The truth is out! There needs to be tighter rules on bottled water. Many people think that if they are paying for water in a bottle that it must be natural, healthy and pure.
Fact 1 - Water in plastic bottles can be high in BPA -Bisphenol A, a chemical which can mimic human estrogen and which is linked to cancer. I suggest checking out these amazing resources on the Environmental Working Group website to find out more. For more information on the effects of BPA, check out my blog Xenoestrogens & Hormonal Health All Ages.
Fact 2 - Bottled water can be untreated and have more pollution and pesticide run off from farmers fields than tap water!
Fact 3 - Trucking water in from France or Norway is one of the greatest ways to increase your carbon footprint. Save the environment and filter you water at home! I like the General Ecology Canada's water filters. Check out their informative website.
Fact 4 - Bottled water is chlorine free. I agree, that is a benefit, but something must be done to prevent bacteria growth. (There are other options) If there are a few bacteria in the bottle when it was sealed, they can massively reproduce sitting on the self. See the study below released in 2010 by the American Society of Microbiology in San Diego.
CBC News Report: High Bacterial Rates Found in Bottled Water
"More than 70 per cent of bottled water samples from Canada contain bacterial rates that far exceed recommended limits in the U.S., suggests a study presented at the general meeting of the American Society of Microbiology in San Diego.
"Heterotrophic bacteria counts in some of the bottles were found to be in revolting figures of 100 times more than the permitted limit," said Sonish Azam, a researcher on the study. Heterotrophic bacteria are a category which includes all bacteria that survive by consuming organic matter." To read the rest of this article click here.
Lifefactory Water Bottle
What can we do?
Filter your water at home and bring it with you in a metal or glass bottle. I love to use the good old mason jar because it cost next to nothing, taste the best and are incredibly easy to clean. Lately I have been sporting a Lifefactory's silicon covered glass water bottle. A bit sexier that a mason jar and can be dropped without cracking.
My favorite water filter, made by General Ecology, is the Seagull® IV X-1F Water Purifier. It is stainless steel and removes the most amount of chemicals, microbes and pesticides.
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The Story of Bottled Water
The Story of Bottled Water is a video that was released on March 22, 2010 (World Water Day). It employs the Story of Stuff style to tell the story of manufactured demand—how you get Americans to buy more than half a billion bottles of water every week when it already flows from the tap. Over five minutes, the film explores the bottled water industry’s attacks on tap water and its use of seductive, environmental-themed advertising to cover up the mountains of plastic waste it produces. To watch this educational and entertaining video, click here.
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Comments
Good to hear you are onboard
Cheers, Julie
I just wanted to share however that my understanding of Bisphenol A is that it is Fat soluble and not water soluble (thus it is hydrophobic meaning it repels the water, and basically stays in the plastic). I think where Bisphenol A is concerned, we need to be careful for fats/oils sold in plastic bottles. Canola, Olive, Coconut oil sold in plastic bottles is at risk of being heavily saturated with Bishphenol A due to the attraction between the compound and fat! Just fun food for thought, keeping the discussion alive! Cheers.
Thanks for writing in! You are correct in saying that oil and acidic foods will leach BPA but water, depending on its acidity level, still has the power to transfer BPA. Imagine how acidic distilled water is. Also important to note that freezing or heating (i.e. in the back seat of your car) a plastic bottle will compound the leaching of BPA into any liquid/wet substance.
I have seen so many parent a freeze plastic water bottle to put in their kids lunch kits to keep the food cold. By the time lunch rolls around, the ice has melted and the water is ready for drinking.
Also amazing to see people heat up water in plastic cups in the microwave but that's another compounded issue!
Cheers, Julie