How2GetHealthy

Nobody disputes the importance of drinking water to our health. It’s one of the few things that the scientific and alternative health communities agree on. There is medical evidence that drinking enough water can reduce the risk of developing breast cancer, colon cancer, urinary tract cancer, heart disease, gallstones, kidney stones and bladder stones. Drinking water prevents constipation and urinary tract infections.

It is important for oral health because it neutralizes acid created by plaque bacteria, lubricates oral membranes, contains minerals that enable tooth repair and contains antibacterial agents that slow the growth of oral bacteria and helps to prevent gum disease.

75% of our body weight is water, without it we would die in a few days. Our brains are made of 55% water, our blood is 82% water and our lungs are 90% water. A 2% drop in can trigger signs of dehydration. We feel tired and sluggish and it reduces our mental and physical performance: fuzzy short-term memory, difficulty with simple maths and focusing on small print. It also keeps our skin looking healthy. Our skin acts as a reservoir for the whole body – dehydrated skin looks dry and loose.

What the mainstream and alternative health people don’t agree on, however, is water purity and what type of water we should drink. Tap water? Bottled water? Filtered water?

Tap Water

Drinking water is likely the single most important thing we can do for our health and tap water is there for all of us to drink. Regardless of what you read below about contaminants in tap water, it its always better to drink tap water than not drink water at all. If it’s all you have – drink it!

Now consider this: Over 75,000 toxic chemicals have been introduced into our society. Through its hydrological cycle, our planet re-uses the same water over and over. This means that any chemical we use eventually winds up in the water we drink.

Industry, agriculture, and individuals all contribute to water contamination. Our drinking water becomes contaminated by agricultural runoff, household chemicals, lawn chemical, gasoline, dry cleaning solvents and drugs.

It has been shown that areas with the highest levels of these synthetic organic chemicals (SOCs) in their water supplies also have the highest incidence of cancer.

“While levels of these carcinogens in drinking water are low, it is precisely these low levels that carcinogen specialists believe to be responsible for the majority of human cancers in the U.S.”

The U.S. Council On Environmental Quality

In addition to SOCs, our drinking water is treated with chlorine and picks up lead when it travels through our pipes. The scientific community is now beginning to understand the risks to our health.

Okay, so should we drink bottled water or should we filter our water?

Bottled Water or Filtered Tap Water?

We know three good reasons not to buy and drink bottled water.

1. 40% of all bottled water is ordinary tap water from a city water system and regulation of bottled water is inadequate.
2. It is expensive. People pay from $1 to $4 a gallon for the perception of purity.
3. It is bad for the environment. Plastic bottles and transportation of water, sometimes from across the globe, are unnecessary and harmful to the environment.

Filtered Tap Water

Filtered tap water at point-of use is the best and most economical way to get the healthiest and best tasting water. There are many systems available that will do the job and any water filter is better than no water filter. We think that Aquasana makes great filter systems at a great price.

We would like to emphasize that drinking regular tap water is always better than not drinking water at all.

www.watercure.com is an interesting website about the importance of water for good health.

www.water.org.uk has some useful downloads with information about the benefits of water.