Showing posts with label toxic free water. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toxic free water. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Better water recommendation

Recommendations:- "According to a recent survey for the bottled-water industry and Rockefeller university, one American out of ten typically do not drink water at all." It is important to drink at least 8-cups of water per day (who cares about the number, important thing is to make sure you stay hydrated by drinking everyday) especially if you're have an active lifestyle or spend most of your day outdoors in the hot weather. Short term effect of not drinking enough water is fatigue, weakness, dizziness, headaches, easily irritable.
Over long term, drinking too little water has been linked to constipation, kidney stones, and even some forms of cancer.
Drinking water from tap water is OK if filtered; contamination by toxic chemicals and parasites in tap water is not rare but not any more frequent than the contaminants in "Bottled water" (In fact, some water companies collect tap water and filter or reprocess it and then bottle). Tap water may have some taste and may not be as crisp tasting as bottled water- it doesn't mean that the tap water you are drinking is necessarily unhealthy compared to bottled water. You can buy bottled water which will cost more in the long run and it may have just as bad contaminants in it like regular tap water. But to keep contaminants out of your water, you can use carafe filter, Zen counter filter and faucet filters to purify your tap water- saving the money you would have spent otherwise for bottled water daily. 
The taste of the water you drink is more noticeable when it is at room temperature than when it is ice cold. A good solution is Water purifier.


Top tips:
  1. Boil water, filter, store in a clean non-plastic container and refrigerate, this may help eliminate some bacteria or toxin.
  2. You can also get filtered water running straight from the tap and add Aloe Vera or lemon to it- it may be a bit sour or bitter so you will only need a little: like a  teaspoonful or one part sliced lemon to one glass of water.
  3. Another way is drinking other kinds of fluid that contain lots of water and immune boosting properties(without high fructose corn syrup, color or preservatives) like pure orange juice, Aloe Vera juice.
  4. Finally, you can drink regular filtered water but also include a total detox program (that will cleanse liver, kidney, colon and your whole body of heavy metals or toxins) and boost your body's immune system every 3months.
The eSpring® Water is a good choice of Water purifier. It Purifiers, improves the taste, odor, and clarity of up to 1,320 gallons of water, enough for a family of six to cook and drink with, for one year. Independent third-party testing has shown that the carbon-block filter effectively reduces more than 140 potential health damaging impurities like pesticides, VOCs, mercury, and lead, and at the same time allows beneficial minerals like calcium and magnesium to pass through. The UV bulb destroys up to 99.9999% of bacteria, 99.99% of viruses, and 99.95% of cysts in drinking water without the use of chemicals.The eSpring Water Purifier is certified by NSF International (NSF/ANSI Standards 42, 53, and 55B) and has earned the Gold Seal from the Water Quality Association.

Another Alternative filter is   Zen Water Filters Online         

      5 Stage Reverse Osmosis Water Filter System With Storage Tank Removes Fluoride

Alternative water filter 2

Other Tip: Avoid microwaving your water or food in plastic containers or wraps because near heat plastic will soften  and could contaminate your water or food; Avoid microwave ovens.  Also avoid using plastic or stainless steel spoon when stirring hot cooking soup or food because heat melts plastic but wood will not. When Plastic and stainless cookwares are heated, it may leach harmful toxins into our food and space. Try placing a plastic spoon in very hot water, you will notice it softens almost like it's melting plus the stinky rubber smell. Use a wooden spoon instead.




Author: Onyinye A

Friday, November 26, 2010

Know your kind of water

Spring water- comes from an underground formation and must flow naturally to the earth surface e.g a well. Spring water is typically protected from micro-organisms sometimes found in surface water. Spring water is collected through a hole that tap the water in the earth and companies that supply such water must state it on their label.

Sparkling water- Is water that contains carbon dioxide.

Purified water- has been processed by reverse osmosis, distillation, or similar procedures that remove minerals and contaminants. The source need not be named and is often tap water.

Naturally sparkling water- is naturally carbonated and often comes from a spring. Bubbles lost during treatment or collection may be replaced with the same amount of carbon dioxide the water held originally.

Soda water and seltzer are not considered bottled water. The FDA regulates them as soft drinks, under rules less strict than those for bottled water, and some products may have added sugar, flavors or salts. They're often carbonated municipal water, sometimes with extra filtration.


Mineral Water- contains at least 250 parts per million of dissolved solids- usually calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, silica, and bicarbonates. minerals must occur naturally. Mineral water is typically spring water and can be sparkling or still. Mineral Water- each has it's own taste, originating from whichever rocks and earth it passes by. which one you would choose depends on whether you like it more or less fizzy.

Water labels can be very confusing, more like deceiving; an example is Aquafina Purified Drinking Water, it it one of America's top- selling bottled water brand with the favoring pictures of the deep blues and snow-capped mountains- telegraph idea of faraway glacial springs. Not the case with Aquafina, Aquafina is produced by the Pepsi Cola Company. According to Pepsi spokesman Larry Jabbosky, Aquafina water originates from 16 sources- mainly municipal water supplies Cheraw, S.C.; Detroit; Fresno, Calif.; and Munster, Ind. Aquafina is not water from the exotic region as it the graphic label shows.
Dasani Bottled water by Coca-cola; Pepsi competitor get its water from municipal sources, enhanced with a mix of minerals for a crisp taste.

Something else the labels on bottled water may not reveal is that a single brand of spring water can come from man sources,  an example; is Danon Natural Spring Water tapping from four springs, in Florida, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Quebec. Keep in mind different sources can produce different tasting water.


Still waters- only volcanic Natural Spring Water was excellent. A french import, which  comes from an area rich in volcanic rock. Many other water cost less and it's just as good.
All carbonated water are bottled in PET, and there's a subtle difference in the taste of seven different brands that were tested however, Vintage Old Original Seltzer Water and Canada Dry Original Seltzer were found to be very good. Both been less bitter than the others tested.

Troubled water

There's an increased thirst for bottled water due the tap water incidence that shakes the confidence in tap water. In 1993 cryptosporidium outbreak (cryptosporidium- a parasite from animal waste) entered Milwaukee's water supply and killed more than 50 people, sent 4,400 people to the hospital and sickened many hundreds of people." The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has standards for some 80 contaminants in public drinking water and maintains that the U.S. enjoys some of the safest water in the world. Since 1999, Federal law has required local water utilities to send "consumer confidence reports" to their customers each year. The reports detail ongoing laboratory testing, name system trouble spots, and outline measures being taken to fix problems.

If you haven't received one, contact your local water department, call the Safe Drinking water Hot-line at (800) 426-4791, or visit .
The bottled-water industry falls under the jurisdiction of the FDA, which has borrowed from the EPA's standards for tap water. Other bodies use their own model code to inspects water includes The international Bottled Water Association, The industry's trade group and their standard is said to be stricter than the FDA's. 85% of companies that produce bottled water gets inspections at the processing plants annually by an independent nonprofit group.

some water contaminant:-
Arsenic is a poisonous element in the earth's crust, arsenic can enter water naturally or through factory runoff, animal - feed additives, herbicides, and refineries. Water systems that depend on underground sources are especially at risk for arsenic. The current standard allows 50 parts per billion (ppb) in tap water and bottled water dating as far back as 1940s. The EPA has proposed lowering arsenic limit to 5ppb but the final limit has not been decided. Whatever the outcome of the proposed limit becomes is what FDA will probably use to set a similar standard for bottled water. This meaning that there's still some amount of arsenic found in our water by the current standard, this is something troubling because Arsenic can affect our health. Long-term exposure to even low concentrations may cause lung, skin, and bladder cancer as well as diseases of the blood vessels, liver and other organs.

Trihalomethanes (THMS) are produced when chlorinated chemicals used for disinfection combines with organic matter in water supplies, some cities use chlorine a lot more in their water during warm whether therefore causing a fluctuating level from day to day or season to season. It is now 100ppb for tap water and bottled water. Chlorination is used to kill harmful germs in our water but it can also cause harm to our health.
THMS health effect:- If consumed over a long period of time, it could increase the risk of bladder and rectal cancers and miscarriage. Be careful drinking or jumping into highly chlorinated swimming pools.

Fluoride is a naturally occurring element that is often added to municipal water to prevent tooth decay, but i wonder why it goes on our toothpaste contains fluoride and fluoride can cause damage to our body and wear down our tooth enamels. The FDA allows 0.8 to 2.4 parts per million (ppm) in our water. The American Dental Association says the optimal level is 0.7 to 1.2ppm.
Health effect: Can discolor or mottle tooth enamel and cause damage to the tissues/organs in our body.

Plastic components:
Bisphenol-A (BPA) is the building block of polycarbonate and can leach into water or food. There no set limits for BPA . In a testing of eight to ten 5-gallon polycarbonate jugs, it was found that about 0.5ppb to 11ppb of Bisphenol-A leached into water. Bisphenol-A affects our health negatively, it a known carcinogen (cancer-causing chemical). Also BPA mimics the hormone estrogen in animal studies and judging from animal research it would most likely affect a developing fetuses.

Heterotrophic Plate (HPC) tallies a mix of bacteria in the water. HPC is counted as "colony-forming units per millimeter," or cfu/ml, however there are no official standard set. only a guideline of 500 cfu/ml or less
In a test, two brands of eight we checked had at least one bottle over the guideline. Those were waters that the National Resources Defense Council had found no problems with in its study. Two waters in which NRDC had found high HPC were free of it in the test; suggesting inconsistencies and this problem is sporadic.
Health effects: The germs counted are not necessarily harmful, but large numbers of them may point to poor sanitation practices.