More than half of Americans drink bottled water, and more than one third of Americans drink bottled water on a regular basis.   Is that a good thing?  Yes and no.  Drinking water is definitely better than drinking a soda, but you are probably not drinking  the “pure” and healthy water that you think you are. 

There are three significant reasons not to drink bottled water which include: health issues, the high cost of bottled water, and the environmental cost of bottled water.  Covering all three issues in one article would make this a very long story.  Therefore, I have broken down the article into three Parts.  This Part deals with the health issues of drinking bottled water.

Health issues of bottled water:

CTV news reported this week about a recent study in Montreal, Canada, that is “raising worries about bacteria in bottled water, noting they’ve found “revolting” levels that could put certain vulnerable people at risk.” Researchers from a laboratory in Montreal started to randomly test bottled water for bacteria when one of their employees complained about the taste of the water from a bottle and then became ill.  They tested several brands and found more than 70 percent of the samples contained bacteria levels that were dozens of times higher than the levels permitted by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP).  That doesn’t mean that all bottled water, or even the bottles that they studied were unsafe.  In fact, the researches indicated that the level of contaminants found in the bottled water that they studied would most likely only cause adverse effects in those that are more susceptible to illness.   

While the potential of the bottled water to cause illness is certainly important, I believe the real significance of the research is that it dispels the public image that bottled water is “pure” and healthy.  The “pure” and healthy perception held by the public has been created over many years by sophisticated marketing campaigns that have cost hundreds of millions of dollars.  That’s right, hundred of millions of dollars.  Bottled water is that profitable.

You can read the article at: http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100525/bottled-water-bacteria-100525/20100525/?hub=TorontoNewHome

It has been estimated that nearly half of bottled water is simply tap water that has been filtered.  That may provide some comfort, especially if the filtration eliminates the foul taste and odour of chlorine and other chemicals in your tap water.  However, you can purchase a simple charcoal filter that can be installed under your kitchen sink that will do the same thing or more likely a lot better for a fraction of the cost. 

Having learned the importance of eating an alkaline diet and drinking alkaline water, I’m always interested in the acidic content of foods and drinks.  The ideal pH level of the fluids in our body is between 7.3 and 7.4 which is slightly alkaline.  When you drink liquids that are acidic, you eventually become more acidic, and that is the playground for disease.  Canadian municipalities, by law, must provide drinking water that has a pH that ranges between 6.5 which is acidic, and 8.0, which is alkaline (7.0 is neutral).  The water supplied by most municipalities typically has a pH level slightly above 7.0 because it results in lower long term maintenance costs.  Therefore, most municipalities are doing our bodies a favour.   

Now, let’s take a look at the pH levels of the leading bottled water products.  Dasani (the Coca Cola bottled water product) has a pH of 6.6, which is acidic, and barely above the legal pH level of drinking water in Canada.  Since pH measures are logarithmic, that means that Dasani is 5 to 10 times more acidic than the drinking water supplied by most municipalities in Canada.  If you think Dasani is bad, take a look at Aquafina (Pepsi’s bottled water product).  Acquafina has a pH level of 5.8 which means that it is 7 times more acidic than the lowest legal pH value for water supplied by municipalities.  In fact, Aquafina is 40 to 90 times more acidic that the water supplied by most municipalities.  Think about that the next time you reach for a bottle of water.  

One last little tidbit of info to make you think twice about drinking bottled water.  The introduction of BPA-free bottles has helped improve the quality of bottled water, but there is evidence that chemicals still leach out of our plastic bottles.  You can read about this in the following CBC report:  http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/08/21/f-bpa-free-bottles823.html#ixzz0pPnp5HL4).

While bottled water is much better for you and your children than colas or other sodas, the water is still not as good for you as tap water.  If you really care about your water, filter your own tap water, or better still, filter your water and buy a water ionizer. 

Stop drinking bottled water.  It is less healthy that tap water, it’s expensive, and it is terrible for our environment.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and the quoted sources.

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