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Water is life! Our bodies are made up or 50%-65% water so getting enough water and clean water is important. You can go weeks without food, but can't go more than three days without water. We know it is important that we have access to clean water to drink, but as I have said in previous posts regarding skincare, personal care products/cosmetics, and our clothing, what goes on our bodies is just as important as what goes in our body. In the US, we use chloride to disinfect our water, and as a result we get three hundred to six hundred times the amount we need a day. This leads to a build up that causes a carcinogenic effect. Our skin is our largest organ so it will absorb the chemicals from the water you bathe and shower in.
Below you will find the best options for getting high quality water in your house, what water to avoid, and how Paris cleans their water without using any chemicals at all.
Best options for clean water in your house
Below are several options for getting the best water possible for your home. Regardless of what type of water you drink, adding a little lemon, lime, or orange in your water makes it living water and has added benefits.
Whole House Water Filters
If you can afford it, this is a great option! I would recommend researching a couple companies in your area (they vary from state to state) to find out what they offer. What you want to look for is a company that has a product that can filter Flouride (which is a neurotoxin/by-product of aluminum), chlorine, toxic heavy metals, pathogens, solvents, petrochemicals, and old pharmaceuticals out.
We have a whole house water filter that is wonderful. The best part is, after they install the unit, there is no maintenance, no filter to change and it last for 7 years. We never have to worry about he quality of the water we are drinking, cooking with, making coffee with, washing our hands with, taking a shower/bath in etc.
Reverse Osmosis
This is another good option. When we were researching different options for our home our plumber talked us out of this system saying so much water is wasted just to make a single class of drinkable water. This is one of the main reasons we decided to use a whole house water filter instead. In order to produce one gallon of reverse osmosis water, up to 25 gallons of water is sent to the drain (depending on the age of the system and what is in the incoming water). Some people believe reverse osmosis demineralizes you because the RO system removes all minerals from the water. This is not true, There are still some solids left in it, so you will not lose trace minerals.
Berkey Water Filter
This water filter will get out metals, pathogens, petrochemicals, solvents, Fluoride (get the Fluoride attachment), and old pharmaceuticals, It is a great counter top option. They also make a great shower filter, which reduces up to 95% of chlorine.
Pitcher Filters
Pitcher filters are not going to get everything out of the water the way a whole house water filter or Reverse Osmosis will. This one by Norwex helps remineralize the water and maintain mineral balance and neutral pH. It has a four-stage filtration process that uses exclusive magnesium technology for better-tasting water. It helps reduce impurities such as chlorine, cooper, cadmium, mercury, and lead. It reduces heavy metals by 95% and chlorine by 90%.
Bottled Water
- Aside from the environmental impact, there are a few other downsides to bottled water.
- It is stored in plastic, which can leach endocrine-disrupting chemicals into the water. Bits of microplastic can be detected.
- Bottled water is an unregulated industry, and it is up to each bottled water company to test and screen its water (or they may not do this).
- Many bottled water sources are now what the labels claim, companies take water from municipal sources, meaning it is tap water.
Spring Water
This is a great option, just make sure it does not have any additives (like salt). Mountain Valley Spring water is high in minerals. Another great option is Volvic Spring Water, it is a great mineral water. Minerals run through volcano rock and it is not stored in cheap plastic
Well water
If you have well water, you don’t have to worry about Flouride or chlorine, but you still need to worry about metals.
Water I would avoid
I would personally avoid or limit drinking Alkaline water above 8.0, carbonated water, distilled water, and using an alkaline ionizer.
Alkaline water
Some experts claim that a PH of 9.5 is most suitable for our needs. Unfortunately, this is not the case, when very high alkaline water enters the stomach something happens. Nothing liquid is suppose to leave the stomach unless it has been balanced, leveled out, neutralized, taken apart, and put back together again. When highly alkaline water enters the stomach, the stomach must focus on bringing that highly alkaline water down to the right PH before it can be used. If someone drinks a large volume of high -PH, ionized, alkalized water at once, your stomach will need help from your liver. The liver releases a different batch of bile than usual. This bile is made of minerals, enzymes, and complex hormone blends. This takes energy away from your liver cleansing, and instead spends it neutralizing the water. Water which is a PH between 7.5-8.0 is perfect and will not take extra reserves to process.
I f you like to drink Alkaline water, My favorite is called Flow, it has a PH balance of 8.1. I wouldn't drink it everyday, but it is nice to have on occasion if you like flavored drinks. A few things I like about this company, Their minerals come from the earth, not an artificial process. It is the difference between organic and conventional. They do not contain any juice, sugar , sweeteners, calories, preservatives, and no GMOs. Their packaging is made of sustainably sourced fibers with a plant-based cap. They are 100% recyclable and 68% renewable materials. They are also B-Corp certified (which means they are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment).
Carbonated Water
A lot of people love drinking La Croix or other brands of carbonated water. I read an article about Kelly Ripa's alkaline diet.
Her nutritionist said one of her biggest mistakes was drinking carbonated water. "Carbonated water breaks down into something called carbonic acid, which is one of the most acidic substances in the body and that was really one of the biggest things that she learned as we started uncovering what was causing a lot of her inflammation."
"Carbonated water is infused with carbon dioxide gas, which is one of the most acidic chemicals in the body that is why breathing is so important because it’s about getting in the oxygen but more importantly it’s about getting out the carbon dioxide gas."
Alkaline Ionizer
A home appliance which claims to raise the pH of drinking water by using electrolysis to separate the incoming water stream into acidic and alkaline components.
The problem with these machines, they create dead water that can not be brought back to live with a squeeze of lemon/lime/orange because this water has been electrocuted. The process separates ions and mutates the water.
Distilled Water
Remember when I said water needs minerals and if it doesn’t have any, it will look for it in your body? If you drink distilled water, you will lose trace minerals. This water is not completely purified, it does not go through a filtration system. It will get most metals, and petrochemicals out. It will get all pathogens out.
Down to Earth
I have talked about the show "Down to Earth" before, during the second episode, Zac and Darin visit Paris to learn more about their water filtration system, that filters water without adding any chemicals. In Paris they describe their water as one of the most controlled products you can eat or drink, and they believe everyone should have access to clean water (residents, tourists, homeless people). They have water fountains all over the city, some are even sparking water. They believe water is a common good, not a business.
Their fountains, not only provide clean drinking water for everyone, but help eliminate the single use plastic bottle problem. Did you know, a million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute and that number is expected to jump another 20% by 2021.
Clean water without using chemicals
They are able to treat 300,000 cubic meters per day using their filtration system.
Their first screening removes all the big stuff from the water. Next, is the clarification process, the water goes through to remove all particles you can see. Next, they test for 300,000 different contaminants in the water like pesticides, pharmaceuticals, arsenic, etc to make sure it is below the acceptable standard for human consumption (and Paris has high standards).
The Polishing Process
They use activated ozone, UV light and carbon to kill dissolved pollutants like pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and bacteria. They have big tanks with ozone in the water. No bacteria can survive in a high oxygen environment. This process is more efficient than chloride.
UV light Purification
They use ultraviolet rays to penetrate the harmful pathogens in the water, destroying illness-causing microorganisms by attacking their genetic core. No chemicals, just light. I have a water bottle by Larq, that uses UV light purification technology. I bring it with me when I travel and I am not sure I will have access to filtered water.
