Home Water Filtration Systems: The Dangers of Tap Water
Home Water Filtration Systems: The Dangers of Tap Water: there’s so much information out there about how the water’s contaminated with antibiotics, medications, hormones, and other dangerous toxins. These are all in the water we drink. It’s critical we accept the fact that our water is toxic. This is not just in Flint, Michigan, the problems with our water are nationwide. It doesn’t matter if the water is considered “good” in your city or state, it’s still loaded with pharmaceuticals and the top three water toxins that wreak havoc on the nervous system, thyroid, hormones, and brain health.
The #1 new hidden danger of tap water: Pharmaceuticals.
No one is really talking about this, but it’s a very big health concern. Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other non-biodegradable drugs are not being filtered from drinking water supplies. In Taihu Lake, high levels of 25 pharmaceuticals and antibiotics were detected in the water.
Among those pharmaceuticals found were 3 common antibiotics:
- Chlortetracycline
- Chloramphenicol
- Erythromycin
Others pharmaceuticals found in drinking water include:
- Atenolol (a beta-blocker)
- Carbamazepine (an anticonvulsant)
- Gemfibrozil (an antilipidemic)
- Meprobamate (an antianxiety medication)
- Phenytoin (an anticonvulsant)
Another recent study monitoring pharmaceuticals and personal care products in two drinking water treatment plants, the researchers detected parabens and UV filters from sunscreen, and ibuprofen in most of the water samples. Methyl paraben, a compound found in sunscreen was detected in about 90% of the samples. These compounds were still present after water treatment.
The researchers stated; ‘The potential effects of the presence of these compounds at the ppt levels in drinking water are still unknown.’
More Estrogens in My Water Please?
No thank you! However, estrogens from birth control pills are also being found in water treatment plants globally. These estrogens have been linked to breast cancer and prostate cancer, and also disrupt the delicate ecosystems, affecting wildlife.
The researchers concluded that synthetic estrogen, (ethinyl estradiol) found in our water supply is a big cause for concern for both human health and the health of our environment. According to a Scientific American article, exposure to catfish caught near untreated sewage overflows doubled human breast cancer cell growth.
This is really scary because we are drinking and cooking with water that contains these dangerous antibiotics and compounds. This information is just not out there for the general public, and it’s a huge concern…but there is more than just pharmaceuticals in our water. There are also three other common, yet, dangerous toxins in your water you need to avoid.
The Three Top Water Toxins You Need to Avoid At All Cost:
#1 Lead:
- Lead was discovered in some of the school’s water fountains and kitchens in Tampa, Florida.
- In Charlotte, North Carolina, lead was found in twenty seven schools.
Both of these shocking discoveries occurred in 2018.
Water are some of the symptoms of chronic (long term) lead exposure?
- ADHD: Researchers found strong evidence of a relationship between lead exposure and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
- Asthma: Researchers found a correlation between lead in the blood and an increased risk of asthma in children.
- Increased Inflammation: Researchers found that exposure to lead increases pro-inflammatory cytokines in the blood.
- Obesity: Researchers have linked lead exposure in childhood to adult obesity.
Unfortunately, lead is not the only toxin found in our water.
#2 Fluoride:
Fluoride and Chlorine are purposely put in water. We’re led to believe these are good for us, but that’s not the case:
A study conducted on mice found that excessive fluoride exposure(9) “is associated with damage to cellular processes of different tissue types, due to changes in enzymatic metabolism and breakdown of redox balance.” The study concluded that “fluoride may be a toxic agent, and long-term exposure to excessive doses should be avoided.”1 The bottom line is this: we have an extremely toxic mix of chlorine, fluoride, lead, and now, medications that are finding their way into our country’s water supply.
Fluoride also has a negative effect on thyroid health.
In a very recent groundbreaking study (10) on fluoride in drinking water and the effects on the thyroid, researchers found a very strong correlation between the concentration of fluoride present in water and thyroid hormones. The biggest implication being that TSH levels (one of the indicators of adverse thyroid health) were higher when higher concentrations of fluoride were present in the water. The more water the participants consumed, the greater the TSH as well. These researchers suggested that an at home water filtration/purification system is recommended for people with impaired thyroid function.
#3 Chlorine:
Chlorine is used to treat water in order to protect the public from infectious diseases. However, this chlorine plays a big role in the cancer risk associated with drinking water. According to these researchers(11),
“The by-products of chlorination are associated with increased risk of bladder and rectal cancer, possibly accounting for 5000 cases of bladder cancer and 8000 cases of rectal cancer per year in the United States.”
A person may read this and think all they have to do is stop drinking tap water, but unfortunately, that’s not the case:
- Showers. When we take showers, we take them in tap water. As the bathroom steams up, we inhale chlorine, fluoride, and every other chemical that’s in the water, directly into our lungs. A 10-minute shower is an equivalent of drinking 10-11 glasses of chlorinated water. It’s not just absorbing into our body’s largest organ the skin.
- Dishwashers. Not only does the dishwasher use tap water, but the soap used also puts a film on everything you’re eating from (skillets, pots, pans, utensils, plates, glasses, etc.) That soap is being ingested every time you eat or drink something washed in the dishwasher.
Here’s another concern: When the dishwasher is running, it emits a toxic gas from the soap as well. When you open it, you see that big toxic flume come out, which is also inhaled and goes directly into our lungs. Whether you inhale it as a plume or slowly as it seeps out into your indoor air supply this is nothing you want in your body.
- Fruits and veggies. We’re told to rinse off our fruits and veggies before eating them. Why? Because of dangerous pesticides like glyphosate that are being sprayed on them. While this is sound advice, the problems can be magnified if rinsed (and cooked) in tap water as well.
- Brushing our teeth. The majority of us use tap water to brush our teeth. This exposes us to harmful toxins as well.
How to Protect You and Your family From These Four Dangerous Body Altering Toxins
Choosing a Home Filtration System
Before talking about home water filtration systems, I felt it was important for me to explain why a person should invest in one. Ask yourself: how many diseases or health issues such as cellular inflammation are caused by years of simply drinking tap water? How many people are treating the symptoms of something that could have been caused by ingesting toxins in tap water? We may never know the exact numbers, but this is a real possibility. The key to good health is getting to the source of the problem and removing it promptly.
What Options Are Available to Clean My Water?
Dangers of tap water: Nature’s Balanced Water $aver – Reverse Osmosis. This water filtration system is one of the best available. It is specifically designed to remove dangerous toxins, including pesticides and pharmaceutical drugs. What makes this unit even more amazing is it adds alkaline minerals back into the water, which raises pH levels. This feature makes it the perfect drinking water. Dime Water at 760-734-5787 and use promo code CELLTV to save 10%
Not only does this Reverse Osmosis System remove 99% of the fluoride from tap water, but it also makes buying bottled water a thing of the past. This water filtration system is ideal for both home and office use.
Whole House Water Filtration – Aquafer Water Source Plus. This is the only system needed to purify and filter most city water systems.
Aquafer Water Source Plus offers the following features:
- Clears out chlorine and chloramines
- Removes trace heavy metals
- Eliminates fluoride
- Prevents hard water scale
- Renders water hardness harmless (same benefits of a traditional salt based softener without the slippery feel)
Invest In Your Family’s Health!
Every day, we are bombarded with a variety of harmful toxins. While we may not be able to avoid all contaminants, we must do everything we can to minimize our exposure to the ones we know of. Investing in a water filtration system is an excellent way to protect our families from many of these hidden dangers.
References:
- Yuelong J, Xiumei Hong Ph.D. & Guoying W. et al. (2018) A Prospective Birth Cohort Study on Early Childhood Lead Levels and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: New Insight on Sex Differences.The Journal of Pediatrics Volume 199, Pages 124-131. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2018.03.076
- I-Jen W, Wilfried J, & J Karmaus et al. (2017). Lead exposure, IgE, and the risk of asthma in children. Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology volume 27, pages 478–483.
- Benotti, M, Trenholm, RA & Vanderford BJ et al. (2009). Pharmaceuticals and Endocrine Disrupting Compounds in U.S. Drinking Water. Environmental Science and Technology. Volume 43 (3), pages 597–603. Doi: 10.1021/es801845a
- A Machoń-Grecka, M Dobrakowski & M Boroń et al. (2017). The influence of occupational chronic lead exposure on the levels of selected proinflammatory cytokines and angiogenic factors. Sage Journals, Volume 36, Issue 5. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0960327117703688
- Park S, Skaar DA, & Jirtle RL et al. (2016). Epigenetics, obesity and early-life cadmium or lead exposure. Epigenomics. Volume 9, Number 1. Doi: https://doi.org/10.2217/epi-2016-0047
- Xia-Lin H, Yi-Fan B. & Jun-Jian H. (2017). Occurrence of 25 pharmaceuticals in Taihu Lake and their removal from two urban drinking water treatment plants and a constructed wetland. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. Volume 24, Issue 17, pp 14889–14902.
- Aristizabal-Ciro C., Botero-Coy AM & López FJ et al. (2017). Monitoring pharmaceuticals and personal care products in reservoir water used for drinking water supply. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. Volume 24, Issue 8, pp 7335–7347.
- Adeela M, Songa X & Yuan Y et al. (2017). Environmental impact of estrogens on human, animal and plant life: A critical review. Environment International. Volume 99, Pages 107-119. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2016.12.010
- ARTICLE: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/birth-control-in-water-supply/
- Miranda GH, Gomes BA &, Bittencourt LO et al. (2018). Chronic Exposure to Sodium Fluoride Triggers Oxidative Biochemistry Misbalance in Mice: Effects on Peripheral Blood Circulation. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity. Article ID 8379123 doi: 10.1155/2018/8379123
- Zohreh K, Masoud M, & Amir HM et al. (2018). Impact of Drinking Water Fluoride on Human Thyroid Hormones: A Case- Control Study. Scientific Reports. Volume 8, Article number: 2674.
- Morris, RD (1995). Drinking water and cancer. Environ Health Perspective 103(Suppl 8): 225–231. doi: [10.1289/ehp.95103s8225]