Your Immune System - Do You Know What Is In Your Drinking Water?

Home sweet home. There’s no place like home. Home is where the heart is.

There are loads of old adages that demonstrate how you feel about your home. Your home is usually thought of as a safe place, a refuge. It’s even thought of as your castle.

Unfortunately, between indoor air pollution, the chemicals in your food, and the water you and your family drink and bathe with, your home can be downright harmful to your health.

Reports from numerous sources, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), show that there are harmful chemicals in the water you drink.

A report, “Drinking Water Contaminants,” on the EPA’s site, lists the maximum allowable levels of chemical contaminants. The list contains:

• Inorganics: such as arsenic, fluoride, lead, mercury, and nickel.

• Radionuclides: such as uranium

• VOCS: such as benzene, ethylbenzene, styrene, vinyl chloride, and xylenes.

• SOCS: such as chlordane, ethylene dibromide, pentachlorophenol, and toxaphene.

• Disinfection Byproducts: such as bromate and chlorite.

In another report at CNN Health, “Harmful Chemical Found in Tap Water of 31 U.S. Cities,” the researchers discovered the dangerous carcinogen hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium-6, in more U.S. cities than expected. Millions are possibly being exposed to the contaminant.

Chromium-6 was the chemical that the movie “Erin Brockovich” revolved around. The lead author of the study, Rebecca Sutton, said she “didn't expect it to be so widespread."

The cities found with chromium-6 are from states across the country: New York, Connecticut, Florida, Oklahoma, Hawaii, Wisconsin, Califo
ia, Nebraska, New Mexico, Utah, and Georgia. For the full list go to:
http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/20/carcinogen-found-in-31-of-35-cities-water-supply/

The research and evidence is prevalent. According to The Environmental Working Group (EWG), within a five-year span from 2004 to 2009, U.S. water suppliers found 316 contaminants in the water they provided to the public. The contaminants included: 97 agricultural pollutants; 204 industrial chemicals; 86 pollutants from runoff and wastewater treatment plants; and 42 pollutants from water treatment process byproducts and from water pipes and storage tanks.

And then there’s also all the pharmaceuticals that find their way into the drinking water.

These toxins play havoc with your immune system. It's no wonder autoimmune diseases are skyrocketing.

It’s downright frightening.

What’s even more alarming is that most people aren’t aware of what’s in their seemly innocent glass of water. In this case, ignorance is not bliss. It’s important for people to be aware, so they can take necessary actions to make their drinking water safer.

So, what’s the solution to the dangerous water situation? Bottled water?

Sutton, who is also a senior scientist with the Environmental Working Group (EWG) doesn’t think bottled water is a good idea. There’s no way to know what contaminants are in bottled water. She suggests “an effective water filter.”

While it may seem a bit of a chore, it might be a good idea to filter your bottled water before drinking it. Hey, better safe than sorry.

For added protection, Dr. Bhaswati Bhattacharya, a NYC doctor and Ayurveda practitioner, recommends that in addition to filtering tap water you should also boil it. The boiling process allows for some chemicals that aren’t trapped by the filter to dissipate through the steam.