Why Pure Water
Water is a fundamental nutrient for human life. It is necessary to every system of our bodies. Not only does it play host to the millions of chemical reactions that happen in our bodies every second, but it serves to keep our joints moving, our nutrients flowing, our body temperature regulated, and acts as a solvent to remove waste products from the 70 trillion or so cells constantly at work within us. About 2/3 of our body weight is water.
A rule of thumb for knowing how much you should consume each day is to divide your weight by two. This reflects the total number of ounces. Divide this by eight to get the number of glasses. It is a fact that the average American may well be chronically dehydrated and not even know it. We do need a steady supply of good old H2O to keep our systems functioning at peak performance. However, when it comes to keeping our bodies well supplied, not just any water will do.
The question is Why Drink Pure Water and we attempt to answer why.
Tap water problems
- In the United States today, much of our water comes from polluted sources.
- Ironically, in order to kill some of the live microorganisms in our water before we drink it; even more dangerous chemicals are added. Perhaps the most troublesome is chlorine.
- Not only is our water coming from polluted sources and then further contaminated by carcinogenic additives like chlorine and fluoride, but the delivery system through which it travels to our sinks and drinking fountains can add polyvinyl chloride, asbestos, lead, and cadmium, all of which are toxic to the our body. This is a problem even in those areas of the country that pride themselves on 'good' water.
- Water delivered directly from underground sources and not first exposed to the radon-dissipating effect of air is a threat, whereas water piped from lakes, rivers, and reservoirs is not. There are estimates that as many as 17 million people may have excessive levels of radon in their tap water. If this is true at your house, it is released into your environment every time you get a drink, take a shower, wash dishes, or do laundry.
- Chlorine kills bacteria and viruses in our water supply, but not the parasites. The two most common, giardia and cryptosporidium, occur in water supplies as hard-shelled cysts that are chlorine-resistant. Thus, even if your source water is being disinfected, these "critters" are able to make it through to your tap.
- Chlorine kills bacteria and viruses in our water supply, but not the parasites. The two most common, giardia and cryptosporidium, occur in water supplies as hard-shelled cysts that are chlorine-resistant. Thus, even if your source water is being disinfected, these "critters" are able to make it through to your tap.
What can you do on a practical basis to ensure that you're drinking the purest water possible?
- Start by asking your utility or public health department for a copy of its latest water analysis.
- Try to determine the quality of your water once it's made its way through the delivery system to your house using TDS meter.
- Purchase a water purifier for your home. Get one that will do what you need done, based upon your water tests. Either that, or get the one you feel most confident in.
- Carbon filters (granular and block): Carbon granules are the size of coarse sand. Carbon block is very fine carbon pressed into a solid. The bigger the carbon filter and the more carbon involved the better. This is because there is a direct relationship between the length of time water is in contact with the carbon and the purity of the final product. Thus the very small faucet-mount filters and the pour-through filters are much inferior to the larger high-volume filters. At the same time, granular filters as a whole are inferior to carbon block. However, carbon block filters can become clogged with microscopic debris and rendered prematurely ineffective unless used with sediment prefilter. They can also become a breeding ground for bacteria, as pollutants build up within the carbon. A high-quality carbon block filter used in conjunction with sediment prefilter will effectively remove most foul tastes and odors, organic chemicals, chlorine, and radon from your water.
- Reverse osmosis systems: The reverse osmosis (RO) is a three-filter system. It has a prefilter that eliminates sediment; a reverse osmosis membrane through which water molecules are forced, leaving behind the larger pollutant molecules (organic chemicals, toxic minerals, radioactive minerals, and most microorganisms); and finally an activated carbon filter that does its thing with radon, chlorine, additional organic chemicals, plus tastes and smells. RO systems do work slowly, but perhaps the greatest drawback to this sort of filtering system is the amount of water that most models waste. For every gallon of purified water produced, three to ten gallons are drained away with the pollutants.
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