Did You Know There Is Poison in Your Drinking Water?

Go ahead, sit down and drink a nice clear, pure glass of water. OK, now read this quote: "U.S. drinking water contains more than 2,100 toxic chemicals that can cause cancer." This is a quote from Ralph Nader of the Nader Research Group. Scarey, isn't it? Unfortunately, only about 75 of these are tested by most city water officials. Let's example just one of these sinister invaders, chlorine.

So you buy an aquarium and some fish and you want to fill it with city faucet water. What is the first requirement? Yes, it is to de-chlorinate the water with tablets or by allowing the water to sit several days. If fish will die in chlorinated water, how can it be good for people? Yet, it is common in many cities for the maximum level of chlorine allowed in the public water system to be greater than what is recommended in swimming pools!

Chlorine is an excellent disinfectant. We use chlorine bleach to clean a house or purify a well. Bacteria such as typhoid, cholera, or dysentery are wiped out in its presence. However, chlorine also damages the body. It produces substances called THMs (trihalomethanes). These damage the cells and are cancer causing. Chlorine can also damage the arteries making is easier for cholesterol to attach itself to their walls. At times contamination gets into a city water system and it must be purged with extra chlorine. Research shows that such times evoke an increase in bladder, kidney, and urinary tract cancers. Drinking water taken from the Mississippi River contains 63 cancer causing compounds all of which are made when chlorine reacts with pollutants such as carbon disulphide and methanol, both present in the water.

Yet chlorine does not enter the body only through drinking. In fact, a greater risk of chlorine poisoning occurs in the shower. The hot water opens the pores and the chlorine, which evaporates at a lower temperature than water, enters through the lungs. This results in the formation of chloroform, which will cause bronchitis, and asthma, and will increase the risk of cancer. The warm chlorine water may also cause skin irritations such as eczema. Many have bought a chlorine shower filter to protect themselves.

Conscientious parents are rightly alarmed by all this. They know that the bodies of their small children are affected more by the contaminants than the parents are. Think of it; mothers who prepare formula with tap water may be inadvertently poisoning their baby!

Many have opted for bottled water. After all, doesn't it say, "Pure Spring water" right on the container? Unfortunately, that could be deceiving. In fact, the FDA itself said, "Companies that market bottled water as being safer than tap water are defrauding the American public." This is because there are no regulations on bottled water across state lines. Companies have bottled tape water and labeled it, "Pure Mountain Fresh." This may not be honest, but it is perfectly legal. Coupled with the high cost and the huge volume of disposed containers, this is obviously not the best solution.

To be sure your water is safe, it is best to filter it yourself. This can be done at a minimum of cost. Start with something to filter your drinking and cooking water, like the Berkey Water Filter. Be sure the company promises their product will remove chlorine. Such promises are regulated by federal laws. Don't think of it as an expense, but an investment in the peace of mind that you are giving your family good, healthy water.

The water filters we use and highly recommend are called Berkey Filter and are the best we are aware of. Plus, they offer a shower head filter and their Black Berkeys can be re-cleaned to purify up to 6,000 gallons of drinking water!