How Toxic is Your Drinking Water?

By Addison Landry

Water has a universal symbolism of birth, purity and fertility and with that it stems as the basis of life on this planet. From the oceans to our own bodies, water is essential to our existence and survival. Interestingly our bodies are made up of 60% percent water making it essential to our health and vitality. With such importance to our bodily functions such as digestion, blood pressure and removal of toxins, as well as our energy level, it's key to ensure that the abundance and quality of our water is of highest regard. There are many factors that can contaminate our water supply which can then negatively affect the body’s health, so understanding how this can occur and how to prevent it will allow you to make the best choice for optimum health.

It can be tricky as there is so much information out there about toxins in our water supply, the chemicals in the plastic water bottles, and the confusion about water filters. I am here to help make it clear and easy. A three-year study conducted by the environmental working group found 316 chemicals and metals in our water.  These toxins were found in our water supply throughout the United States and even in some water bottles.  Some water in plastic containers actually disrupt the natural function of the body by disrupting our body’s hormones, immune function, nervous system function and causing reproductive issues depleting our health and vitality. Here are some of the main toxins that are found in our water supply:

·      Atrazine- herbicide used on food supply that runs into our water stream

·      Lead- old piping, affects nervous system and brain function

·      Chlorine- added to kill bacteria that effects the body’s lymph system that helps remove toxins

·      Plastic- leaches chemicals into our water that effect hormonal balance

·      Fluoride- a neuro toxin affecting the brain, added to protect our teeth

Understanding that these toxins wreak havoc on the body we prevent this toxic overload in our body by filtering out these toxins. There are so many water filter options out there that it can be confusing so I have come up with a list that’s affordable and removes most of these nasty toxins.

·      Zero water filter

·      Soma water filter

·      H2O + Brondell H630 Cypress counter top water filter system

·      Ideal earth water whole house filter ($$)

We understand when on the go it’s not easy to always have filtered water but here are a few of the best bottled water brands that we recommend based on the filtration and bottle type.

1.         Mountain valley spring- glass bottle

2.         Voss water– glass bottle

3.         Fiji water – plastic bottle

4.         Volvic- plastic bottle

5.       Evian - plastic bottle

Water is key to life and specifically our health and at Healing Arts NYC sharing this information is important to help our patients on their healing journeys. Remember the next time you take a sip of water, you are actually made of more of this prosperous liquid than anything else in the body.  If you want, at your next appointment bring in your drinking water in a glass container and we'll muscle test it for you to make sure it's good for your body.