which leads to clogging your body’s “plumbing system” with waste. Not drinking enough water has
been linked to colon and bladder cancer as well as fatigue and worsening memory (Altieri et al.
2003; Manz, Wentz 2005). Dehydration can intensify the symptoms of diabetes and has been shown to
raise blood pressure (Manz 2007).
Some rural communities, especially when located on organically certified soil, can safely drink tap
water, but most of us don’t have this luxury anymore. Fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides constantly
seep into waterways, while the dumping of sewage and industrial wastes and toxins pollutes rivers
and lakes, disrupting delicate ecosystems. From 1971 to 2002, there were 764 documented
waterborne outbreaks associated with drinking water in the United States, resulting in more than half
a million cases of illness and 79 deaths, according to a report by the University of Arizona (Reynolds
et al. 2008). Scientists noted that, according to epidemiological studies, people who drank filtered
water had 20–35 percent less gastrointestinal illnesses than those consuming regular tap water.
Fortunately, there are so many sources of pure water available, you don’t need to quench your thirst
from the tap or water fountains. You can drink bottled water made by a reputable company, ideally
from a certified organic source, or you can filter your tap water using carbon or reverse osmosis
filters. Store your filtered water in glass or stainless steel bottles.
Not all bottled water is created equal. Glacial water comes from melted ice caps, which is then
purified using reverse osmosis or deionization, so it becomes indistinguishable from distilled water.
Spring and well water is bottled from natural sources or holes drilled in the ground, and then treated
to remove any possible contaminants. Then there’s plain purified water, which is basically tap water
that has been filtered and deionized. Another name for purified water is “demineralized.
demineralized.” Some types of bottled water are labeled as “ozonated,” which means that water has
been purified with ozone and contains a higher amount of oxygen. Studies show that ozonation helps
kill bacteria and degrade antibiotics and other toxins in tap water. There’s also mineral water, which
contains minerals and trace elements from geologically and physically protected underground water
sources.
Which type of bottled water is best? It’s mineral water certified by a dependable source and
bottled in glass, not plastic. Bottled water in plastic containers is bad for two reasons: first, plastic is
known to leach phthalates and other toxins into the water, especially when heated during storage or
transportation or when you leave the bottle in a warm place. Have you ever noticed that plastic-y
smell your water emits after it has spent a whole day in your beach bag? This is a sign that the
volatile compounds of the plastic are migrating into your water. PETE or #1 PET (polyethylene
terephthalate) plastic water bottles have been shown to leach antimony into water, while the
xenoestrogen bisphenol-A has been routinely added to polycarbonate (#7) plastic water and baby
bottles.
The second reason to give plastic bottles the boot is ecological. The processing and manufacturing
of petroleum-based plastic water bottles is energy consuming. And since plastics are made of
petroleum, they deplete the world’s most valuable resource and increase our dependence on oil. The
plastic industry contributes more than 15 percent of the most carcinogenic industrial releases,
including styrene, benzene, trichloroethane, sulfur oxides, nitrous oxides, methanol, ethylene oxide,
and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Then there’s the problem of waste: #1 PET plastic bottles
generate 100 times more waste than glass bottles, and plastic polymers never fully biodegrade.
If you must buy bottled water on the run, choose glass bottles of Perrier or San Pellegrino, to name
a few. Reuse your glass bottles by filling them with filtered water, and always, always recycle glass