Water, Water Everywhere...

The wet weather in New England this season reminds me of the quote from Samuel Coleridge's The Rime of The Ancient Mariner, "Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink." But what about the water we drink? Where do you get your water? Is it from the tap, a bottle or filtered somehow? Which source is really best?

According to a study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), bottled water contains disinfection byproducts, fertilizer residue and pain medication as well as carcinogens leaching from their own containers—yummy! Unlike tap water, the bottled water industry doesn’t have to disclose the test results of contaminants. The EWG further discovered that 10 popular brands of bottled water purchased in nine states, plus Washington D.C., contained “…38 chemical pollutants altogether, with an average of eight contaminants to each brand…Four brands were also contaminated with bacteria.”

Corporate beverage bottlers marketing to consumers have made us all a little nervous about drinking tap water. I recently received an annual report on local water quality and it actually tested rather well. The report indicated the presence of some sort of acid in parts per billion that was far below acceptable levels. The downside, of course, is that there must be ‘acceptable’ levels of contaminants at all.

Then again, last spring the national news reported on the increasing water contamination due to medications in our water supply. Apparently, we don’t yet have the technology to remove such miniscule contaminants via public utilities. I researched “under-the-sink water filters” and learned that only the Reverse Osmosis filters can remove those small particles. However, they also remove minerals, and later studies have indicated that de-mineralized water is more acidic. When body fluids are more acid than alkaline, the production of free radicals goes up, which increases our cancer risk.

So what are our best choices? According to an online Water Filter Comparison website, “The healthiest water is produced by selective filtration,” or products that have the ability to remove contaminants and not minerals.

Filtered tap water is rapidly gaining in popularity over other water sources. EWT recommends using either the carbon filters, which remove many common water contaminants, such as lead, or reverse osmosis filters to remove the contaminants that carbon filters can’t (including arsenic). This brings us to another decision: Do we remove smaller, harmful contaminants and risk the effects of de-mineralized water or do we let those particles slide and opt for the minerals? Maybe we should go for the cleanest filters we can buy and supplement with minerals. In any case, navigating our way out of this stream of pollutants is one of many increasing challenges for the 21st century.

To learn more, the “EWG’s Guide to Safe Drinking Water” is available on their website, www.ewg.org. Supplement information is on my website, under USANA Health Sciences http://yourhealthpotential.usana.com.

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