that impression is unfounded.  I’ve reviewed the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) study that listed contaminants found in bottled water and conclude that for the most part bottled water is safe.

How will you decide which bottled water to drink this summer?

It’s my opinion that bottled water has a legitimate place on the grocery shelf.  I buy bottled water when I travel.  What’s the alternative? I’m not going to drink tap water because I know that’s carcinogenic. Summer has arrived and it’s hot or soon will be.  At some point soon you’ll be traveling, at the beach, or out somewhere and confronted with the choice of which bottled water to purchase.  How do you decide which bottled is the best?

NRDC hired three independent labs to test over a thousand bottles of water from 103 brands.  And yes, some of those had contamination.  According to NRDC, at least one sample of 25% of the brands tested had some form of contamination.  In other words, some 26 bottles (or .3%) of the 1000 tested, showed some form of contamination.  But the concern among environmentally or health conscious consumers today about drinking water bottled in plastic would suggest that all bottled water is unsafe. In fact bottled water is relatively safe to drink and safer, in my view, than unfiltered tap water.

There are three kinds of problems with bottled water

There are three kinds of problems with bottled water: the first of these is due to contaminants in the water source and the second problem is the plastic compounds that can leach into the water from the bottle itself. A third problem is contamination with bacteria.  This could be due to a contaminated source or unsanitary handling.  This article will deal with the first two potential problems.

I didn’t see any discernible pattern to the contamination in the NRDC study.  In other words it wasn’t a problem with one brand or even one type of water.  It appeared to me that, just like public tap water, some bottled water contained the contaminants present in the local water source.  If these were intended to be filtered out, they were not.  This was the exception rather than the rule and the NRDC study may have exposed this to the point where those sources have been treated or eliminated.

The second problem with bottled water is the issue of leaching. Some plastics contain Phthalate (DEHP) and those that don’t may contain other chemicals that are also harmful. Studies have shown that these chemicals can leach into water or food. Other studies then prove that these can mimic estrogen in the body and cause health issues. One of these health issues is the feminization of males.

But this does not mean that you have to avoid all plastic. It does mean that you should be cautious and thoughtful. In general it is my view that bottled water is actually safer than unfiltered tap water.

NRDC states the following on their website:

‘Our limited “snapshot” testing, and that published in a few other recent surveys of bottled water, indicate that most bottled water is of good quality. However, our testing also found that about one fourth of the tested bottled water brands contained microbiological or chemical contaminants in at least some samples at levels sufficiently high to violate enforceable state standards or warning levels.’ http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/chap3.asp#box

Studies such as that performed by NRDC provide a great public service by forcing bottled water companies to be more vigilant in their testing and monitoring of source water. Some of the bottled water in the NRDC study came from contaminated sources. This same danger holds true for any spring.

I drink bottled spring water when I travel

I drink bottled water when I travel. Otherwise I drink appropriately filtered tap water. When I stop by a store to buy bottled water I look for local spring water. Spring water may contain contaminants but because water is the universal solvent it seems logical to me that spring water is less likely to leach chemicals from the plastic bottle. Of course if I can find spring water in glass, I buy that, but that’s pretty rare.  I look at the labels of the various waters for sale. My preference is to drink local spring water with a slightly alkaline pH.

Many of the bottled waters available today consist of local city water treated with reverse osmosis to remove contaminants. I tend to avoid this type of bottled water because it seems logical to me that this water will be more aggressive and therefore more likely to leach plastic. This is intuitive on my part and may not be true but this is what I would expect.

Whatever you do, don’t buy water from the cases piled out in the hot sun in front of a grocery store on a summer day. If there’s water with phthalate in it, there it is.  Studies have shown that plastic compounds leach into water when heated.

I’m not endorsing plastic bottles or bottled water. However, people have to hydrate and bottled water is a better choice than soft drinks or other sugary alternatives. I am trying to assist you in making an informed choice that will minimize or eliminate the health risk associated with drinking bottled water.

For a more complete discussion of the types of bottled water visit: Which Bottled Water Is The Best?  You’ll also find a link to  a report in which I recommend specific regional (U.S. only) bottled waters for only 99 cents, less than the cost of a bottle of water.

xxx

James P. McMahon studied ecology at the University of Illinois because he is curious about the natural world around him. He fell in love with rivers at an early age and then learned all about them. He’s also fallen in love with yoga and travels to yoga festivals and workshops. He has a passion for learning and contributing to a healthier planet and healthier people. He works from his home overlooking the Santa Clara River in southern Utah. You can learn more about Jim and his work at Home Water Purification Systems by Sweetwater LLC.

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 “There is nothing more essential to a community’s health and vitality than reliable access to safe drinking water,” said AWWA Executive Director David LaFrance. “Drinking Water Week provides an excellent moment to focus on the importance of caring for our water supplies and systems.”

But there are problems with the water supply system in the United States.  One big problem is the fact that while some cities discharge sewage into our rivers other cities withdraw that water downstream and use it as their drinking water supply.  This contributes to the presence of contaminants that are unregulated in the drinking water of 43 million Americans.  These contaminants are dangerous and may be contributing to serious health problems.  The good news is that the rest of you don’t have these chemicals in your water so don’t immediately assume that you do.

Another problem is the use of pesticides on farm land with known carcinogenic impacts on people.  These pesticides end up in our rivers and lakes after a rain and also contribute to health problems for people who bathe in or drink this water.  Breast and blood cancers have been linked to pesticides throughout the Midwest and other farming areas.

These problems are not going to be easy to solve.  Local governments can’t afford the improvements to water treatment infrastructure to remove these contaminants. It’s clear that the federal government can’t afford to fund these either. And if you listen to the debates in Washington, some elected officials want to cut EPA funding of contaminant regulation. EPA has made great strides in reducing industrial waste in our rivers but the remaining contaminants are much more elusive. What these people who want to cut EPA’s funding are not saying is that with less regulation you will ingest even more poisons.  So, you pay one way or another.

Our drinking water quality is not going to improve any time soon.  And many of these currently unregulated contaminants can’t be controlled at the source.  Pain killers and hormones enter the water system after you’ve consumed them and then urinate.  That urine carries them into the water system and downstream to other people.  While public water systems do treat to remove the actual human waste by digesting it, there’s no way, given current technology, to remove the accompanying trace levels of unregulated contaminants.  The very structure of our water system, using water to dispose of waste, means that some people downstream will always be consuming contaminated water.

This same contaminated water is affecting fish populations in rivers and eventually makes its way to the ocean where it can also affect ocean ecology.  While this may not seem important to you the point is that we are severely, though subtlety, changing the chemical constitution of the planet by spreading these trace levels of chemical compounds.  As they affect fish, they will then enter our food supply and in turn affect us once again in ways that cannot now be predicted.

The good news is that your utility delivers relatively safe, clear, disease free water to your home.  Our water in the United States is much better than many other countries.  Still, if you want to maintain optimum health your water needs to be treated. Learn more here:  Which Water Filter Is The Best?

So while the American Water Works Association celebrates National Drinking Water week I am writing this and wondering how we’re going to get out of this mess.

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There is evidence to suggest that minerals in drinking water do provide a health benefit in terms of lower rates of heart disease. And yet it is also clear that water can contain too many minerals and is then less capable of hydrating the body by penetrating cell membranes. As with anything it’s all about balance. I prefer to drink water with a low level of minerals (aka total dissolved solids), between 30 and 200 – 250 parts per million (ppm). At this level we find the balance between hydration and minerals your body can utilize.

Another issue is which minerals are in your water. The mineral content of your water is a reflection of the ground which your water has dissolved before it gets to you. Therefore mineral content has more to do with local rock formations than with the needs of your body. It will be high in some minerals and low in others. Yet your body has specific mineral needs and works to maintain a balance. Spring water with too much of one mineral and not enough of another can actually throw you out of balance.

For example, several years ago I had my hair analyzed for the purpose of checking my body’s mineral content. I’ve been drinking spring water for 12 years (200 ppm tds). What I found was that my calcium and magnesium levels were high and out of the desired range and I was deficient in six minerals. None of the six are present in my water. Since I have a good diet, including high raw and high organic, I was stunned by this result.

Many medical practitioners suggest that we don’t get minerals from water at all and that we get it from food. After this discovery I modified my diet to eat specific foods containing the minerals I lacked. After two years I tested again. Nothing had changed. I was lacking the same six minerals and remained high in calcium and magnesium.

It turns out that minerals have a relationship with one another. So, for instance, I was low in both phosphorous and potassium which play a key role in the utilization of calcium. So lacking these could be at least partly responsible for my being high in the other, regardless of the actual source of the calcium.

Next I bought supplements for the same six minerals and took those twice each day for seven months. Then I tested my hair again. These minerals were now in the normal range and calcium was reduced, still high, but coming down.

Since then I’ve stopped supplementing and new test results show that my mineral imbalance is back.

What have I learned as a result of this testing?

One thing I’ve learned is that balancing the minerals in your body is much more complex than we may think. Whatever history you’ve lived until now has affected the balance within your body. The idea that supplementing minerals or drinking water containing minerals will sort this out seems to be contradicted by the testing I’ve conducted on myself.

1) Drinking spring water, as a generic recommendation, isn’t going to aid your health. However if it’s contaminant free and has a tds below 250 and a pH of 7.4 then I’d say there’s no better water.

2) If you’re interested in maintaining a balanced mineral profile in your body, test where you’re at now, whether using a hair or blood analysis. Work with a Naturopath to guide you in taking the appropriate steps to restore mineral balance.

3) Know what’s in your water either by looking at a local water report if you’re on public water or by testing if you’re on private well water.

4) Think of water’s primary purpose as hydration. You need to hydrate your body. Appropriately filtered water is the best way to do that. If you can also gain minerals from water that’s a nice side benefit.

My conclusion is that while minerals in water might be nice, they are not the most important factor when considering how to treat your drinking water. The level of minerals (tds) and the presence of contaminants are the things to consider when determining whether a simple kitchen filter, a whole house water filter, or reverse osmosis is the appropriate water purification system for the water that’s coming out of your tap. This also holds true for nearby springs. Test it or review an existing test before assuming that it’s good.

XXX

References:

For references used in writing this article visit: Minerals in Water

Jim McMahon is an ecologist and owner of Sweetwater LLC. Jim sells water purification systems from his home in the mountains of southern Utah overlooking the lovely Santa Clara River. Jim will review your local water report with you or sell you a well water test and then make a recommendation on how to best treat your water to achieve optimum health.

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Water softeners can reduce or eliminate lead but this customer has no hardness so a softener will only increase his pH problems.

My suggestion is to raise the pH of the water using a whole house acid neutralizer. An acid neutralizer uses media that raises the pH of the water as it enters the home. That will eliminate the aggressiveness of the water and stop any leaching of metals from the fixtures.

This customer would like to remove lead from the whole house also. It is possible that low pH is dissolving any brass in his pump or that there is lead in his well water. In this case, the options are difficult, mostly because lead can either be in particulate form or dissolved. These would each require different treatment methods.

While not normally recommending a whole house water filter that uses carbon or carbon and KDF media, in this case I would suggest this as the KDF will attract the ionic lead and the carbon will provide a physical barrier.

The other option is to install small micron carbon block filters at each drinking water location, but this is only necessary if the lead is coming from his well water and not just a result of low pH dissolving his fixtures.

When dissecting a well water contaminant issue it is important to have a thorough well water test so that you can correctly diagnose the problem and provide the correct water treatment system.

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Atrazine is applied to farm fields in the spring for the purpose of controlling grasses and weeds.  Atrazine makes its way into private wells and public water systems after a rain.  Levels will therefore be highest in the spring and then taper off.  Levels will be highest in the Midwest where atrazine is commonly used on corn fields.

The USEPA maximum contaminant level (mcl) is 3 parts per billion (ppb). In 2011 the World Health Organization raised its standard from 3 ppb to 100 ppb after determining that some of atrazine’s alleged negative health effects were not true.

A frog that is born in water containing only 1 ppb of atrazine will develop both male and female sex organs.  So why expose your children to this hazard?

I suggest that you avoid atrazine altogether. A whole house water filter that uses granular activated carbon can be used to avoid showering in atrazine or drinking it.

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‘I had never really considered doing a juice fast. I eat a lot of raw food and I live pretty clean but the idea of a juice fast just never crossed my mind. I always figured nature provides perfectly balanced food, including the important fiber which we lose through juicing.

Then my friend Jim told me he was interested in a juice fast and wanted to know if I could conduct it. When he asked me about it, the thought of doing a juice fast suddenly sounded pretty interesting. I had been on a little vacation and had eaten and drank things that are normally forbidden for me (doughnuts and coffee of all things!! At least they were vegan!) So I said YES to Jim, I will conduct a juice fast upon my return and we will do it together.

My research proved to me that there are some big benefits to a short juice fast for an already healthy person and even greater benefits of juicing for someone who is not in great health. Here are just a few facts I found interesting about juicing:

Some of the benefits of fasting are:

• The breaking down of fats stored in the body (via a process called autolysis, which releases the fat cells through the bloodstream so that they can be utilized by the liver).
• Elimination and neutralization of stored toxins in the body from the major organs, including the skin, which is technically your largest organ.
• Cleansing and clearing the colon of undigested food, thus improving elimination and overall well-being.
• A natural healing process occurs when the attention of the body is drawn away from the digestive system. Approximately 30% of our daily energy is channeled into digesting and metabolizing the food that we eat – so when we limit our intake to water, juice, or specially combined drinks (as I will describe below) many fasters experience surges of energy and vitality.
• Weight loss is generally a by-product of fasting, but people often gain back at least half of the weight when returning to normal eating.

Drinking fresh, organic greens and certain fruits (apples play a big role in the liver/gall bladder detox) sends the nutrients DIRECTLY into the bloods stream and to the cells. The flood of beneficial vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants to the organs (especially those that are functioning below par) can cause an accelerated reaction, releasing unpleasant-feeling toxins into the bloodstream. Juice fasting is indispensable for people who are seeking to recover from acute conditions, such as diabetes, or life-threatening disease, such as cancer or auto-immune disorders.

lunch...

It breaks some of the addictive eating patterns that evolve slowly but surely over our regular regimen.

After reading about all the benefits of fasting I was pretty excited about starting. We decided to break ourselves in we would still do a green smoothie in the morning which contained  fiber and even some flax and chia seeds. For lunch we would sip on a large glass jug of very green juice which varied from day to day but was almost always all vegetable and no fruit. For supper we would have something a bit more exotic such as carrot, cabbage and ginger juice. If we were really hungry in the evening I provided some simple sunflower seed cheese which was blended to a puree and helped me to be able to sleep at night.

The first day was pretty easy. I still went to Zumba class and walked around outside carrying my toddler, getting plenty of physical activity. I was certainly ready for my evening juice by 7pm. I did need the seed cheese and I had a little avocado before bed. Well, it was the first day and I was adjusting so I forgave myself and looked forward to the next day. One thing I did wonder about is if I gave my body something more complex such as an avocado to digest, would I still get the benefit of the cleanse. I guess I will just have to stick with all juice to see what really happens…

You can learn more about April and her Raw Food Delivery Service by visiting her website: http://peaceofwellbeing.com/wordpress/

One of the reasons I wanted to do this raw juice cleanse was to begin the process of removing the heavy metals in my body that I’ve discussed in other posts on this blog.  I often don’t mention it in speaking with my customers, but it’s a great idea to do a cleanse or a heavy metals detox after purchasing one of my water purification systems.  Your body will naturally begin to cleanse once you start drinking appropriately filtered water.  You can help it along and move down the path to a longer and healthier life…

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I feel no ill effects from the uranium but as you might imagine I want it out.  I’ve experimented with various filters and finally today installed a filter that will remove it from the water entering my home.  Uranium is a radioactive metal that does have negative effects when ingested.  I have been concerned also about exposure in the shower so looked long and hard for a way to remove it, hence my search for a whole house water filter.

I have continued to test my hair periodically (more on this in a future blog post) and continue to find low levels of aluminum, arsenic, mercury, and the uranium.

EPA allows up to 30 ppb of uranium in drinking water so one lesson from this for me is that metals will accumulate at levels far below the EPA maximum contaminant level (the maximum EPA allows in public water systems).  The uranium may not kill me but I’m also certain I’ll be better off with it removed.

I have no idea where I am getting aluminum, mercury, or arsenic.  These are not in my water so they must be from my food.  I’m taking precautions in those areas also and hope to eliminate them.

Having tried various filters I finally came across one that is specific to uranium and nitrates.  Nitrates are also dangerous carcinogens and I have low levels (2.5 ppm) in my water.  

Yesterday I started doing a spring raw juice cleanse and a heavy metals detox using natural zeolyte.  Afterwards, I’ll test my hair again to see if I have successfully eliminated the uranium and other metals.

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Just yesterday a woman from North Carolina called me. She asked me what I thought of the Pelican carbon filter for her well water. I told her the Pelican was for city water and asked if she had a well water test. She said she did and recited the following test results:

turbidity: 0
total dissolved solids: 53 ppm (parts per million)
hardness: 1.87 grains (grains per gallon)
pH: 5.5
iron: 0.153 ppm
manganese: 0.06 ppm
tannins: 0

I told her that this was not a bad test but that the well water test I offer tests for 83 different items. Based on the results she told me what she needs is an acid neutralizer system to raise the pH. That’s the only problem identified by these test results. A pH of 5.5 will dissolve her pipes and her fixtures and cause her to drink the metals from her dissolving fixtures.

I asked if there was farming nearby because if there was then pesticides could also be an issue. She said no, but that her land had been a dairy farm. An issue with livestock is the presence of nitrates so I suggested she test for those at a minimum. Nitrates are dangerous, causing cancer, at levels far below the levels allowed by EPA. So if you have nitrates you want to be aware of them.   Nitrates can be present in the well water long after the farming or dairy operation has ended. (see my blog post on the dangers of nitrates)

This woman was about to purchase the wrong product. A carbon filter would have done nothing at all for her water.

Another woman with a well next to a river called and told me her water was brown and drinking it made her physically ill. Yet she had purchased an alkaline ionizer as her drinking water solution. Bad mistake.

Whether you have private well water or public water you must first identify the contaminants in your water by buying a well water test kit or reviewing your local water quality report. Only then can you can buy the whole house water filter, well water treatment system, or kitchen filter that will actually remove the contaminants present in your water.

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First, your city may flush their distribution pipes for an extended period of time. This can result in higher chlorine levels and changes in taste. The purpose of this practice is to clean out pipes. That can also mean that some dirt will end up entering your home with the higher levels of chlorine. A whole house water filter with a 5 micron pre-filter for sediment can keep these contaminants out of your home.

Here’s an example of this, announced today:

WASHINGTON – ‘Tap water will likely smell and taste slightly different for the next six weeks in Washington, Arlington County, the city of Falls Church, and parts of Fairfax County.

“This is spring cleaning for the water distribution system,” says Patty Gamby, deputy general manager with the Washington Aqueduct.’ You can read the entire article here:

DC Area Tap Water Will Taste and Smell Different

Of course if you are even drinking Potomac River water in the first place you need to consider that there are numerous unregulated contaminants that are extremely dangerous to your health.  I recommend both a whole house water filter and a kitchen reverse osmosis system to remove these.

The second thing to be on the lookout for is an increase in pesticides in your water as farmers take to the fields. This will be true with either public water or private well water in areas where there is farming.

Pesticide exposure has been linked to an increase in various cancers, including breast cancer. A whole house carbon water filter can eliminate this from your water.

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The key to my being able to stop taking allergy meds is my indoor air purifier. I work from home and my indoor air is free of dust and pollen. So most of the time I’m protected from allergens as an irritant.

Yesterday’s allergy count was an 11 on a scale of 1 to 12, so pretty high. Heck of a day to work in the yard, but it’s when the weather is good that we get outdoors. When you come back inside you want some relief. I use an air purifier that employes positive and negative ions that charge any particles in the air, causing them to fall to the floor. It’s an effective air purifier that causes tiny particles to drop out of the air – so you don’t breathe them.

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