We need water to survive. Is your tap water at home safe to drink or bathe in? Patients ask me about what water is safe to drink. They usually buy bottled water thinking it is uncontaminated. The truth is that bottled water is not regulated and it is sitting in plastic bottles that bring new plastic contaminants into the water.
Municipal water can contain bacteria, viruses, pesticides, heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, chlorine disinfection byproducts and medications. One Philadelphia study found 56 drugs in tap water. Second hand medications in tap water included: antibiotics, pain medication, anti-seizure meds, anti-anxiety meds and sex hormones.
Most urban areas have THM or trihalomethanes in the water. THM's are part of the disinfection process and include: chloroform, bromoform, bromodichloromethane and dibromochloromethane. These are known to cause cancer and you are exposed to them everytime you drink water, shower or bathe.
Environmental Working Group has a database of National Drinking Water at https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/. They found the most common pollutants are trihalomethanes, nitrates and arsenic. The EPA sets limits for the amount of chemicals in your water, but the limits are too high. These chemicals bio-accumulate in tissue storage and over time cause serious health conditions. We check every patient for arsenic in the blood and tissue storage.
Schedule your environmental consult today before you are diagnosed with a progressive degenerative disease.
I recommend that everyone test their tap or well water. I have used National Testing from Cleveland, Ohio and I have patients opt for the pesticide panel. This runs about $150.00.
