How the water you drink is hurting your health
I’ll never forget the time in college when I proof-read my roommate's environmental studies paper on the top contaminants in the Santa Barbara county water. Up until this point I had made eating organic, unprocessed foods a priority but never gave much thought toward the purity of my drinking water. Surely the water in Southern California is filtered from everything harmful right?Imagine how shocked I was to find that the top two contaminants were 1. Birth control and 2. Steroids. Following were fluoride, pharmaceutical drugs (including antidepressants) heavy metals and other toxins.Everyone everywhere is telling us to drink more water. Its common knowledge that it increases metabolism, purifies our blood and detoxifies the liver. How could any of this be true with so many impurities present? I’m sure steroids and birth control don't cause weight loss, fluoride doesn't detoxify the liver and antidepressants aren't exactly blood purifiers. And lets not get on our high horse if we drink bottled water. Bottled water may be one of the worst offenders carrying high amounts of BPA (a carcinogenic estrogen like compound) and other plastic remnants.Maybe you think these water contaminants are no big deal, but let me remind you that you are most likely drinking this water all throughout the day. Lets look at some of the impurities found and how they effect our health:Fluoride- For years the government has been putting fluoride in the water claiming that it prevents tooth decay when in reality it is a neurotoxic hormone disruptor that actually causes tooth enamel break down, ADHD, and hypothyroidism (a slowed metabolic rate). Recently it has been recalled and for the first time in decades the amount in water is being lowered.Birth Control- The birth control pill not only disrupts the balance of healthy bacteria in the digestive tract, but also depletes stores of minerals and vitamins within the body, and alters natural hormone levels.Steroids & Antibiotics- These come from not only human urine circulating the water, but also from meat and dairy farms where cows are given routine antibiotics and growth hormones to gain weight and increase milk supply. Bovine growth hormone in particular was created by Monsanto and much like their other products is shown to be carcinogenic. It is banned in Europe, yet used all too generously in AmericaAntidepressants- Antidepressants not only alter neurotransmitter production, but they also cause, insomnia, sexual dysfunction, anxiety, weight gain, and often depression. We should not be ingesting antidepressant remnants no matter how small the amount.BPA- Bisphenol A (BPA), mimics the hormone estrogen and has been linked to a long list of serious health problems including breast cancer, fertility issues, the narrowing or arteries and heart disease. Its a contaminant of plastic and is shown to leach into liquids and foods that it comes into contact with especially when heat is involved. While drinking bottled water is dangerous enough, bottled water that has been out in the sun should never be consumed.Heavy Metals- Heavy metals including lead, cadmium and even arsenic are often the product of old water piping. They chelate to bones and organs where minerals are lacking and are difficult to remove from the body. They cause chronic pain, fatigue, mental health problems such as alzheimers and weight gain.With all of the above chemicals found in water, it's obvious that switching to a good quality purified water should be a priority. But which type of filter is best?There is a difference between filtered and purified water. Filtered water (like a Brita filter) removes certain chemicals and toxins through use of a charcoal or another substance. They often make the water taste better but only a slight amount of toxins are actually removed. A purifier on the other hand, uses either reverse osmosis, distillation or deionization to remove 95-99.99% of water impurities.I don’t recommend using a reverse osmosis or distillation purifier as the water is unstable and needs minerals to stabilize itself. This means when consumed without the addition or sea salt or mineral drops it can cause the leaching of minerals from bones and teeth which leads to cavities and bone density loss. It also has even more potential to pull BPA and other toxins when in contact with plastic.
