The Ugly Truth
About Bottled Water
6 Good Reasons Why Bottled Water Should Be Avoided
Reason #1 – Most bottled water is acidic.
Reason #2 – Water bottlers won’t answer questions about their product.
When the Environmental Working Group (EWG) set out to find the answers to three simple, basic questions about bottled water that consumers have a right to know, they were met with non-answers.
1. Where does your water come from?
2. Is it purified, and if so, how?
3. Is the water tested, and what contaminants have been found?
(Nine out of the 10 top-selling brands failed to provide answers to all three questions.)
Reason #3 – Bottled water is no healthier than tap water, and can actually be harmful.
Most bottled water contains toxins like BPA, (bisphenol-A). This manmade chemical is an estrogen-mimicking compound used in plastic production that has been linked to breast cancer, early puberty, infertility, diabetes and other maladies. It's dangerous enough that it has been banned in baby bottles in Europe, Canada, and even China -- but not in the U.S! Even if the bottle is BPA-free, it may leach potentially harmful BPA-like chemicals.
Reason #4 - 22% of bottled water brands tested contained contaminants above state health limits.
The Natural Resources Defense Council reports the above figure, and adds that consumed over a long period of time, some of these contaminants could cause cancer or other health problems.
Reason #5 – Bottled water is very expensive.
Most bottled water is glorified tap water at 2,000 times the cost.
At an average cost of $1.22 per gallon, consumers are spending 300 times the cost of tap water to drink bottled water. In fact, that number could be even higher, writes Market Strategist Nick Colas, $ 2/3 of bottled water sales are single 16.9 oz (500 ml) bottles, costing much more (about $7.50 per gallon.
That’s almost 2,000x the cost of a gallon of tap water and twice the cost of a gallon of regular gasoline.
Reason #6 – Bottled water is wasteful.
- It is estimated that actually 3 liters of water is used to package 1 liter of bottled water.
- Bottled water wastes fossil fuels in production and transport.
- It takes over 1.5 million barrels of oil to meet the demand of U.S. water bottle manufacturing.
- Rather than being recycled, about 75 percent of the empty plastic bottles end up in our landfills, lakes, streams and oceans,
where they may never fully decompose.
· The filtration and processing of bottled water consumes large amounts of electricity.
· The plastic used to make water bottles-Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)-is derived from oil and generates 100 times the amount of toxic emissions as the same amount of glass.
The environmental cost of the massive consumption of bottled water has led some U.S. and Canadian local governments to consider a ban its sale. While this seems an extreme response, the scientific concerns are well-founded.
NOTE: Reverse osmosis used to "purify" some bottled water strips everything out of the water, including the beneficial minerals our bodies need to survive. Because the minerals have been removed, the water is now acidic, which is detrimental to your health.
Regarding acidity:
- While the FDA tests both bottled water for impurities, it is not required to monitor the water's pH level.
- Neutral water has a pH balance of 7 and an ideal pH level for drinking water 9.5.
- Dr. Robert O. Young tested 60 of the best-known bottle water brands in the world and found that only two had a pH level at - or above 9.5, and 30 (including best-known brands such as Fiji, Aquafina, and Perrier) had a pH level below 7.0, meaning they actually are acidic. The few brands I have tested fall far below those levels, between a 5.4 and 6.0 pH.
- The age of bottled water affects its pH level, as do changes in temperature and exposure to oxygen.
You should never drink Reverse Osmosis or Distilled water on a regular basis without replacing the minerals, which is difficult and expensive. These types of water have been labeled “Dead” water, because the beneficial components of drinking water have been removed!
The higher the pH level, the ORP (antioxidant level), and mineral content in water, the more benefits the body will receive.
Reason #1 – Most bottled water is acidic.
Reason #2 – Water bottlers won’t answer questions about their product.
When the Environmental Working Group (EWG) set out to find the answers to three simple, basic questions about bottled water that consumers have a right to know, they were met with non-answers.
1. Where does your water come from?
2. Is it purified, and if so, how?
3. Is the water tested, and what contaminants have been found?
(Nine out of the 10 top-selling brands failed to provide answers to all three questions.)
Reason #3 – Bottled water is no healthier than tap water, and can actually be harmful.
Most bottled water contains toxins like BPA, (bisphenol-A). This manmade chemical is an estrogen-mimicking compound used in plastic production that has been linked to breast cancer, early puberty, infertility, diabetes and other maladies. It's dangerous enough that it has been banned in baby bottles in Europe, Canada, and even China -- but not in the U.S! Even if the bottle is BPA-free, it may leach potentially harmful BPA-like chemicals.
Reason #4 - 22% of bottled water brands tested contained contaminants above state health limits.
The Natural Resources Defense Council reports the above figure, and adds that consumed over a long period of time, some of these contaminants could cause cancer or other health problems.
Reason #5 – Bottled water is very expensive.
Most bottled water is glorified tap water at 2,000 times the cost.
At an average cost of $1.22 per gallon, consumers are spending 300 times the cost of tap water to drink bottled water. In fact, that number could be even higher, writes Market Strategist Nick Colas, $ 2/3 of bottled water sales are single 16.9 oz (500 ml) bottles, costing much more (about $7.50 per gallon.
That’s almost 2,000x the cost of a gallon of tap water and twice the cost of a gallon of regular gasoline.
Reason #6 – Bottled water is wasteful.
- It is estimated that actually 3 liters of water is used to package 1 liter of bottled water.
- Bottled water wastes fossil fuels in production and transport.
- It takes over 1.5 million barrels of oil to meet the demand of U.S. water bottle manufacturing.
- Rather than being recycled, about 75 percent of the empty plastic bottles end up in our landfills, lakes, streams and oceans,
where they may never fully decompose.
· The filtration and processing of bottled water consumes large amounts of electricity.
· The plastic used to make water bottles-Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)-is derived from oil and generates 100 times the amount of toxic emissions as the same amount of glass.
The environmental cost of the massive consumption of bottled water has led some U.S. and Canadian local governments to consider a ban its sale. While this seems an extreme response, the scientific concerns are well-founded.
NOTE: Reverse osmosis used to "purify" some bottled water strips everything out of the water, including the beneficial minerals our bodies need to survive. Because the minerals have been removed, the water is now acidic, which is detrimental to your health.
Regarding acidity:
- While the FDA tests both bottled water for impurities, it is not required to monitor the water's pH level.
- Neutral water has a pH balance of 7 and an ideal pH level for drinking water 9.5.
- Dr. Robert O. Young tested 60 of the best-known bottle water brands in the world and found that only two had a pH level at - or above 9.5, and 30 (including best-known brands such as Fiji, Aquafina, and Perrier) had a pH level below 7.0, meaning they actually are acidic. The few brands I have tested fall far below those levels, between a 5.4 and 6.0 pH.
- The age of bottled water affects its pH level, as do changes in temperature and exposure to oxygen.
You should never drink Reverse Osmosis or Distilled water on a regular basis without replacing the minerals, which is difficult and expensive. These types of water have been labeled “Dead” water, because the beneficial components of drinking water have been removed!
The higher the pH level, the ORP (antioxidant level), and mineral content in water, the more benefits the body will receive.
