Think Before You Drink

Drinking high quality water is vital to our health and wellness. A gallon of high quality water costs about three times as much as a gallon of gasoline. However, many people show more concern and spend more on what's going into their cars than what's going into their bodies.

When it comes to finding the cleanest water, many people fail to realize that not all waters are created equal.The four BEST brands are Evian, Ice Age, Biota and Fiji. What makes these waters different? A small number on the back of the bottle listing their "Total Dissolved Solids" (sometimes listed at TDS) which is over 300ppm in just about all four brands. Total Dissolved Solids reflects the amount of trace minerals in water. The higher the number of trace minerals, the healthier the water. These trace minerals give your body vital nutrients that are essential for your hydration, digestion, elimination and even brain function. In comparison, softer waters such as Crystal Geyser and Arrowhead are extremely low in TDS, and fail to hydrate us as efficiently as higher quality brands (in fact, many people complain that they can drink and drink Crystal Geyser and Arrowhead without ever truly feeling hydrated). Other brands, such as Aquafina, have even been proven to be nothing more than bottled tap water....who wants to pay to drink that?

Of course drinking bottled water is a touchy subject when it comes to being environmentally conscious, so if you have access to reverse osmosis water (such as a reverse osmosis filter in your home or grocery store) it's much healthier to avoid bottled waters altogether. But if I had to choose between drinking bottled water and drinking tap, I'd take bottled water in a heartbeat, and here's why:

A recent Associated Press investigation recently proved that particles of pharmaceutical drugs including antibiotics, anti-psychotics, sex hormones and mood stabilizers have been found in the tap water of major cities. Although utilities insist that the tap water is safe to drink, scientists fear the long-term results of drinking water containing particles of drugs ranging from ibuprofen to birth control on our long-term health….and so should you!

So, how do drugs get in the water?

The answer is simple. While some of the drug gets absorbed into the body, the rest of the drug is flushed down the toilet and eventually ends up back in our drinking water.

The Associated Press surveyed the drinking water of the nation’s 50 largest cities and found:

In Philadelphia, there were 56 pharmaceuticals or byproducts in treated drinking water, including medicines for pain, infection, high cholesterol, asthma, epilepsy, mental illness and heart problems. Sixty-three pharmaceuticals or byproducts were found in the city's watersheds.

In Southern California, anti-epileptic and anti-anxiety medications were detected in a portion of the treated drinking water for 18.5 million people.

In Nothern New Jersey’s drinking water they found a metabolized angina medicine and the mood-stabilizing carbamazepine.

In Arizona, three medications were found in drinking water, including an antibiotic.

And what about in San Francisco, where the argument is consistently in SUPPORT of drinking our tap water? A sex hormone was detected.

So what’s the solution for finding clean water to drink? Stick to the four brands I listed above or only drink water from a high-quality reverse-osmosis filter.

Water Dos and Don'ts:

1. DO store water in a dark, cool place and in a glass bottle if possible.
2. DON'T purchase water from smoky plastic containers as these containers leak all sorts of chemicals into your water.
3. If you DO consume water out of a plastic bottle, make sure to keep it out of the sunlight at all times.
4. DO consume water at room temperature, especially when exercising. Cold water will sit in your stomach until it reaches body temperature (creating a very uncomfortable workout).
5. DO drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water daily. For example, if you are a 200 lb male, drink 100 oz of water daily.
6. DON'T drink water out of re-usable plastic bottles such as Nalgene Bottles. Although durable, they have been found to release harmful chemicals into your water. Stick to glass bottles whenever possible.