Water

The big debate is often about how much water to drink, and how much is too much. The general rule of thumb is to take half of your body weight, and that is how many ounces per day you require. You don’t want to drink too much water or too quickly, because that can cause hyponatremia or water intoxication, which is just as dangerous as dehydration.

Your activity level, environment, and temperature play a role. Also, the food you eat and the amount of caffeinated and alcoholic drinks you consume also play a role. You can use the Water Calculator as well, to help in determining what you need.

The other question that comes up is quality of water and water sources. I find common sense prevails with this. There is a lot of hype about bottled water and how it is SO much better for you. Think about it…most bottled water is tap water that has all nutrients removed and is then placed in a plastic bottle which leaches carcinogens into the water. Besides the obvious trash accumulation, I just don’t see the point. Avoid bottled water like the plague unless you have no other source of drinking water.

So then you wonder how safe your tap water is, right? There are several steps you can take to make sure your water is safe. The first thing you can do is contact your local water provider and ask them for documentation regarding water quality. In some states, they are required to send that information to you with your bill when you begin your service and when the water quality changes.

You can also purchase water quality tests to test your tap water to see if there are any heavy metal contaminants (like copper, lead, or mercury) in your water supply. You can also test for chlorine, nitrates, fluoride, and other contaminants that may be harmful to your health. The best option is to hire a water professional to test your water for you.

The one thing that has leached into the water supply that cannot be removed (bottled water or not) is chemical contaminants such as pesticides and pharmaceutical by-products. It’s not something you will hear anyone talking about, but it’s a fact. Your best bet for removing as many toxins and contaminants as possible is Reverse Osmosis in combination with a carbon filter. The only problem is it removes all nutrients and additives have to be added back in to prevent acidity.

Reverse Osmosis alone does not remove small particles like pesticides, so it needs to be used in combination with a Carbon filter. Plus, it’s not incredibly efficient for water conservation. There are, however, some new filtration systems available (Watt’s Premier) that are an all in one multi-stage system that work very well. If you just can’t swing the cost of it now, there are several filtration systems you can use, like PUR or BRITA that are better than nothing.

There are pros and cons to each type of filtration system. Start by finding out what you are facing with your tap water, and what needs to be filtered. Then, do some research and decide which method is best for you. Doing nothing is risky.