The vital importance of pure WATER for GOOD HEALTH

Your body is roughly 70% water. Water is the primary nutrient transporter, and water is involved in or responsible for just about every bodily process. Many common health problems— including headaches, bladder/kidney disorders, constipation, hot flashes, heartburn, even muscle pain, arthritis and age-related complaints—can be alleviated through proper hydration.

Water is essential for proper breathing, digestion, elimination, circulation, absorption, and more. Without water the human body can survive only three-five days, whereas the body can survive without food for thirty-forty days!

So, understanding just how critical water is to your health and well-being, it makes sense to be drinking the best quality water possible, right?

WHAT IS THE BEST WATER YOU CAN DRINK?

Think bottled water is your best option? Think again!  Bottled water has become a HUGE business. Companies like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Nestle have been quietly pilfering public water supplies across the nation, with an eye on monopolizing and privatizing our public drinking water, capitalizing on the fear of unhealthy tap water yet bottling what is essentially the same stuff and selling it back to us at a hefty premium.

If you buy a 20 oz. bottle of Aquafina (PEPSI ) or Dasani (COCA-COLA) or Ice Mountain (Nestle) water for $1.00, you are paying $6.40 per gallon of drinking water—roughly 60% more than a gallon of gasoline! Five-gallon water bottles typically run about a dollar per gallon. Compare this to the average municipal tap water at just about 1 cent per gallon…

Giant multinationals have been privatizing water supplies in Third World countries around the world for years. Bottled water has become a multi-billion dollar industry that seemingly every greedy corporate entity wants a piece of. The business of water has been compared to the oil industry as the next gravy train to ride.

Predictably, bottlers are not always scrupulous in their sourcing and/or filtering techniques. Conclusions from an NRDC four-year study* of the bottled water industry showed that roughly 20-25% of the water tested had contaminant levels enough to cause concern. Unlike public water supply which falls under the jurisdiction/regulation of the EPA, bottled water is considered a “food” product (go figure!) It falls under the oversight of the FDA—but only if the water crosses state lines and about 70% of it never does. The FDA currently has just ONE person responsible for ALL bottled water regulations and oversight—and that person has other responsibilities as well. In short, much bottled water remains totally unregulated and many companies offer no better than expensive tap water—and that in an environmentally disastrous package! (Most bottled water is also likely to be fluoridated too, which is a potential health concern that you may wish to research. Read on below for more on that and related links.)

Still need more convincing? Consider this: the plastic that most single-serve water comes in is creating a legacy of unprecedented environmental disasters— requiring an estimated 47 million gallons of oil to produce, and leaving behind 1.5 million tons of plastic waste annually. In 2005, it was estimated that Americans consumed roughly 29 billion bottles of water, with only 20-25% of those “empties” being recycled. That leaves hundreds of millions of plastic water bottles in our landfills, contaminating our waterways, streets, neighborhoods and parks. There are huge “islands” of plastic waste in the middle of the oceans, and “plastic sand” beaches causing untold toxic harm to marine life and entire ecosystems worldwide…and no resolution is in sight.

SO, WHAT ABOUT TAP WATER?

Much of the tap water in our homes today simple does not taste and/or look appetizing. In addition, tap water has gotten a really bad rap, thanks to the marketing genius of the corporate bottlers. In reality, municipal public water supplies are monitored by the EPA which is much more stringent than the FDA, whose lack of regulatory effort is deplorable. For example, while the FDA actually makes allowances for a certain amount of any type of coliform bacteria (E. coli, etc.) in bottled water, (EEWW!) EPA standards for city tap water thankfully prohibit any confirmed E. coli or fecal coliform bacteria.

Tap water can come from surface water (lakes, streams, reservoirs, etc.) or from underground sources including wells and aquifers. Regardless of the source of your tap water, it often contains naturally-occurring harmful impurities such as arsenic, iron, lead, radon, and other heavy metals. Contaminants such as herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, asbestos and industrial chemicals that have leached into the groundwater or surface water are also common. Further contamination can come from the degradation of underground or household pipes. Water can contain biological contaminants such as viruses, parasites, and bacteria—and remnants of the chlorine, carbon, lime, phosphates, and other potentially harmful, sometimes carcinogenic, substances used by your water provider to adjust the pH, kill bacteria, remove cloudiness, etc.
Trihalomethanes are a family of chemicals that form when the chlorine used to disinfect public water supplies reacts with rotting organic material such as sewage, farm runoff, and even dead leaves and insects. These chemicals are linked to bladder cancer and other serious disorders. When reviewing water quality from 201 large water utilities (serving 100 million Americans) the Environmental Working Group concluded that every one of those tested was polluted with trihalomethanes.

Lastly but importantly, there is the debate that rages on about the whole-scale fluoridation of public water supplies, with big business and US government agencies still clinging to their claims that fluoridation is preventing tooth decay and causing no potential health risks. More than half the cities in the US fluoridate their water, while at the same time, evidence is mounting that widespread fluoridation may be responsible for an epidemic of thyroid disease, and that it may be a contributing factor to bone fractures, arthritis, lowered IQ in children and some cancers. Many European nations, Japan, and even China have condemned the process of fluoridating public water supplies.

So, how safe is the water you drink? Ask for your municipality’s Consumer Confidence Report, which is published annually by your local water utility. There are numerous website resources where you can continue your research. Here are just a few:

http://water.epa.gov/
http://www.wqa.org/
http://www.ewg.org/tapwater/index.php
http://www.fluoridealert.org/issues/water/
http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/exesum.asp
http://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2013/03/finding-water-filter-works-you
http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/index.html
http://www.nsf.org/consumer/bottled_water/index.asp?program=BottledWat
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/warning-this-daily-habit-_b_741635.html
http://www.realfarmacy.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-fluoridated-water/#cjZTy4DlRvEXEf4S.01
http://www.redcross.org/images/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m4440181_Food_and_Water-English.revised_7-09.pdf

Still thirsty for more information? Here are a few movies that you may want to watch: FLOW, TAPPED, THIRST, BLUE GOLD: World Water Wars, and RUNNING DRY.

These are excellent documentaries that help bring the current subject of water into focus. Do your own research and decide for yourself!

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We believe the BERKEY filters makes most sense!

For HEALTH: Drinking pure, clean water is essential to good health. BERKEY systems are revolutionary! Far superior to other filtration systems, they remove harmful pathogenic bacteria (99.99%), cysts and parasites as well as unhealthy chemical contaminates and impurities while leaving in the essential minerals your body needs. BERKEY systems produce virtually the most healthful, clean and delicious water available!

For PETS: You want the best for your pets as well as for your family! BERKEY systems provide an efficient and economical source of pure water for your entire family!

For SPORT: Used by hunters, campers, cyclists, runners, boating enthusiasts and explorers, Sport BERKEY, BERKEY Go Kit, Travel BERKEY and other systems are ideal for all sports and adventures!

For CONVENIENCE: Berkey Systems are simple to set-up and begin using…just wash out the unit with soap and water, prime the elements, fill with water, and you’re done! BERKEY Water Purifiers are elegant in design and can be set-up anywhere. They require no electricity or complicated hookups and are portable. The filters can easily be cleaned and re-cleaned and will last for years. And BERKEY systems have a better flow rate than most water coolers and other filtration systems, too!

For RELIABILITY: Used by the royal household in England, by relief organizations like UNICEF, Peace Corps, Red Cross, and businesses and individuals in over 140 countries worldwide, BERKEY systems have become the standard of excellence by which all other water filtration systems are measured!

For VALUE: BERKEY systems are easily the most economical water purification systems that you can own. Their unique design allows you to easily remove and re-clean the purification elements over and over again, and each element lasts 3,000 gallons! The average household will only need to replace their filters every 5-10 years! With the BERKEY system, pure, clean, filtered water will cost the average household as little as 1.78 cents per gallon (4 cents per gallon for the first few years, until initial purchase of system has paid off. Calculations are based on average pricing of a BIG BERKEY unit with two elements.)

For EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS: BERKEY systems can easily purify ordinary tap water yet they are so powerful that they efficiently purify raw, untreated water from such sources as remote lakes and streams. BERKEY systems are the ideal water purification systems to have on hand in the event of natural disasters as well as local or national emergencies when treated tap water and/or electricity may not be available.

For THE PLANET: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE! BERKEY systems require no electricity—indeed not even any running water! What’s more, the filtering elements last for several thousand gallons of pure water—several years in most situations—and can be cleaned and reused repeatedly. And with BERKEY Systems, you’re not contributing to the mounting problem of plastic bottle waste in our environment…

We use BERKEY filters in our home and business and recommend BERKEY water purification systems. For more information and to purchase, visit at our website now!