If You Don't Drink the Water?

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Most bottled water is tap water. Sometimes filtered sometimes not.

Indeed, even Coke a cola got caught out in the UK:

BBC NEWS | Business | Coke's water bomb

"Dasani hadn't come from alpine glaciers or trickled out of a precious natural spring - it had come out of the local tap. True, the company put it through a purification process and added mineral salts, but the source was still tap water"

[DumnMad]

Quote from google search; "The Times examined concentrations of 335 chemicals that government agencies have determined were associated with serious health risks. The analysis counted only instances in which the same chemical was detected at least 10 times for a single water system since 2004, at a concentration that the government has said poses at least a 1-in-10,000 risk of causing disease.

That is roughly equivalent to the cancer risk posed by undergoing 100 X-rays. (More information on data sources is at nytimes.com/water-data.) "

Cancel the risk by having one healthy low fat high veggie meal a week

[thompsonisland]

Fermented foods are another be-all for mitigating toxins. I'll have the Pickl-It on board!

[CeesH]

The only way to drink safe water in Brazil.

[DumnMad]

World Health Org provides relative risk graphs that put things in perspective. If you're not concerned about diet and stress(blood pressure), then why worry about tap water unless you are in a third world country.
In the tropics drink boiled water or filtered. The only time I got sick in the Pacific Islands was when they were serving hot but unboiled water for our tea.

http://www.who.int/publications/cra/.../2141-2166.pdf

[thompsonisland]

I manage those risks as well. I pay extremely close attention to my diet, and I recognize that if this effort begins to degrade my quality of life through stress, I need to back off. Nonetheless, I can't see the harm, if it doesn't cause stress. I don't double clip in light air in a home harbor, but I need the resources available if the need arises.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Matt sachs

I agree that our immune systems have to be used and not over-protected, but that doesn't mean "drink tainted water."

Each person has to decide what "tainted" is. I believe that fluoride in the water saved my children's teeth; I know someone who thinks it poisons the water supply.

Opinions will vary.

[thompsonisland]

Individual sensitivities differ, as well.

[Matt sachs]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

I agree that our immune systems have to be used and not over-protected, but that doesn't mean "drink tainted water."

Each person has to decide what "tainted" is. I believe that fluoride in the water saved my children's teeth; I know someone who thinks it poisons the water supply.

Opinions will vary.

I'm just having fun with the bacteria and flu reference. As far as I know (and thats not much) there is no cross protection between bacterial infections and the flu virus.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Matt sachs

I'm just having fun with the bacteria and flu reference. As far as I know (and thats not much) there is no cross protection between bacterial infections and the flu virus.

I don't know if anyone really meant to say that. In fact an exposure to any bacteria only has the *possibility* of protecting you in the future of that exact strain of bacteria. Ditto for virii. But the whole process of vaccination is one of exposing us to very small exposures so the defenses are good when we get a bigger exposure.

I was never the perfect housekeeper and my girls rarely got sick. I had a friend who admits to a little OCD when it comes to germs and the cleanliness of her house, and the list off allergies her daughter has is quite long. There's not a 1:1 correlation there, but the people who say that constant use of hand sanitizers is a bad thing are right.

Wash your hands. That REDUCES your exposure, but doesn't get your hands sterile. Then your body has a chance to deal with small exposures in a way that can help you in a worse one.

[Matt sachs]

YES! I agree 100%. This is the basis for allergy shots, the non-steroid type anyway. Chroinic low level exposure can lead to a build up of immunity to that antigen.

[thompsonisland]

The same is not necessarily true forchemical exposure, however. Bacteria is different; it depends on gut flora. Locals can sometimes drink water in places where nonlocals can't.

[Matt sachs]

Originally Posted by thompsonisland

The same is not necessarily true forchemical exposure, however. Bacteria is different; it depends on gut flora. Locals can sometimes drink water in places where nonlocals can't.

I didnt mean to suggest toxic exposure in low levels is good for you. And in reality most of the allergy shots many folks get are not for bacteria at all. They are for atopic antigens (stuff you breath in the air) I guess the topic has drifted a bit. Bottom line is we all need to feel good about the water we drink. What ever it takes to make you think your water is safe, is worth doing.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by Bash

The OP really ought to watch this 7-minute film: Story of Bottled Water « The Story of Stuff Project It's about how the bottled water industry has spent billions trying to get you to fear tap water.

+1 on that link! IMHO that is one really great presentation technique to get the "message" across to the viewer.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to take a look-see behind those "bottled spring water" machines outside/inside the grocery stores to notice that the water supply pipe to the machine is attached to a normal outside tap water spigot. And to add insult to injury, you pay your money and you have to provide your own plastic container to get your gallon of filtered "tap water." And who knows how long that activated charcoal filter inside the machine has been in there?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Indeed, even Coke a cola got caught out in the UK:

BBC NEWS | Business | Coke's water bomb

"Dasani hadn't come from alpine glaciers or trickled out of a precious natural spring - it had come out of the local tap. True, the company put it through a purification process and added mineral salts, but the source was still tap water"

Ha, ha. That's pretty funny. Bottled water is surely one of the biggest scams ever invented.

OTOH, of course, what difference does it really make? Springs and glaciers also have crap in them. Whatever the source of the water, the key to good drinking water is proper processing -- that is, good filters. Good quality domestic RO filtration produces something close to distilled water -- even the minerals are taken out, most of them (so you need to take a mineral supplement).

Coke's Dasani water is just RO water with minerals added back. That's not to say that there's anything wrong with it, just that we can produce the same thing at home.