Nature’s Elixir – Water
Whether you admit to it or not, water is one of the most important resources for all natural life. Consumption of water is especially important for the human body to keep it hydrated and functioning at its best.
In the times that we’re living now, it’s common for adults to trade refined sugary beverages served with their meals for a glass of water. Water is seen as the optimal alternative to drinking unnecessary calories that can become problematic with a growing waistline or putting on weight easily.
Consumers worldwide have been gravitating towards bottled water, as consumption increased 3.6% to 14.4 billion gallons in 2019 alone. Water has now become more popular than soda, outselling it for the first time in 2016.
With the increasing awareness of drinking water amongst consumers, water consumption has become controversial with the pollution of plastic water bottles in the environment.
Plastic water bottles have been marketed as a clean, purified source to obtain higher quality source of nature’s water supply. The debate between tap water versus bottled water has been ongoing since the quality of public water systems have been put into question in recent years.
What often isn’t discussed is why bottled water became a blockbuster seller at the time that it did and what truly defines purified bottled water.
The Importance of Drinking Bottled Filtered Water
The appeal of bottled water is sold based on two things: it’s place of origin and how it’s purified. The purification process can be both appealing to some consumers and confusing to others, as many consumers can’t differentiate what purification really means.
Purified water is intentionally made to eliminate contaminants and chemicals that may be present. This can be done through several processes; reverse osmosis, carbon filtration, deionization, carbon filtration, or distillation.
Distilled Water
Distilled water is water that is boiled into vapor form and then later condensed back into liquid. This method removes (some) of the minerals and chemicals from the water, which can dramatically change the taste of the water.
This method seems like a practical way to remove unnecessary or harmful substances from the water, but this isn’t necessarily true. Some contaminants that are left in the water have lower boiling points than the water, which poisons the water when it’s evaporated into vapor.
This is what causes the water to taste a little strange or flat, as the water has a higher acidity level than other forms of drinking water.
Spring Water
Spring water is a form of bottled water collected from pre-purified groundwater that has been filtered by either clay, limestone, or sandstone. The selling point of origin comes into play here, as the source of the spring is marketed for it’s premier quality and health benefits due to its mineral content. These sources for spring water can be from either artesian springs, mountain springs, or natural springs.
While some manufacturers of these bottled spring water may have good intentions to offer consumers a high quality product that’s sourced from nature, some manufacturers have been outed for intentionally misleading consumers.
One of the controversial bottled water manufacturers in the world, Nestle, was sued back in 2012 for selling bottled tap water as spring water. In 2013, they were investigated for the discovery that they diverted water from villages and towns in India and packaged it as bottled water. That same corporation was also found welling extensive amounts of spring water from drought stricken California back in 2019.
Nestle also owns other bottled brands like Perrier, San Pelligrino, Deer Park, Vittel, and Poland Spring, so this deception is widespread amongst many bottled products. ‘Spring water’ comes with due diligence to understand what you’re really drinking.
Solution to Drinking Contaminated Water
Bottled drinking water is a convenience that many people take for granted, but the delivery of the product has been disastrous. Most bottled water is found in plastic containers, which poses a problem for many reasons.
One is the presence of harmful chemicals called BPAs (Bisphenol A) that’s found in many plastics. BPAs are harmful to the body because they are endocrine disruptors, which can affect the balance of your body’s natural hormones. This is one of the causes of low testosterone in young adult men.
Finding containers that are free from this chemical are important, especially during summer months when the heat helps separate BPAs toxins and contaminates your water supply. Gathering drinking water during the day can become a hassle as you’re constantly purchasing overpriced water from questionable bottled water manufacturers.
Plastic bottles are also a major contributor to the growing problem of landfill waste in the environment. As the public continue to discover the value of drinking more water in their daily lives, this problem has become exacerbated.
The solution I’ve found is from a company called Epic Water Filters, that makes purified water accessible on the go with their carbon filtration bottles.
Carbon filtration is one of the purification methods that’s similar to spring water filtration: the collected water is passed through a compacted carbon fiber filter that has a large surface area for absorption. Once filtered, up to 100 chemicals can be removed from the water, as the ionized chemicals pass through the pores of the carbon filter.
One of the chemicals, fluoride, is a known neurotoxin that is prevalent in the North American water systems as far back as the 1940s. These filtered water bottles are one of the few that can remove fluoride from your water. They don’t leave your water with a metallic or flat taste, as the water is not left highly acidic or loaded with tons of minerals that alters the taste.
The Wrap Up
Water has become more relevant to the public in regard to health and wellness in recent times, as the marketing for bottled water has appealed to a wide audience. Although water is a necessity, this resource has been commercialized for profit by corporations that doesn’t have the public’s best interest. As an alternative to store bought bottled water, filtered water bottled can be used to purify water from any source and still provide the convenience that need when traveling on the go.
