Water for Wellness: Quality and Quantity Are Important

If you want to live a long and healthy life, it's important to consume a sufficient quantity of safe and healthy water. When we don't get enough water, or the water that we take in is contaminated, our bodies aren't able to function effectively. The human body is made up primarily of water, and must have water to survive and thrive.

Water is the most basic substance our bodies need to function. It's impossible to truly be in good health without getting enough water. Most people don't consume nearly as much water as their bodies really need, and many people exist in a constant state of some level of dehydration.

Even individuals who do consume enough water often put their health at risk by consuming the wrong kind of water. Unfiltered water is contaminated with chlorine, volatile organic compounds, lead, and other potentially harmful substances. Drinking contaminated water is dangerous, and certainly prevents people from being able to enjoy the health benefits of water.

When it comes to drinking water for wellness, it's certainly just as important to consider the quality of the water one is consuming as it is to make sure one is getting a sufficient quantity of the life sustaining liquid. The best way to make sure your body is able to function at peak capacity is to drink a sufficient quantity of thoroughly filtered water every day. You'll stay hydrated and won't have to worry about ingesting contaminated water that can be harmful to your health.

The Myth of Recyclable Water Bottles

The increased usage of single serve plastic water bottles is leading to an unprecedented amount of post-consumer waste. Many people think that plastic water bottles don’t pose an environmental risk because they are recyclable. It’s true that plastic water bottles can be recycled, but only if consumers stop throwing them in the trash.

This is far from the reality of what really happens, as the vast majority of plastic water bottles end up in landfills rather than being recycled. It is estimated that 86 percent of plastic water bottles sold in the United States end up in landfills instead of being recycled. Based on current production levels, an estimated 38 billion water bottles end up in U.S. landfills each year.

The negative environmental impact of plastic water bottles increases every day, and is likely to continue to pose a serious environmental threat until consumers stop using this wasteful product. It’s much more environmentally responsible, and cost effective, for consumers to depend on refillable water bottles for their drinking water instead of using disposable containers that end up in the trash can all too often.

The Process of Recycling Plastic Water Bottles

Even if consumers started recycling the majority of single serve water bottles, the widespread use of these containers would still pose a serious and expensive environmental challenge.

The Recycling Chain

Storage: When you use single use water bottles at home, it's likely that you keep some type of plastic recycling container in your pantry or garage. Producing these containers requires energy and can result in the emission of harmful chemicals into the air and water supply.

Pickup or Delivery: If you have curbside recycling pickup, a large truck that uses a significant amount of fuel is dispatched to your neighborhood on a set schedule to pick up plastic containers for recycling. Building and running these vehicles uses a significant amount of energy and fossil fuels, and they produce pollutants when in service. If you don't have curbside pickup, you're responsible for transporting recyclables to your community's recycling center, which uses fuel and energy.

Processing: More transportation, and the associated fuel and energy consumption, is required to transport recyclables to a processing facility. At the facility, several types of heavy equipment must be operated to convert the waste into a form where it can be reused to manufacture new products, again requiring energy.

The Bottom Line

The process of recycling plastic water bottles actually uses a great deal of energy. While recycling plastic water bottles is a better solution than sending them to landfills, the best solution would be to switch from single use containers to refillable water bottles that can be safely used time and time again.

Water Bottle Filters

Most hikers and campers know to never drink directly from an outdoor water source. Even clear streams and lakes can contain viruses and other harmful contaminants. However, outdoor activities require adequate hydration and it isn't always practical to carry all of your water with you. A lightweight option for backpackers who want to treat water while in the outdoors is the water bottle filter. This device attaches to your water bottle for easy treatment of outdoor water sources. Look for water bottle filters in your camping supply store. Be sure to bring the water bottle you prefer to the store to make sure you get the perfect fit.

Water Gets You Moving

One of the health benefits of drinking water is that it can help relieve constipation. When the body gets too little water, it takes what it needs from other internal sources. The colon is one primary source. The resulting affliction is constipation. However, there is hope. Drinking more water returns fluids to the depleted sources like the colon. When you drink enough water, normal bowel function usually returns.

The Taste Of Water

We've all experienced the times when water just "doesn't taste right." Ideally, water should have no taste at all. Or, for the discerning palate, clean water may have a slightly sweet and fresh taste. There can be many reasons why water can taste off, however. The amounts of naturally occurring minerals and non-natural treatments with chemicals can alter water's taste. Water filters act to remove these taste altering elements and return water to its fresh and clear taste.

Use Your Own Bottled Water to Create Flavored Beverages

There are many different beverage flavoring agents available. Does your family like Kool Aid? Do you enjoy drinking fruit juice made from concentrate? Maybe you enjoy stirring up pitchers of iced tea to have on hand for a refreshing beverage treat. If you're using unfiltered tap water to mix with your favorite beverage mixes, you are putting your health, and that of your loved ones, at serious risk. No matter what types of beverage mixes you use, keep in mind that using plain tap water to make them can increase your family's exposure to dangerous, even carcinogenic, substances.

The good news is that you don't have to purchase costly bottled water to use to make the flavored beverages that your family likes to drink. The best, and most cost effective, solution to the dilemma of preparing safe beverages for your family is to install a faucet water filter in your kitchen. Installing a faucet filter ensures that the tap water you use to make beverages and meals for your family is clean, healthy, and free from chlorine and other potentially harmful substances.

If you and your loved one enjoy flavored beverages, it's definitely a good idea for you to get in the habit of bottling filtered water to mix with your favorite flavoring agents. With an Aquasana water filter system, you'll be able to enjoy filtered water directly from your tap for about ten cents per gallon. This is certainly a small price to pay for the security that comes from knowing that the fruit juice, lemonade, and other beverages that your family enjoys are made with healthy water that is safe to drink.

The Health Benefits of Shower Filters

While many people understand that showering in filtered water helps make skin and hair softer, the health benefits of shower filters aren't as widely recognized. Shower filters can have a positive impact on individuals who suffer from various types of skin conditions and who experience breathing problems.

Individuals who have skin conditions often bathe frequently, thinking that keeping their skin clean will help keep their problems under control. However, many skin conditions are aggravated by various chemicals in the water supply. These same chemicals can trigger breathing difficulties in individuals with asthma and allergy related breathing problems.

Using a shower head filter can reduce the presence of problem chemicals, leading to fewer symptoms and problems. People with skin conditions and breathing problems can shower freely, without having to worry about the presence of potentially harmful chemicals in the water.

Understanding the Dangers of Contaminated Shower Water

Even individuals who realize the importance of using water filters for drinking water don't always realize why shower water filters are so important. The primary reason for using filtered water is to make sure that harmful contaminants in the water supply don't end up in your body. Drinking contaminated water is not the only way that your body becomes affected by water pollution. Showering in contaminated water can actually lead to greater absorbtion of harmful substances than drinking a glass full of the same water.

Chemical Absorbtion Via Skin

When you take a warm shower, your pores expand. This increases the rate with which your skin absorb substances in the water with which you are showering. If your shower water is filled with chlorine, lead, and other harmful contaminants, these substances will find their way into your body through your skin.

Inhalation of Dangerous Chemicals

Water contaminants also find their way into your body during showers via the steam that is produced when warm water hits the air. The synthetic chemicals in tap water vaporize more rapidly than water, making the steam more dangerous than the water itself. As water comes out of your shower head, the majority of the chemicals in the water vaporize into the air, and we breathe them in. When chemicals enter the body via inhalation, they hit the blood stream much faster than those that are consumed.

The Tie Between Water Quality and Weight Loss

If you're interested in losing weight, any diet program that you choose will recommend increasing your water consumption. Water is very important to weight loss for a variety of reasons. For example, consuming a sufficient quantity of water can suppress one's appetite and speed up the metabolism. Water quality also plays an important role in weight loss.

There is a direct relationship between water quality and weight loss. The liver plays a major role in a person's ability to lose weight. The liver plays the important role of metabolizing fat into energy. The liver also works in conjunction with the kidneys to remove toxins from the body. When an individual consumes contaminated water, the liver must spend most of its energy eliminating toxins rather than burning fat.

The result, of course, is that the fat remains as stored fat rather than being burned off for weight loss. When you're trying to lose weight, it's definitely a good idea to install a drinking water filter. You'll enjoy the health benefits of water that is free from contamination, and you'll give your metabolism a better chance of helping your body eliminate stored fat.