Unhealthy…Water?

I have a confession: I’ve fallen into that whole “bottled water is better than tap water” thing and I can’t get up. I grew up drinking well water, so you would think that I wouldn’t be that picky about my H20, yet here I am…afraid to drink the water out of my faucet at home. I even cringe a little inside when I’m filling up a pot to cook noodles or something from the filtered tap we have on the side of the sink.

(Yes, I may have a teeny tiny problem.)

However, I realized just how ridiculous the world has gotten with bottled water a few years ago when The Husband and I checked into the Four Seasons in Las Vegas. Right inside the door I stopped short, causing the bumping and stumbling that men hate. I looked over my shoulder and pointed. There, on the floor right next to the nicest doggie bowl I’ve ever seen, was a bottled water. FOR YOUR DOG.

Look, my dog (RIP) used to eat cat poop straight out of the litter box like it was a delicacy. I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t give a flying fig about bottled water. But, whatever. To each his own.

Over those years, it seems like bottled water has gotten even more ridiculous. I’ve watched bottled water brands market “holy” bottled water, bottled water specifically for your dogs, bottled water for kids and bottled water that will make you stronger, smarter and more wealthy.

And now? We’ve progressed to diet bottled water.

Yes, the stuff that is supposed to have no calories or fat anyway, now has a market for being a diet product, mainly because of those little pouches that you pour into it.

However, those additives in your bottled water are actually making it less healthy for you. (No surprise, right?) Your “healthy” bottled waters are now filled with multiple artificial sweeteners, dyes, sugars or sugar substitutes that are almost as high as your regular soft drinks. Some of these waters and infuser drops even contain highly unhealthy components like propylene glycol, which is a ”cosmetic form of mineral oil found in automatic brake and hydraulic fluid and industrial antifreeze” and has been linked to skin, liver and kidney damage in high amounts.

So, what can you do?

1. Watch out for bottles that say “fortified.” Understand what it has been fortified with before you buy it.

2. Read the labels. If you’re trying to be healthy but drinking water that has the sugar equivalent of a soda, then what’s the point?

3. Stay away from those fun water drops and infusers. Many contain ingredients that your body just doesn’t need.

4. Purify your own water. Get a filter for your tap or buy one of those countertop water filtration pitchers.

5. Flavor your own water. Don’t like the plain water? Flavor your own with lemon or lime. At least you’ll know exactly what you’re ingesting.

Tags: food, health

Category: Feature, Food, OrganiLo