Do You Drink Water From A Sink or a Store?

Everyone has climbed on to the bottled water bandwagon. In capping off the year 2007 Newsweek reported Americans drank 8.2 billion gallons of bottled water, an increase of 9.5 % from the year before.

Despite the cleaner look of bottled water, studies show bottled water is not any safer than tap water. In fact, Benjamin Grumbles, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency water programs, claims "It's an urban myth that bottled water is safer than tap water."

Though you might shudder to think of filling up your glass with tap water and chugging it down, consider this: Tap water might not be so bad after all. Why?

1. Tap water is tested daily. In compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act, water suppliers are required by the EPA to test tap water daily. In comparison, the FDA tests bottled water on a weekly basis.

One LA Times article refers to the FDA testing big city tap water at least 100 times a month.

Over the years the FDA has adopted the EPA standards for tap water and applied them to bottled water. What a surprise! The standards for the amount of contaminants allowed in tap water and bottled water are the same.

If you’re wondering about your own tap water, click here to check on the quality of your state’s drinking water.

2. Tap water is less expensive. Bottled water costs 500 times more than tap water which costs less than a penny per glass compared to $7 a gallon for bottled water.

If you’re concerned that you’re spending too much on bottled water, try making an initial investment in a filtration system that purifies the water as it comes through the tap. According to one water filtration systems manufacturer, Brita, its high-end faucet system provides water for $0.18 a gallon, a considerable savings from $1 or more charged for an 8 to 12 ounce bottle of water!

3. Tap water is a tooth saver. There is more fluoride in tap water than in bottled water. Fluoride promotes strong teeth and prevents tooth decay. It is highly recommended that people who drink bottled water exclusively should inform their dentists of their water selection and take fluoride supplements.

4. Tap water doesn’t taste too bad. One spokesperson in the Minnesota Department of Health agrees that tap water may sometimes look or taste differently. Yet almost half of bottled water starts out as tap water.

The strange look of tap water does not mean it’s unsafe. Usually, the most dangerous contaminants are those that people cannot see, smell or taste. If you don’t like the taste of your tap water, run it through a Brita or Pur filter to remove most tastes and odors.

5. Tap water is better for our environment. According to Newsweek, the EPA released new data that shows manufacturing the 29 billion plastic bottles used for water in the United States requires the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of crude oil.

A Yahoo article also brings out an often neglected fact: 60 million bottles a day are tossed into US landfills where they can take up to 1000 years to biodegrade. Bottled water may be healthy for your body but not for the environment.

So what’s your water of choice? Bottled water or stuff that drips out of your faucet? It’s your choice but at least now you can make an informed selection. Bottoms up!

John
Email John: johnsblog@teshmedia.com

Have your heard about my new hardcover book Intelligence For Your Life: Powerful Lessons for Personal Growth? The book is due out in early March but you can pre-order it today at half price and you'll receive a free concert DVD by just clicking here.

Comments

[Jen S.]

Tap water does taste good in some areas (such as Ohio where I live), but I travel to Florida regularly and find their tap water to taste horrible. And I know for a fact water bills there are much cheaper than ours are here. Any insights?

[Jim Sutton]

The article was fantastic! The important topic not covered addresses the many households that have their own well. This "tap" is not tested daily. Many people do not realize that they should even test their well at all.

It is recommended that if you have your own water supply via a well, you should test it at least once a year to verify the supply is untainted and unpolluted. Find a testing provider close to you, pick up a test kit, and get your water tested yearly!

[Jim Sutton]

The article was fantastic! The important topic not covered addresses the many households that have their own well. This "tap" is not tested daily. Many people do not realize that they should even test their well at all.

It is recommended that if you have your own water supply via a well, you should test it at least once a year to verify the supply is untainted and unpolluted. Find a testing provider close to you, pick up a test kit, and get your water tested yearly!

[suzanne Jaffe stillman]

Hello John,
>
> Thanks for wanting to know more about FiberWater and suggesting that I
> contribute to YOUR personal blog today.
>
> Aside from my product I just want consumers to read labels and ask
> questions.
>
> FiberWater is the ultimate 2-Fer. Water to live and Fiber to live
> healthier.
>
> One 16.9 oz (500 ml) bottle of FiberWater contains 25% of ones daily
> hydration and 25% of ones daily fiber requirement without changing the
> look or TASTE of pure fresh water....just what consumers globally
> recognize ...pure fresh water. Essentially FiberWater is food in
> water which can also be produced sparkling and remineralized
>
> Presently a company is being put together to produce and offer for
> sale FiberWater (a generic descriptive only). We plan on going to market soon.
> Right now FiberWater is sold only in Japan.
> I don't know John if you had a chance to visit the history section of
> my site but my life took an 180 degree turn when my son Jason was born
> (1970) and was not supposed to live.
> My goal is best described in my Australian press release.
>
> And you readers are cordially invited to visit www.fiberwater.com
>
>
> Thank you again,
> Suzanne
>
>
> Australia Gives Nod to FiberWater
> Largest Island Continent Targets Health Issues and Obesity LOS
> ANGELES, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- January 17, 2007 -- After almost six
> years of applications, USA renowned health and nutrition advocate
> Suzanne Jaffe Stillman has been awarded patent # 2001239821 from
> Australia for her FiberWater -- water containing soluble fiber.
> FiberWater looks and tastes just like water yet delivers 25% of a person's daily fiber requirement.
> Australia is now one of forty (40) countries and is the sixth
> continent where patents have been issued or pending for the
> intellectual properties of Ms. Stillman. She is represented in
> Australia by Ken Finney of Cullen & Co.
>
> FiberWater*, with all its credentials, is arguably the beverage with
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> Australian Prime Minister John Howard has long endorsed that children
> drink water with fluoride to combat tooth decay. At the same time, the
> Australian Health Ministers are seeking a solution to their nation's
> problem of childhood obesity. In numerous clinical studies it has been
> shown that soluble fiber addresses obesity by curbing appetite,
> stabilizing blood sugar levels, aiding digestion and removing toxins
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> Nicole Kidman, an Academy Award-winning actress and recognized as the
> highest-paid film star, is at the forefront with her concerns and
> caring, especially with the health of Australian youngsters, and is a
> frequent visitor to and supporter of Sydney's Children's Hospital. Ms.
> Kidman has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars for the purchase
> of medical equipment. Says Professor Les White, Executive Director of
> the hospital, "Ms. Kidman contributes more than just monetary
> assistance, she also interacts and makes regular personal visits at
> the hospital with the children and their families, lifting their spirits and giving them hope!"
> Ms. Stillman intends to join Ms. Kidman by donating a portion of the
> proceeds from the sale of her products in Australia to aid Australian
> Children with disabilities and their families.
> According to inventor Stillman, "Australia, with its long rich history
> of progressive and active social programs, can now provide a healthy
> alternative to benefit young and old alike in the 'land down under.'"
> After ten years of research, testing, and protecting her intellectual
> properties, globally, she is now assembling an investor group to
> produce, market and distribute her FiberWater product line to
> eventually launch it worldwide.
> *For further information Visit: www.fiberwater.com
>
> ________________________________________
>
> Contact:
> Gerry Porter, Sr VP
> Hanson & Schwam Public Relations
> 310 248-4479
> Email: Email Contact
>
> SOURCE: FiberWater
> ________________________________________
>
>
>
>
>

[Scott Bradley]

Hi, John!

Scott Bradley here, from Vermont. I own and have been the lab. director at my laboratory, Aquacheck, Inc. for over twelve years.

We are a NELAP accredited lab. for Micro., Inorganic cemistry, and metals analysis. Your statement that says that the EPA requires daily testing is just not so. CFR141 states the frequency of testing, and is based on population served.

For example, Coliform testing needs to have so many done per month, based on the population being served for that water system.

Definately not every day. Maybe in Mega cities like L.A., but certainly not for most other sites and towns across the country.

Glad to help with more info if you'd like. I could tell you soooo many reasons why tap water is generally better than bottled water.

Don't get me started there!!! ; - )

Thanks for your time, and glad to recieve any comments back!

See one of my sites @ www.Aquacheck-VT.com. Help yourself to any of my free articles I have written. I'm about to open up a video blog about bottled water. Type in "water testing video" or "coliform video" and you'll see me on the first page of the Google serps, for example. I also have a number of articles in Dan Friedmans site -the # 1 site when you type in Water Testing.

Cheers!

Respectfully Submitted;

Scott Bradley - Laboratory Director
Aquacheck Laboratory, Inc.
1-802-263-9595
www.aquacheck-vt.com

[nyscof]

“Second Thoughts about Fluoride,” reports Scientific American

New York - January 2, 2008 -- “Some recent studies suggest that over-consumption of fluoride can raise the risks of disorders affecting teeth, bones, the brain and the thyroid gland,” reports Scientific American editors (January 2008). “Scientific attitudes toward fluoridation may be starting to shift,” writes author Dan Fagin.

“Fluoride, the most consumed drug in the USA, is deliberately added to 2/3 of public water supplies theoretically to reduce tooth decay, but with no scientifically-valid evidence proving safety or effectiveness,” says lawyer Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation.

Fagin, award-wining environmental reporter and Director of New York University’s Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program, writes, “There is no universally accepted optimal level for daily intake of fluoride.” Some researchers even wonder whether the 1 mg/L added into drinking water is too much, reports Fagin.

After 3 years of scrutinizing hundreds of studies, a National Research Council (NRC) committee “concluded that fluoride can subtly alter endocrine function, especially in the thyroid – the gland that produces hormones regulating growth and metabolism,” reports Fagin.

Fagin quotes John Doull, professor emeritus of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, who chaired the NRC committee thusly, “The thyroid changes do worry me.”

Fluoride in foods, beverages, medicines and dental products can result in fluoride over-consumption, visible in young children as dental fluorosis – white spotted, yellow, brown and/or pitted teeth. We can’t normally see fluoride’s effects to the rest of the body.

Reports Fagin, “a series of epidemiological studies in China have associated high fluoride exposures with lower IQ.”

“(E)pidemiological studies and tests on lab animals suggest that high fluoride exposure increases the risk of bone fracture, especially in vulnerable populations such as the elderly and diabetics,” writes Fagin.

Fagin interviewed Steven Levy, director of the Iowa Fluoride Study which tracked about 700 Iowa children for sixteen years. Nine-year-old “Iowa children who lived in communities where the water was fluoridated were 50 percent more likely to have mild fluorosis… than [nine-year-old] children living in nonfluoridated areas of the state,” writes Fagin. Levy will study fluoride’s effects on their bones.

Over 1200 professionals urge Congress to cease water fluoridation and conduct Congressional hearings because scientific evidence indicates fluoridation is ineffective and has serious health risks. Support them; write your representative here:

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2477/t/2782/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=21960

(or http://www.FluorideAction.Net )

“(G)enetic, environmental and even cultural factors appear to leave some people much more susceptible to the effects of fluoride,” writes Fagin

“What the [NRC] committee found is that we’ve gone with the status quo regarding fluoride … for too long… and now we need to take a fresh look,” Doull says, “ In the scientific community, people tend to think that its settled… But when we looked at the studies that have been done, we found that many of these questions are unsettled and we have much less information than we should, considering how long this [fluoridation] has been going on. I think that’s why fluoridation is still being challenged so many years after it began, In the face of ignorance, controversy is rampant.”