BOTTLED WATER
November 5, 2010
In the past 5 years we have seen a boom in drinking water from the plastic bottle as we have become more aware of the body’s need to be hydrated. But what we failed to recognise is that these plastic bottles may come at a cost, namely our long-term health and the impact on our environment as all the empty bottles end up on our landfill sites.
Choosing from tap water or bottled water has become a hot debate over the years.
When it comes to health most of us want to feel we are putting safe foods and drinks into our bodies and that of our families. But with the rise in concern over the chemical BPA (Bisphenol A) we have to reconsider that ‘healthy’ bottle of water.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has been working tirelessly to bring this (and more) chemicals to our attention.
BPA is known as a xeno oestrogen (a foreign oestrogen) which mimics our own delicate hormonal balance and is therefore known as an ‘endocrine disruptor’ and therefore can interfere with our own hormones which may lead to chronic diseases such as hormone related cancers.
Not only that in their own investigation of almost 200 bottled water brand manufacturers, they found that less than 2% were happy to disclose the waters source, how it is purified and what chemical pollutants each bottle may contain.
BPA breaks down very quickly into the water which we then drink, reusing these bottles are dangerous as more leaching takes place. Also, leaving the bottles to get warm (as in our car) also causes more leaching of BPA into the water (or other beverages that are held in plastic bottles).
Tap water goes through much more rigorous checks, however we may have other issues to contend with such as traces of potent pharmaceutical drugs, heavy metals, residues of pesticides etc (http://tiny.cc/srk4y).
Confusing at most, it seems that we no sooner see a solution only to find that somewhere down the line we are exposing ourselves to more problems.
Water filters fitted at home seem to offer a good solution or the introduction of reusable water bottles that come with an inbuilt filter which allows us to go to any tap and get clean fresh water that we can then filter through again as we drink.
Certainly questions should be raised about the continued use of bottled water, I for one will be ditching these in favour of the filter at home or the individual water bottles that are safer to carry water. (for more information on purchasing the filter bottles please contact me direct)
Karen
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