If you are a client of the Well of Life Center, you should know the importance of drinking water. Your body, being make up of 75% water, may need more water than you realize to function properly; in fact, your daily requirement of water is half of your body weight in fluid ounces.
Drinking the proper amount of water can…
…help transport vital nutrients and oxygen to each cell of your body…
…decrease fatigue…
…prevent kidney stones and protect against urinary tract infections…
…hydrate your skin cells, guarding against dry skin, wrinkles, and even sunburn…
…increase mental clarity…
…help your body detoxify, making you less susceptible to anything from allergies to cancer…
…improve your mood…
…protect and moisturized your joints…
…help you lose weight…
…and much more!
Ok, so drinking water is important. But what kind of water should we be drinking? We certainly have our choices: well, tap, spring, bottled, filtered, distilled, sparkling, mineral-enhanced, flavored, and the list goes on! Let’s stop and take a closer look at some of our key choices.
Tap or Well Water
Tap and/or well water is certainly the cheapest route to take, and many believe it’s the safest. But before you jump on the Tap Train, there are a couple of things you should know.
Since 2004, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit organization devoted to protecting public health and the environment through the power of public information, has tested municipal water in 42 states, and has found over 300 pollutants in the tap water Americans are drinking every day. These pollutants include chloroform, dieldrin (a pesticide), nitrate, radium, alpha and beta particle activity (both are forms of radiation), arsenic, perchlorate (an additive found in rocket fuel), and MTBE (an additive found in gasoline), among other chemicals, most of which are unregulated by the Environmental Protection Agency.
You may be thinking, “Okay, that’s municipal water. I have my own well, so I’m still alright.” Unfortunately, this may be far from the truth. Groundwater runoff, rainwater that runs over city streets and fertilized or pesticide-sprayed fields, and then seeps into our ground, rivers, and streams, is thought to be one of the biggest sources of water pollution. Your well may be playing host to not only the chemicals found in the environment surrounding your home, but also the most dangerous water-borne parasites, cryptosporidium and giardia.
Bottled Water
Is bottled water the best choice for our wallets? No. Is it the best choice for our environment? No. But it is the best water we can drink, right? That depends.
Bottled water generally comes in three varieties: distilled, spring, and purified.
Distilled water is usually made from sea water that has been boiled, its steam captured, condensed, and collected to create completely pure water, nothing but two H’s and an O. Distilled water has many uses, but in the body, there are few. It may be helpful while undergoing a detoxification program, but for the average person, regularly consuming distilled water will actually disrupt the body’s natural (and essential) mineral balance.
Spring water, unlike distilled water, contains natural minerals from the earth, including beneficial calcium and magnesium. Unfortunately, like well water, its surrounding environments are contaminating much of the spring water found on our shelves. Many bottling companies use words like alpine, arctic, and glacier to bring to mind visions of cold, clear, babbling brooks running down pristine mountainsides, right into the bottle in your hand. In reality, these springs are located in places like New Jersey, Ohio, and Texas, and are surrounded by factories, industrial plants, garbage dumps, and farmlands.
So that leaves purified bottled water. That’s got to be good enough to drink, right? Actually, yes. Most bottled water labeled “purified” has gone through reverse osmosis filtration, the most rigorous and effective form of filtration on the market.
Some of the best bottled water you can buy (based on their source, filtration, and other techniques used, unique to each brand) include Penta, Smartwater, Fiji, and Voss.
So if you want to drink the proper amount of water without having to take out a loan to pay for expensive bottled brands, what are you supposed to do?
Filter your own water!
There are hundreds of options for you to choose from when it comes to filtering your water, from pitcher-style filters, such as Brita or Pur, to countertop or faucet attachments, to under-sink filtration systems, or even whole-house filtration systems. To find which type of filtration will work best for your home and your budget, visit www.waterfiltercomparisons.com. Remember, any type of filtration is better than none!
If you are interested in finding out how you can help dig wells and get clean water to those in need in Haiti and around the world, visit www.wflhaiti.com.