Bottled Water - Second Best

More than half of all Americans drink bottled water; about a third of the public consumes it regularly. Bottled water cost from 240 to over 10,000 times more per gallon for bottled water than they typically do for tap water

Government and industry estimates indicate that about 25 to 30 percent of the bottled water sold in the United States comes from a city or town's tap water - sometimes further treated, sometimes not. Most bottled water appears to be safe, and the majority proved to be high quality and relatively free of contaminants. The quality of some brands are spotty, however, and such products may pose a health risk, primarily for people with weakened immune systems.

Some decades ago, Russian scientists faced a major industrial problem. When water flows through pipelines of a boiler or an engine machinery, some deposits from the water cling to the walls of the pipes. Over time, the lumen becomes narrower and the delivery of water to the machinery is reduced. The efficiency, fuel consumption and mechanical strength of the machine is therefore reduced.

While researching on this problem, scientists noticed that such undesirable deposits did not occur in those pipes with water that was magnetized. This started the magnetization of water for industrial use in countries where water source is less than desirable

Filtering your own tap water is the most economical and long-term solution to your water needs. Knowing which type of filer or apparatus to use is more challenging.

There are 3 common types of water filters:

1. Absorbent Filters

Absorbent filters, made of charcoal, are designed to pick up and hold contaminates as water passes over them.

Carbon filtering devices use carbon cartridges that have a porous surface. This allows the cartridge to absorb a variety of substances, including THMs, odors and disagreeable tastes. A filter's effectiveness depends on the amount of carbon in the unit and how long the water stays in the unit. The longer the water is in contact with the filter medium, the more time the carbon has to remove impurities. Those packed with a large volume of charcoal generally remove more organic material at the beginning of the cartridge life. Performance tends to decrease less rapidly over time than it does for those containers with a small amount of charcoal.

Michael Lam, MD, MPH
www.DrLam.com

There is no question that a proper amount of water consumption will detoxify your body and add years to your life. Studies have shown that those drinking at least five glasses of water per day were associated with an approximately 50% decreased rate of heart attacks and stroke, compared with those who drank only two glasses of water per day.

Knowing what is in the water is also an important part of an anti-aging program.

Tap water is obtained either from surface water - water that run off from ponds, rivers, and lakes, and is collected in reservoirs- or from ground water, such as wells.

Tap water contains calcium and magnesium. It can be considered "hard" or "soft", depending on its geographic origins. Hard water prevents soap from lathering and results in filmy sediment being deposited on hair, clothing, pipes, dishes etc. It can be annoying. Some studies have shown that the incidence of death from heart disease may be lower in areas where the drinking water is hard, although results have not been conclusive.

Soft water can be naturally soft or it may be hard water that has been treated to remove the calcium and magnesium. Soft water has a tendency to dissolve the lining of pipes. Copper, zinc, and arsenic are toxic metals that can leak into softened water from copper pipes. Drinking unfiltered tap water could be hazardous to your health. Here are some specific reasons:

The ideal water is one that has been filtered through a reverse osmosis system, or in the absence of that, a carbon block system to eliminate toxic chemicals as the first step. In addition, there are heavy metals that needs to be eliminated.

One of the best media to accomplish this is patented filtration media called KDF. KDF can absorb heavy metals like lead, mercury, and arsenic that is commonly found in our pipes, especially those that are old. Look for a system with this patened material. For the water to be better absorbed into the body, a process called  micronization is important. This can be done through magnetization of the water before drinking (at least 12,000 gauss of magnetic device is needed) . Magnetized water has many health enhancing effect as well. Lastly, our body is designed to be in a slightly alkaline environment. With the modern day high protein acidic diet, it is important that our water is slightly alkalinized to neutralize this acidic environment.