How safe is the water you and your family drink and bathe in?

Chances are you are taking in many chemicals and pollutants and could be affecting your health more than one might realize. Even though eating healthy and exercise is very important, having as good of quality water as possible can be just as if not more important.

I am going to go touch on a few of the possible harmful things like volatile organic chemicals(VOCs), endocrine disrupting chemicals, heavy metals, and fluoride that make their way into our water.

Volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) pose a possible health risk because many of them are known carcinogens such as herbicides, pesticides, and other harmful chemicals have been known to be found in most public mains and even well water sources. This is due to run-off from agriculture as well as general pollution including things like fracking and many of these chemicals have been linked to liver damage, reproductive system issues, kidney damage, and more.

Endocrine disruptors are hormone-disrupting chemicals such as BPA (Bisphenol A), Dioxin, Atrazine, Phthalates, Perfluorinated Chemicals (PFCs), mood stabilizers, Pharmaceutical and recreational Drugs to name a few that can interfere with or mimic hormones in the body and they are believed to being found in rising amounts in our water supply.

This included things such as developmental issues in pregnancies, developmental issues in adolescent males (undescended testicles), and an estimated 42% decreased sperm count worldwide likely due to these chemicals with endocrine disrupting potential and similar pharmaceutical agents in which our drinking water could be a big contributor due to these things being found in surface waters around the country. These types of chemicals are also known to affect animals in their water supply as well.

Heavy metals such as lead from old water pipes, mercury, copper, Iron, Manganese etc. have been all been linked to health and are still found in public water as well as some well water supplies. Lead exposure harms nearly every organ and is linked to a host of health complications such as brain damage, lowered IQ, hearing loss, miscarriages, premature birth, increased blood pressure, kidney damage and nervous system problems. Lead has also caused lowered sex hormones in animals and disruption of the hormone signalling that regulates the stress system in humans, making it harder for the body to handle stress.

Fluoride is an additive in some public mains water which is still very controversial in what the many people believe is a contaminant (and for good reason) but it is said to be added to our public water to reduce tooth decay especially in children. The problem is that many people believe that medicating a whole population isn’t a good idea because high fluoride levels have been linked to things such as thyroid disorders, bone fractures, impaired development of the brain and function, and other serious complications. This chemical has also recently been classified as a neurotoxin in The Lancent Neurology medical journal putting it in the same category as lead, arsenic, and mercury. Even though fluoride is necessary for oral health it does lead to toxicity in high amounts and it is hard to know if you are getting too much which many people are.

Harmful Chemicals

Chlorine and Chloramines

If the water you use is from a public water supply, the water has been treated or filtered. However, Chorine and other chemicals may not be filtered, because they are used by many water treatment facilities as disinfectants to kill off bacteria in our water. However, these chemicals are not removed. Therefore, you have to drink a small amount of chlorine every day, which is poisonous to our health for a continuous intake every day. It has been proven that long-time exposure to chlorine may cause serious problems, like birth defects.

Fluoride

Fluoride is often added in our tap water because it is helpful to our teeth. However, you may not like this redundant gift in our water. Some researches show that many cancers in young boys are related to this addition in our water. And many kinds of toothpaste also contain fluoride to keep our teeth healthy. If long-exposure to fluoride happens, it may cause some diseases.

Pesticides

In order to keep grass greener without any bug, many families have to hire a professional to spray pesticides on the lawn and around the house, but this can inevitably pollute the underground water. This also happens on the local golf course. These pesticides can leach into the earth and finally into the groundwater. Even if you have a private well, you couldn’t avoid exposing to Pesticides

Arsenic

Arsenic is also widely in our underground water and it is notoriously poisonous to our human beings as well as other animals. Arsenic contamination of groundwater has become a very serious problem, affecting millions of people in the world.

Pharmaceutical and recreation drugs

Many people may think this is not a problem. However, it is so common for people that they flush their unused pharmaceutical and over-the-counter drugs down their toilet or just throw away them and allow them to flow down the under sink drain. Unfortunately, these medications will leach into our underground water or river and finally come back in our drink water. If our babies, toddlers and children are exposed to these items, it is really worrisome. Both their health and growth may be affected.

Bacteria, cysts and viruses

There are also many organics in our water. For example, Virus and Bacteria are widely in our water. These organics can cause many serious diseases, like diarrhoea, respiratory tract infection, organ failure, etc.

Heavy Metals

Heavy metals are able to land in our drinking water when you turn on your faucet. They can penetrate into the water from the soil and from our pipes. For example, if your house was built before 1975, the pipes might contain lead and lead can leach into our water. Lead can cause many serious health problems, like anaemia, irritability, miscarriages, and nerve damage. Even if they are new, metal pipes can be corroded and break down gradually. I think no one would like to drink poisonous water.

Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals

are chemicals that may mimic or interfere with the normal hormones in the body and these chemicals are being found in increasing amounts in the water supply. Over the past fifty years, researchers observed increases in endocrine-sensitive health outcomes. Breast and prostatic cancer incidence increased between 1969 and 1986 ; there was a four-fold increase in ectopic pregnancies (development of the fertilized egg outside of the uterus) in the U.S. between 1970 and 1987 ; the incidence of cryptorchidism (undescended testicles) doubled in the U.K. between 1960 and the mid 1980s ; and there was an approximately 42% decrease in sperm count worldwide between 1940 and 1990 .” These chemicals are known to affect animals when they enter the water supply.

Remember if you do not have a water filter, YOU are the water filter!