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Toxic Water, Part One |
Dr. Joseph Mercola | 12/16/10
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If you’re like most people, you probably take your drinking water for granted. You crack open a bottle or turn on the filter on your tap and pour yourself a nice tall glass of cool, sparkling water.
Did you know that the cleanest-looking water isn’t necessarily the healthiest? Sometimes the greatest dangers with drinking water can’t be seen, tasted, or even smelled.
Impurities in your drinking water can come from a number of sources. There are many different toxic synthetic chemicals used in society today. And, unfortunately, the list grows longer every year.
 To make matters worse, even some naturally occurring substances can be harmful when they end up in your drinking water. Then there’s the question of water treatment and the myriad contaminants that can result from the process of disinfection. Finally, distribution systems and pipes create hazards all on their own.
To be sure, your drinking water is subject to many, many potential points of contamination. And honestly, these potential hazards can vary from water source to water source.
Five Sources of Water:
Tap Water – Easy, quick, convenient. But how many pollutants lurk in your water? And what is your associated health risk?
Bottled Water – Did you know that 40% of bottled water is actually TAP WATER? With or without added filtration – you’re paying through the nose for it. Worse, an independent test by the Environmental Working Group found arsenic, DPBs and 36 other harmful pollutants hiding in bottled water. Plastic bottles are a less than optimal idea too. They can contain the potentially hazardous chemical BPA.
And the devastating environmental impact is staggering.
Distilled Water – Use with caution… Long-term use can invite health problems, because its minerals are evaporated out. So to try to maintain mineral balance, it sucks minerals out of your body. What’s worse, the contaminants in the water are more concentrated in the finished distilled water. You can just imagine what that does to your health...
Alkaline Water – Although there is some controversy on this, I and most experts believe that this water should be used for short-term detoxification only (1-2 weeks max). Additionally the alkalinization process does NOT filter the water so you need to carefully evaluate the water filter for the specific alkaline water unit it’s using.
Vitamin Waters – Don’t be fooled… Vitamin waters contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), artificial colors, additives, preservatives, and caffeine. Even worse… they use distilled water to produce these products – which as you just read, is one of the worst types of water you can consume.
So, to complete the full circle back to tap water…
Passed by Congress in 1974, and amended in both 1986 and 1996, the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Act was intended to ensure safe public drinking water. It’s been documented that each year there are over 200,000 violations to the Safe Drinking Water Act – involving over 20 percent of water treatment facilities.
However, I have no information that your particular water treatment facility had violations. EPA standards are based on a 175 lb. male drinking water with only one chemical present.
It’s scientifically recognized that if 2 or more chemicals exist at the same time in your tap water, the synergistic toxicity of those two chemicals greatly magnifies the negative effects. Imagine what happens when you have 6 or 7 chemicals in your water...
To make your water safe to drink, your local water treatment plant most likely adds chlorine, chlorine dioxide, or chloramines to the water. The practice of adding chlorine to drinking water began in the late 1800s and by 1904 became the standard in water treatment, and for the most part remains so today.
Chlorine isn’t necessarily used because it’s the safest or even the most effective means of disinfection. It’s used because it is the cheapest and it is highly effective at eliminating water borne infections that are all too common in countries like India and Mexico. While chlorine effectively kills the harmful, disease-causing microorganisms, an unwanted side effect typically occurs at the same time. Water supplies naturally contain organic matter, such as decaying vegetation. The chlorine-containing disinfectants react with this matter, generating toxic chemical disinfection byproducts, or DBPs for short.
And here’s the point that I want you to grasp: Chlorine itself is relatively harmless. Research reveals that it is in fact the disinfection byproducts (DBPs) produced from chlorine are potentially harmful to your health!
In other words, it’s typically the disinfection byproducts – not chlorine – that are responsible for the potential toxic effects of chlorinated water. Some of the more dangerous DBPs created from the chlorination of water include trihalomethanes (THMs) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).
These chlorine byproducts can trigger the production of free radicals in your body.
Here are some of the more dangerous chlorination byproducts and their associated suspected side effects:
Trihalomethanes (THMs):
- Cause cancer in laboratory animals
- Trigger the production of free radicals in your body
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs):
- Lead to central nervous system depression and drowsiness
- Can irritate skin and mucous membranes
According to a recent New Scientist report, a comprehensive survey of U.S. drinking water reveals that drinking water may contain a host of hormonally active chemicals. Some of the most frequently found substances included:
- MTBE (Methyl-tert-butyl Ether) – a chemical added to fuel to raise octane number; a potential human carcinogen at high doses
- Atrazine – a U.S. pesticide banned in the European Union; a known endocrine disruptor, it feminizes wildlife and lab animals, is linked to reproductive problems in lab animals, impairs immune function, and is linked to both breast and prostate cancers in humans
Granted, the levels detected were low. But let me ask you: do you really want to drink someone’s recklessly discarded fuel boosters and pesticides? I certainly don’t.
Incidentally, the U.S. government does not regulate or set rules for pharmaceuticals or any of these other compounds in your drinking water, except for one: the pesticide Atrazine.
Your body depends on clean water to perform its daily functions, such as digestion, temperature and blood regulation, respiration, and detoxification. In particular, your body’s ability to flush out toxins and properly assimilate nutrients depends heavily on an abundant intake of clean, chemical free water. The more stress, toxins, and pollutants your body battles with each day, the more water it needs.
The quantity and quality of the water you use largely determines your body’s ability to shed excess fat and properly maintain your body’s largest organ, your skin. While your entire body is 72 percent water, your skin is 80 percent water. Plentiful water is needed to maintain your skin’s elasticity and moisture barrier. Your blood is over 90 percent water and uses water to transport oxygen, nutrients, and antibodies throughout your body.
So then, how much water does your body need?
Read Part Two... |
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