Ingesting clear, pure water is crucial for sustaining optimum well being, but over 2 billion individuals worldwide nonetheless lack entry to secure ingesting water.1 The rising contamination of faucet water with dangerous substances has led many to hunt alternate options like bottled water and residential filtration techniques in an effort to guard their well-being.
But, regardless of this shift, there’s nonetheless a scarcity of complete scientific knowledge on the security of those water sources, significantly relating to the presence of hazardous chemical substances and pollution. This prompted researchers from California to analyze the security and aesthetic qualities of three frequent ingesting water choices — bottled water, faucet water and household-treated faucet water.
Lately printed within the journal PLOS Water,2 their findings reveal alarming ranges of carcinogenic chemical substances and different harmful pollution throughout all sorts of ingesting water, elevating considerations about what is really secure to eat.
Most cancers-Linked Chemical compounds Detected in Ingesting Water
To conduct their evaluation,3 the researchers collected 100 bottled water samples from 89 totally different manufacturers, 603 faucet water samples and 111 household-treated faucet water samples from the San Francisco Bay Space. They examined these for 100 totally different contaminants, together with metals, unstable natural compounds (VOCs), disinfection byproducts and microbial indicators, in addition to evaluated components that affect customers’ decisions in water supply, together with style, odor and coloration.
One of the alarming findings was the widespread presence of trihalomethanes (THMs) in all examined sources of ingesting water. THMs are a bunch of disinfection byproducts which might be fashioned when chlorine, which is used to deal with ingesting water, reacts with pure natural matter within the water. THMs are identified carcinogens and have been linked to elevated liver toxicity in addition to reproductive and developmental issues.
The examine revealed that faucet water samples contained the very best concentrations of those chemical substances, accounting for 94.5% of its complete cumulative toxicity. In the meantime, THMs accounted for 76.7% of the whole toxicity noticed in household-treated faucet water.
Furthermore, the researchers discovered that 2% of faucet water samples exceeded the regulatory threshold for THMs, which is about at 80 micrograms per liter — a restrict that’s already greater than ranges deemed secure for long-term well being. In household-treated faucet water, 25% of the samples nonetheless contained chloroform, a standard THM, at concentrations that surpassed health-protective benchmarks.
Along with THMs, the examine discovered troubling ranges of heavy metals in each faucet and household-treated waters. Lead was detected in 51% of faucet water samples and 30% of the household-treated samples, which researchers counsel is a results of getting old water infrastructure and corroded pipes. Publicity to guide, particularly in kids, causes extreme neurological harm and developmental delays.
Moreover, arsenic was present in 8% of household-treated faucet water samples and three% of faucet water samples, whereas uranium was detected in 2% of each household-treated and direct faucet water samples. Each contaminants pose important long-term well being dangers, together with most cancers and kidney harm.
Bottled Water Is Not a Safer Different
Whereas customers typically change to bottled water resulting from considerations concerning the style or security of faucet water, the featured examine4 revealed that bottled water will not be essentially a safer choice. Whereas it usually displayed decrease general toxicity, it was not free from contamination.
Researchers discovered that 8% of bottled water samples exceeded California’s strict regulatory restrict for THMs, with chloroform detected in 32% of the samples. Apparently, some petroleum-derived compounds, together with benzene and toluene, had been detected completely in bottled water and weren’t present in faucet or household-treated samples. Because the researchers acknowledged:5
“In BW [bottled water], extra detections and exceedances counsel that bottle manufacturing and processing might play a job in water high quality. Two petroleum-derived compounds — benzene and toluene — had been detected in BW solely.
One benzene detection was in exceedance of the well being benchmark, and all 5 toluene detections had been under the well being benchmark. One risk is that these contaminants had been launched to bottled water merchandise throughout processing.”
One other stunning discovering was the prevalence of heterotrophic micro organism in bottled water, present in 43% of the samples. Though these micro organism usually are not sometimes related to pathogens, their presence contradicts the frequent notion of bottled water as a purer various. Based on the authors:6
“These findings corroborate earlier research figuring out HPC [heterotrophic plate count] in BW, which discovered detections in 30% to 71% of samples. Whereas faucet water samples are prone to have HPC as nicely due to its ubiquitous presence within the surroundings, these findings are significantly fascinating in BW due to advertising and marketing claims concerning the purity of BW.”
The outcomes name into query the belief that bottled water is inherently safer or cleaner than faucet water. Each sources carry their very own dangers, and whereas bottled water addresses some aesthetic considerations, it nonetheless has its justifiable share of health-related points you could be careful for.
Bottled Water Additionally Exposes You to Endocrine-Disrupting Chemical compounds
The usage of plastic water bottles introduces extra well being considerations past the contaminants discovered within the water itself. The featured examine7 famous two main classes of endocrine-disrupting chemical substances (EDCs) related to plastic water bottles — microplastics and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Lengthy-term publicity to those EDCs via common consumption of bottled water might have cumulative results in your well being.
Microplastics leach from the plastic bottle itself or is current within the water supply. The truth is, a January 2024 examine8 printed within the Proceedings of the Nationwide Academy of Sciences revealed that customers could possibly be ingesting roughly 240,000 tiny plastic particles for each liter of bottled water.
Microplastics include numerous components and chemical substances, together with bisphenols (reminiscent of BPA and its alternate options), phthalates and heavy metals, which intrude with the endocrine system in a number of methods.9 Bisphenols are identified to imitate estrogen, resulting in hormonal imbalances, reproductive points and sure cancers.10 Phthalates, alternatively, are related to antiandrogenic results, impacting reproductive well being and growth.11
As for PFAS (aka “ceaselessly chemical substances”), a 2021 examine12 carried out by researchers at Johns Hopkins College discovered their presence in 39 out of over 100 bottled water samples examined. PFAS infiltrates bottled water via contaminated supply water, manufacturing processes or cross-contamination.
These chemical substances disrupt thyroid operate, resulting in metabolic problems and developmental points. They’ve additionally been related to decreased fertility, altered immune operate and elevated danger of most cancers.13
EWG’s Faucet Water Database — What Contaminants Are in Your Water?
If you wish to know what different contaminants are lurking in your water, you may get the outcomes of your native ingesting water evaluation out of your water utility. It is your proper to view the annual water high quality report out of your space, which ought to spotlight contaminants of concern (though there could possibly be others which might be legally “secure” however nonetheless pose a long-term well being danger).
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) additionally presents a complete Faucet Water Database that enables customers to entry detailed details about the standard of their native ingesting water. This database supplies insights into the contaminants detected in municipal water provides, together with their ranges and potential well being dangers.
By merely coming into your zip code, you can find out about particular pollution present in your space, reminiscent of lead, chlorine and numerous pesticides. This useful resource permits you to make knowledgeable choices about your water high quality and encourages native utilities to enhance their requirements.
Spend money on a Excessive-High quality Filtration System for Your Residence
Whereas the outcomes of the featured examine14 raised considerations concerning the effectiveness of some water filtration techniques, the authors additionally emphasised that “household-scale remedy might cut back the potential for aesthetic points and well being dangers of faucet water.”
The secret is to decide on a system designed to successfully goal the pollution current in your water provide. The most effective water filters I’ve discovered to this point is the Pure & Clear Entire Home Water Filtration System, which makes use of a three-stage filtration course of — a micron sediment pre-filter, a KDF water filter and a high-grade carbon water filter15 — to filter out chlorine, detergent byproducts and different contaminants.
Ideally, your finest guess is to filter the water at each the purpose of entry into your house and at factors of use. This implies putting in filters on the foremost water provide line coming into your house and once more at particular areas the place water is consumed or used, such because the kitchen sink and showers.
For extra steering, the EWG presents a useful water filter information that permits you to search by filters kind, know-how and particular contaminants. This useful resource assist you make knowledgeable choices about which filtration system is essentially the most appropriate on your dwelling.16
Extra Methods to Shield Your Ingesting Water
Along with utilizing high-quality water filtration techniques, under are a number of efficient methods to guard the standard of your ingesting water at dwelling whereas contributing to a more healthy surroundings:17
1. Keep knowledgeable about native water high quality by usually checking experiences out of your municipal water provider. These experiences present particulars on contaminant ranges, security compliance and any advisories. It’s also possible to get native ingesting water high quality experiences from the U.S. Environmental Safety Company (EPA).
2. Keep your plumbing system, particularly if your house has older pipes made from lead or galvanized metallic. Common inspections and changing previous pipes forestall dangerous substances from leaching into your water.
3. Retailer bottled water correctly by protecting it in cool, darkish environments. Keep away from leaving it in heat areas or direct daylight, which trigger plastic to degrade and launch chemical substances into the water. Higher but, remove using plastic water bottles and go for glass or chrome steel containers as an alternative.
4. Undertake good environmental practices by correctly disposing of hazardous supplies like chemical substances and medicines. Decreasing plastic use and collaborating in native clean-up efforts additionally defend water sources.
5. Take a look at your water usually, particularly if you happen to use nicely water or stay in an older dwelling. Residence water testing kits assist you establish contaminants reminiscent of lead, nitrates and micro organism, permitting you to take acceptable motion to make sure your water is secure.
Progesterone Mitigates the Results of EDCs in Bottled Water
To successfully reduce publicity to endocrine-disrupting chemical substances (EDCs) from plastic water bottles, essentially the most easy strategy is to keep away from utilizing them altogether. As a substitute, use glass or chrome steel containers to retailer water.
Nevertheless, if you end up steadily utilizing bottled water or uncovered to different sources of EDCs in your surroundings, I like to recommend utilizing transmucosal progesterone mixed with vitamin E through buccal or gingival administration (i.e., rubbed into your gums), as detailed under, to counteract the dangerous results of those chemical substances.
Progesterone is a hormone that acts as a change to “flip off” estrogen’s exercise, serving to mitigate the results of phthalates and different estrogenic compounds. By counteracting the results of those disruptive chemical substances, progesterone helps restore stability in your physique’s hormonal techniques.
