Dr. Mercola August 16 2007 95,765 views
PepsiCo Inc. has agreed to add the words “public water source” to their Aquafina water labels.
Pepsi’s Aquafina, and Coca-Cola Co.’s Dasani bottled waters, are both made of purified water from public reservoirs. Coca-Cola will post online consumer information about the quality control testing that goes into their bottled water, sometime near the end of summer, or early fall 2007.
Critics against the bottled water industry point out that they add plastic to landfills, use enormous amounts of energy and gas by producing and shipping bottles across the globe, and undermine public confidence in the safety of public water supplies.
Some cities have already taken proactive steps in trying to curb bottled water consumption. The mayor of San Francisco has banned city employees from using city funds to buy bottled water if tap water is available, and Ann Arbor, Michigan has passed a resolution banning commercially bottled water at city events.
Sun Sentinel July 27, 2007
The United States sold 2.6 billion cases of bottled water in 2006, according to Beverage Digest, which equates to U.S. consumers spending about $15 billion on bottled water in one year. Worldwide sales top out at more than $35 billion. That’s not chump change!
Drinking pure water is one of the most important things you can do for your health, particularly when you drink it instead of sugary drinks like soda or juice. However, relying on bottled water to keep you hydrated is not the best answer.
You may be paying premium prices for bottled water, thinking it’s more pure than your local water supply. But the toll this takes on the environment, not to mention your pocketbook, is enormous.
The Questionable Safety of Bottled Water
The fact that water is bottled is NOT an assurance of purity. In fact, about 40 percent of bottled water is regular tap water, which may or may not have received any additional treatment.
The metal antimony (a silvery white metal of medium hardness) has been found in many commercially bottled water brands, for example. The amount of antimony leeching into the water you're drinking depends on the manufacturer, and can vary greatly. One study that looked at 63 brands of bottled water produced in Europe and Canada, found concentrations of antimony that were more than 100 times the typical level found in clean groundwater (2 parts per trillion). It also found that the longer a bottle of water sits on a shelf -- in a grocery store or your refrigerator – the greater the dose of antimony present.
After letting bottled water samples sit for six months on a shelf at normal room temperatures, the concentration of antimony exploded by 90 percent among European brands, and 19 percent in Canadian brands. The common denominator? The biggest offenders were packaged in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) containers. It is believed that the amount of antimony leeching from these PET bottles differs based on exposure to sunlight, higher temperatures, and varying pH levels.
Most municipal tap water -- though generally far from pure -- must also adhere to stricter purity standards than the bottled water industry. In one study, a third of more than 100 bottled water brands tested for contaminants were found to contain chemicals like arsenic and carcinogenic compounds, at levels exceeding state or industry standards.
Additionally, fluoride (a highly toxic bone poison that should be avoided at all costs) is usually present in both tap water AND filtered bottled water.
Even MORE Important Reasons to Avoid Bottled Water
The burden of all these plastic bottles on the environment cannot be ignored. They mount up in landfills, litter the streets and highways, and collect in huge sludge-like stews in seas, rivers and oceans worldwide, killing wildlife wherever it is found. And if it kills wildlife you can be rest assured there will be potential future problems for you and your descendants.
Plastic pollution has even entered the food chain, and it's not just marine animals that are being affected. You, too, are ingesting minute levels of plastics every day, which means you're exposed to a potentially deadly mix of plastic chemicals and additives, including:
What is the result of breathing, eating, drinking and absorbing all of this plastic? Obesity, declining fertility rates and other reproductive problems, cancer and more. Children are particularly vulnerable, as they are exposed to plastics in the hospital, and through baby bottles and toys, from the moment they’re born.
Your Healthiest Options
Your best bet for ensuring good health, and protecting the environment, is to filter your own water at home using a reverse osmosis filter. Avoid drinking unfiltered tap water, as chlorine and fluoride (which are added to most municipal water supplies) are toxic chemicals that should not be consumed in large quantities.
Do not make the mistake of thinking you can tell if your water is safe or not by the way it looks, tastes, or smells. Some contaminants in water are so harmful they’re measured in “parts per million,” or “parts per billion.” This means that just a drop of these poisons added to several gallons of water can be harmful to your health.
Keep in mind also that installing a filter to purify your drinking water alone may not be enough. Since your skin absorbs both water and chemicals, you could still be exposing yourself to contaminations when you:
You can further limit your exposure to these dangerous plastic (and other) chemicals by filtering all of the water you and your family use on a daily basis.
I have been working on coming up with some solid recommendations for specific filtration systems for the past seven years. I continue to do research. There are many great options out there but I am looking for the best value, and highest quality, which provides an enormous challenge. I honestly believe I am getting closer, as I finally located a major element of the equation last week and I am hopeful to provide a GREAT solution by year's end.
In the meantime, PLEASE avoid bottled water for all the reasons described above. Clearly the best long term option for you and the planet is to effectively filter your water.
There was a previous article and subsequent post about the pH of water and how RO actually makes water more basic. The summation is that our body has to pull acid from somewhere to make up the difference to get it to neutral. His experiment showed it took about 1 Teaspoon of salt per gallon to bring the RO water back to neutral, and it ruined the palatability to drink. Neutral water kinda makes practical sense if our bodies truly need 7.0 pH for cellular function. Making our diet much more important. I see a lot of osteoporosis patients and maybe it can be contributed to the 90’s invention of bottled, RO water. Hard to isolate from the diet and plastic bottles.
Not to freak everyone out (though I probably will), the reason I don't drink Aquafina water is because in our area it is bottled in Fresno. One reason I escaped the Central Valley in California is because of the uranium in the water. An RO system does not filter uranium. There are actually special filtration systems just for that task. Probably all of the water here has some uranium in it because of the geology of the state, but increasingly little communities are finding they have a problem. Funny thing is that the uranium apparently has followed me to my new location:
www.rebuild-from-depression.com/.../down_but_not_out_norovirus_ura.html
Anyone with similar issues, feel free to email me through that site. I've dealt with high uranium levels before and had good luck with a grain-free vegetable and meat diet along with an MCHC Calcium supplement. I'll have more on this issue in the next few months. I'm collecting all of the peer-reviewed works on it, few that there are.
Amanda
More and more people are finally realizing that plastics are not safe for our health. It is easy to prove with simple studies that the longer anything sits in plastic the more chemicals it absorbs. No mater how well you filter your water, storing it for any length of time can re-contaminate it. So which is better, the original poisons found in the source water or the chemicals introduced by the plastics? It makes sense to avoid both. The most obvious solution is that filtering your water in your home before it gets to any outlet like a shower or faucet is the only way to go. Contrary to what is said about the Reverse osmosis filter I have seen discussions against it because it even removes the necessary minerals form the water and a re-mineralizer is needed to make the water more natural. I've suffered from Fluoride toxicity due to a course of the antibiotic CIPRO (AVOID AT ALL COSTS!) so ANY amount of Fluoride added to my system just sets my recovery time back, it's already been over a year of symptoms and relapses. After an experience like this I look at everything as the enemy, especially water. I always knew that Fluoride was a terrible poison and avoided drugs of every kind exept in one extreme case and I paid for it. I didn't have a clue that Fluoride is used as a drug ingredient. It blows my mind that there can be a single person alive that believes Fluoride can be any good for human consumption in any way. Yet we dump it into public water supplies in staggering amounts. If the transport methods ever failed and the concentrated chemical escaped it would just cause massive instant torturous death to everything in its path. It's ONLY about profits.
The water you talk about is what i call technical water, it isnot good for your body because it is "dead" water it steal energy from your body you have to structure it befor you drink it, you can do that for free by the Triple breath, seach for lysetskilde.com on google and you will find it.
Love and light Torben
Reverse Osmosis removes all particulates from the water - good and bad. Everything has to be removed to remove the bad. So why advocate reverse osmosis? This is "DEAD" water. Take a PH strip and test your R/O water - is it below 7.0? R/O water is 6.0. This is acidic water. The minerals have been removed. Acidic water is not good for you. Spring water is above 7.0 due to its dissolved minerals. I have seen my kids teeth deteriorate and it was partly due to the R/O water I was using. I threw out my R/O and now use wholly water - www.wholly-water.com. I have well water. The water taste absolutely great. I also use water softener magnets on my hot and cold water pipes instead of a water softener. I highly recommend both. I don't have the expense of buying salt for the water softener.
About he post about the structured water, I went on google and do some research on that. Please look at this site: www.chem1.com/.../clusqk.html. Structured water is total bs.
Want to buy a RO system?
Do not spend 600 on a RO system, that is a rip-off. Here is a secret... There are only a few manufactures of the RO membranes and they are rated at how much "total dissolved solids" TDS they remove. They also cost $60 (replacement) at most for ones that will remove 98% of TDS. The housings are less than $15 each. The tubing is 20cents a foot. Do your research and get a system with a DOW membrane that removes 98% of TDS and then add a UV system for another 70$ or so and you will have a better system for less than $400. When doing research to buy RO if they do not list the brand name and specific model of the membrane and the TDS rejection rate (i.e. 96% 98%) don't buy from them as you will prob get junk. Also you MUST buy a TDS meter (20$ on ebay) to test your water so you know how good the system is working. I bought a system with a 98% rejection DOW Chemical membrane 5 stage and added UV and my water comes out at 3 to 6 TDS PPM. We purchased a water cooler on Amazon and glass 3 gallon bottles from the local wine making store and have never looked back. Educate yourself and remember not to buy from ANYONE that does not tell you the manufacturer of the RO membrane and its rejection rate. It's not magic, don't get ripped for 600$ whenyou could buy one as good or better for way less once you understand that the RO membrane does over 90% of the work. The other carbon block filters that make up a 5 or 6 stage unit are also cheap. Not as much exists on them as far as quality research but if you find a company listing what they sell instead of hyping up secret units chances are they will have good quality carbon filters too. Remember the RO membrane is the workhorse of the system so get the best one. Also don't just buy any cheap one on ebay. (some on ebay are good) Remember to only buy ones that list the manufacturer of the membrane and its rejection rate and then check it when you get it. airwatericeDOTcom is good for research
I WORKED AT PEPSI FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
YES, THE WATER IS TAP WATER, BUT YOU ARE OFFERING ONLY PART OF THE PICTURE.
PEPSI ACTUALLY MAKES MORE MONEY FROM THE SODA POP THAN FROM THE WATER. THE COST OF GOODS SOLD ON AQUAFINA IS MUCH HIGHER THAN PEPSI, DIET PEPSI, OR MOUNTAIN DEW BECAUSE OF THE ELABORATE REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM USED TO PURIFY THE WATER.
WOULD YOU PREFER THAT THEY SHIP THE WATER FROM CANADA AND NOT FROM DENVER?
I LEFT PEPSI BECAUSE I WAS NOT HAPPY SELLING STUFF WHICH MADE ME GAIN 30LBS. BUT INSOFAR AS THIS AQUAFINA THING, WHERE ELSE SHOULD THEY GET THE WATER????? MEXICO? FRANCE???
THIS ARTICLE IS VERY, VERY, MISLEADING.
I couldn't agree more with mountainkat!
Plus, one must consder taste. I've tasted them all, and Aquafina is by far the best tasting. Dasani (made by Coke) with inorganic minerals) tastes horrible! Let's face it, if it doesn't taste good, people will drink less (or none at all). They really need to come up with a safe, bio-degradable bottle to put their R/O water in.
As far as the lack of minerals goes, the human body has a difficult time utilizing inorganic minerals from water anyway. You are better getting your minerals in an organic (and natuirally chelated form) from plants and animals.
The plastics are certainly not good, but sometimes it is definately most convenient! I recently found bottled water at my local health food store called +1 Spring water and the "plastic" is compeltely biodegradable and made from corn. There must be similar brands out there!
I personally drink spring or well water (which to me tastes alot like Spirng water) because that is what makes my body feel most satisfied. RO and distilled water make me feel even more thirsty and gives me achy joints. Also, what about all of the medication that gets back into our water supply. There have been news articles about the water supply containing amounts of medications, especially birth control and some form of cholesterol medication. People pee it out and it gets back into the city water supply. Are these taken out when it is purified? Personally I wouldn't want to support the Pepsi, Coca cola and Nestle companies.
~Joyce :)
The healthiest foods
www.vitalchoice.com/index.cfm
we use an excellent water purification system (purification NOT filtration)for countertops, showers and whole home use. These systems use ozonation, ultraviolet light and carbon filtration and produce the best tasting water I have ever had. It is easy to install and maintain and is NSF certified. Performance data sheets, done by NSF International, are also available.
There are systems that are specific for city water or well water, and optional filters available to handle specific contaminants for use in the whole home system. The filter system for the shower eliminates chlorine and other chemical toxins. As many of you know, half of our chlorine exposure is from taking showers. As chlorine is absorbed through the skin, it also vaporizes in the shower, is inhaled into the lungs, and transfers directly into the bloodstream. In fact, exposure in one shower is equal to drinking an entire day's amount of the same water. There is an immediate noticable difference in the softness of your hair and skin that feels healthier. And because it makes water 'wetter' by lowering its surface tension, beauty products work better and you'll use less shampoo and soap.
Dr. Mercola, in your search for solid recommendations, please check out these systems. I would appreciate your feedback as well.
Wishing you all the best of health,
This is about the plastic bottles more than the water,but I found a company that makes bottles from corn,yes CORN. Biodegrades in just 80 days, I have been using the container for at least 4 months and it comes with a filter for any water to drink on the fly.
http://www.newwaveenviro.com
My whole family has a bottle each.
We filter our own water with a company pay a monthlly fee thats it so its affordable.
It may not be the best method,its in our budget, its better than our tap water and we are not buying water. So It works.
People the key here is baby steps do what you can, don't be overwhelmed with all of this info.
The best part is as we consume mass amounts of this healthy water on a daily basis, we are helping our body more than not doing nothing.
So yes we drink water out sometimes or on trips.
But the chances of that little bit of water causing a problem is less than if it was what we consumed all of the time.
Furthermore drinking almost half of your body weight is the another key thing not how many bottles or glasses.
Remember along with fresh organic fruits and juices from health stores will ensure you get the natural vitamins and nutrients needed and the good stuff will fight the bad stuff no matter what.
So just do what you can do for yourself and your family.
Soda no, water yes,plenty of natural filtered water whatever it is.
Don't Panic just do what you feel is right.
I would love for people to comment on this, my view.
Also would love for people or for that matter doctors to have an online discusssion live on air.
http://www.suneradio.com
We have done health shows before so all views are welcomed.
WE still believe in good health for everybody.
The station that cares
for providinghealth2u: can you please tell me what brand of water purification you're using? thank you!
Charles Strand reportedly makes most of the water filters sold in the US. His site is www.aquasana.com and this filter he made does take out pesticides and herbicides and chlorine resistant bacteria. Reverse Osmosis does not take these things out. They are tasteless and colorless so that's why no maker of reverse osmosis will tell you that. Its all about money.
THE AVERAGE NET PROFIT ON EACH CASE IS ABOUT $4.50
I agree with all the notes posted on this site--I have found Essentia Water to be very healthy for me and they do state clearly on their label what they do to process the water and they do replace all minerals purified out with natural minerals during the bottling process. So I get good clean water with the right minerals for my health---Thank You Essentia--I also recommend their web site for further information---essentiawater.com-----Darwin
Bottled water is good news for consumers who have switched from soft drinks. Years ago if you were thirsty you had to buy a soft drink because water was not an option. reverse osmosis water in the case of aquafina.
The bottled water witch hunt is another liberal attempt to control everyones life and casts doubt on your reputation for seeking truth.
I agree--try essentia water---excellent product---darwin
that's a good point... bottled water in a plastic bottle is certainly a step up from soda in a plastic bottle or aluminum can