bottled vs. Filtered water. Thoughts on which contaminants worst for CFS?

[hubcap_halo]

Hi all,

Back to basics-- sleep, diet, water.

I use a Multi-pure filter system, replace the filter often, and ironically in Brooklyn I found it effective, but now in DC my gut (and nose) says "get your water tested or drink bottled."

I found a state certified company that tests home drinking water, fair price. My filter is supposed to filter out everything bad under the sun, but I want to make sure.

I asked my immunologist, but I'm curious as to what your research, doctors have told you are the worst contaminants for CFS folk.

So far on my list to test:
Coliform Bacteria,
Nitrates
arsenic
PCB's
pH,
Iron
Lead
Copper
mercury

If my filter is not working well, I'll go bottled. But which brand? Dr. Weil recommends filtering over bottled because it's hard to know what you're really getting. Have you found a consistently good bottled brand?

THANKS!
Patrick

 

[HopingSince88]

I don't like bottled water at all. You have no idea if the vendor changes its processing or source. Also, it comes in plastic bottles. I have a small/cheap filtration system on my faucet. I don't have the money for a good one yet. I am interested in finding out from others here what filtration systems they use and like.

 

[MEKoan]

Hi Hubcap!

There are so many reasons not to use bottled water including having a planet with a sustainable ecosystem.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Plastic-Pollution-Coalition/173697869512

Please check out this facebook group if you love this planet.

peace out,
Koan

PS Hoping, I love your tag: I fall down; I get up; I keep dancing. Brilliant!

 

[HopingSince88]

Koan...the "keep dancing" part is mostly 'symbolic' :Retro redface:... maybe someday I will really dance again.

I got the phrase from a set of post-it-notes I bought someplace.

 

[MEKoan]

Hoping,

I dance all the time... in my heart! I get it.

Keep dancing!

Koan

 

[hubcap_halo]

Hoping and Koan,

Thank you for the replies! I agree about the plastic which is why I'm hoping my filter is doing the trick. And
yes, 'spring water' is not always spring water.

And yes, what a great tag. "I fall down; I get up; I keep dancing."
May I spread this around? I will credit you, hoping. Brilliant.

I wish y'all health and happiness.

 

[hubcap_halo]

Smile, breathe and go slowly is very good too!
I came here for water, I got wisdom.

 

[Gemini]

hubcap,

Dr. Cheney recommends Iceland Spring Water.
Discussed here in the Treatment & Therapy Section under The Gut..."Cheney: Can structured or certain natural waters be of benefit to CFS".

Gemini

 

[sarahg]

I think this all depends on what is in the water where you live, what kind of filter you have, and what kind of bottled water you are buying. You say you have a very good filter, and it is still not working out with the water you are starting with. As much as I hate bottled water, if I were in your position I would be getting bottled water until the test results come back. The sad fact is a lot of what we do for our health is bad for the environment, and this is no different. It sucks that you live in a large metro area, cause otherwise I would suggest finding a clean free well in the country. That is what I have had to do in several locations where the water that came out of my faucett (or hand pump in the yard in one case) was not good enough to drink. This will not apply to you, but for others often places like fire stations, country stores, farms, municipal buildings, state parks, etc. will have free public wells, test them regularly, and have the test results available for you to peruse.

As far as bottled water goes (hoping since 88 is going to be horrified that I am saying this) I lived in the mountains of Maine for years, I have seen (in my former life even hiked in) most of the areas where Poland Spring water comes from, I have had town water from the same aquifers. It's clean, it's pure...no matter how I feel about nestle north america or plastic bottles... I have to admit it is decent water. Also if you can get your hands on it Glen Summit water (made in PA) is one of the few spring waters that is not treated in all kinds of crazy ways before it gets to you, and is pretty pure. Wouldn't it be nice if there was some way of knowing if you are getting water that has been sitting in 90 degree heat for months with more of a chance for all that plastic to leach into the water? so it's a tough decision. I am lucky now to be living on top of a very pure artesian spring, best water of anywhere I've ever lived. In fact, there is a spring water company up the road from my house. I certainly do not envy your situation.

 

[HopingSince88]

Hello from Maine, Sarah!

I totally understand your point about Poland Springs water. It is good stuff. I only wish they sold it in glass bottles. That is how I buy my milk, and I pay a $1.00 deposit on the bottle, which assures I will bring it back.

 

[parvofighter]

Thanks hubcap! Great timing!

This is an exceptionally timely post. I was just reading in our paper this week about the issue of whether bottled water is in fact "more pure" than tap. This news from: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/...ottled+water/3072771/story.html#ixzz0p9IrO0Pe

Researchers alarmed at bacteria in Canadian bottled water

By Allison Cross, Canwest News Service May 26, 2010

Researchers from C-crest Laboratories in Montreal bought and tested several popular brands of bottled water, and found many of them had heterotrophic bacteria counts that were "surprisingly high."

Canadian researchers say they've learned some bottled water in Canada contains more bacteria than what comes out of the tap although they won't reveal which brands are the culprits.

Researchers from C-crest Laboratories in Montreal bought and tested several popular brands of bottled water, and found many of them had heterotrophic bacteria counts that were "surprisingly high."

Heterotrophic bacteria require an organic carbon source in order to grow.

More than 70 per cent of popular brands they tested did not meet the standards set out by the United States Pharmacopeia, a non-governmental agency that sets safety standards for medications and health-care products.

No more than 500 colony forming units (cfu) of bacteria per millilitre should be present in drinking water, according to the USP.

"Heterotrophic bacteria counts in some of the bottles were found to be in revolting figures of (100) times more than the permitted limit," said Sonish Azam, a researcher on the study, in a news release.

Some brands had as much as 70,000 cfu per millilitre, said Azam.

The average number of colony forming units in tap water samples they tested in order to compare results was 170 per millilitre, she said.

"Despite having the cleanest tap water, a large number of urban Canadians are switching over to bottled water for their daily hydration requirements," Azam said. "The consumer assumes that since bottled water carries a price tag, it is purer and safer than most tap water."

This kind of bacteria doesn't normally cause any disease in healthy people, but could make pregnant women, infants and the elderly sick, she said. (NOTE: And immune-compromised patients, such as us?)

Although researchers didn't actually find any pathogens or germs in the bottled water, they said the high bacteria counts mean Canadian regulations should be stricter, just in case.

The researchers, who work in a pharmaceutical lab, got the idea for the study after a fellow employee complained that their bottled water tasted bad and made them sick.

According to Azam, Health Canada hasn't set an allowable limit for heterotrophic bacteria in bottled water, and neither has the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Their intention is to change Canadian regulations, said researcher Ali Khamessan, and not point the finger at specific companies.
Health Canada points out that bottled water is already regulated under the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations.

"Under these regulations, bottled water is required to be free of disease-causing organisms. Like most foods, bottled water may contain naturally occurring bacteria which typically have little or no health significance," it said in a statement.

It contends that a recent World Health Organization study concluded "heterotrophic bacteria counts in drinking water are not a health concern to the general public."

Researchers presented their results Tuesday at the general meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in San Diego.

"Bottled water is not expected to be free from micro-organisms but the (colony forming unit count) observed in this study is surprisingly very high," Azam said. "Therefore, it is strongly recommended to establish a limit for the heterotrophic bacteria count as well as to identify the nature of micro-organisms present in the bottled water."
​

!!!

 

[leaves]

I have aquasana filters and am very happy with them. I am very ontolerant to chlorine, so cant drink unfiltered water.

 

[ahimsa]

Five reasons not to drink bottled water

Here's a link that I found:

http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating-recipes/stories/5-reasons-not-to-drink-bottled-water

And here are two short quotes from another web page:

Gleick offered a simple way to visualize the average energy cost to make the plastic, process and fill the bottle, transport bottled water to market and then deal with the waste:

"It would be like filling up a quarter of every bottle with oil."

Bottled water costs about 1,000 times more than tap water.

(both quotes are from http://www.seattlepi.com/local/312412_botwaterweb.html )

I didn't find a web site about it but another concern for me would be the BPA in plastic water bottles.

I think water filters are the way to go if you are unhappy with your tap water. And pestering your city/county officials to improve your water system so that everyone has clean water. A temporary measure, and one that is cheaper (although time consuming), would be to boil your water but that's mainly meant to kill any bacterial contaminants. (that's what we do when visiting relatives in India) It won't eliminate the other problems as far as I know.

I wish you luck finding a solution that works for you!

Hugs!

 

[kurt]

Has anyone tried Reverse Osmosis water? I am trying to decide between an RO system (with an alkalanizing filter at the end) and a multi-filter solution (that leaves in the good minerals but takes out all the bad stuff). I have very hard water and also have heard that soft water with the sodium removed is better for detox. Thoughts?

 

[hubcap_halo]

I think this all depends on what is in the water where you live, what kind of filter you have, and what kind of bottled water you are buying. You say you have a very good filter, and it is still not working out with the water you are starting with. As much as I hate bottled water, if I were in your position I would be getting bottled water until the test results come back. The sad fact is a lot of what we do for our health is bad for the environment, and this is no different. It sucks that you live in a large metro area, cause otherwise I would suggest finding a clean free well in the country. That is what I have had to do in several locations where the water that came out of my faucett (or hand pump in the yard in one case) was not good enough to drink. This will not apply to you, but for others often places like fire stations, country stores, farms, municipal buildings, state parks, etc. will have free public wells, test them regularly, and have the test results available for you to peruse.

As far as bottled water goes (hoping since 88 is going to be horrified that I am saying this) I lived in the mountains of Maine for years, I have seen (in my former life even hiked in) most of the areas where Poland Spring water comes from, I have had town water from the same aquifers. It's clean, it's pure...no matter how I feel about nestle north america or plastic bottles... I have to admit it is decent water. Also if you can get your hands on it Glen Summit water (made in PA) is one of the few spring waters that is not treated in all kinds of crazy ways before it gets to you, and is pretty pure. Wouldn't it be nice if there was some way of knowing if you are getting water that has been sitting in 90 degree heat for months with more of a chance for all that plastic to leach into the water? so it's a tough decision. I am lucky now to be living on top of a very pure artesian spring, best water of anywhere I've ever lived. In fact, there is a spring water company up the road from my house. I certainly do not envy your situation.

Enjoy that spring water! Sorry about the late reply. I thought I had subscribed to this thread.

 

[Sushi]

Has anyone tried Reverse Osmosis water? I am trying to decide between an RO system (with an alkalanizing filter at the end) and a multi-filter solution (that leaves in the good minerals but takes out all the bad stuff). I have very hard water and also have heard that soft water with the sodium removed is better for detox. Thoughts?

I am using Reverse Osmosis water. My friend sees Dr. Karen Vrchota and this is what she recommended. At least it is not sitting in plastic bottles--the process happens in the machine in the store--both WalMart and my local health store supply it. You can get a system installed in your home too. We go with our own 5 gallon bottles (you can get either plastic or glass) and "fill er up." We then take extra doses of minerals as the RO water usually does not have the minerals replaced. It tastes great!

On the other hand, a patient of Dr. Cheney's tells me he recommends Icelandic water--available in bottles from WalGreens. It does come from Iceland, though it sits around in plastic bottles.

Sushi

 

[Dreambirdie]

I've ben using a reverse osmosis system, by Hydrotech, for 15 years. I like it a lot. Great water with a sweet taste. When I drink plastic bottle water, I notice the bitter taste of the plastic in the water. The only hard part is doing the yoga under the sink every 3 months, when I change one or more of the filters and sanitize the tank. I do this twice as often as required, because I have noticed some algae growth around the membrane, if I wait any longer. Overall though, it's really worth it having the water come out of my kitchen faucet and not having to schlep the bottles, as I did for so many years before that. And considering I schlepped 5 gallon GLASS bottles, you can imagine how liberating it is to be free of THAT task.

 

[Sallysblooms]

I wrote a few threads down about a wonderful filter I just ordered. Berkey filters. No electricity, so they are great for emergency and everyday. My parents have one and my husband and I are looking forward to getting ours. Was shipped today. VERY good filter. You can google them. Nothing comparable.

 

[Athene]

Am I right in thinking everyone on this thread so far is in America? Don't they sell good water in glass bottles? In Europe the top quality water comes in glass bottles and they would never put it into plastic. Usually the stuff in glass bottles is not mineral water but oligomineral water, in other words the mineral content is naturally very low and it actively pulls substances out of the body. The best stuff in Italy is called Acqua Fiuggi and it has been shown to help remove kidney stones and toxic metals from the body. When I have a really bad day I drink about 3 litres of it and it always helps. Is there really nothing like this in America?

Also, mineral water here is tested constantly for colony forming units at source and at the "use by" date on the bottle to see how much increase over storage time so I don't think bacteria are really a problem.

I agree about the environmental problems with bottles but, like Sarah G, I have decided I cannot save the planet and myself at the same time, I have to compromise and work out my priorities.

The main thing that worries me about filtering water is making sure the filters are really working as efficiently as they should and are changed often enough. The so called chromatography effect - in terms of filtration - is a process in which a filter first removes material from the liquid that is filtered, but re-releases it again into the filtrate after an unspecified period of time. As a result, there can be a higher concentration of the material in the filtered liquid than in the original liquid. I have read that many producers are not honest about the fact that this time period is variable depending on your original water and on environmental factors, and they state the average safe life of the filters rather than the minimum guaranteed safe life.

 

[Sallysblooms]

Glass or plastic, they are wasteful and you have to carry them, always have them on hand etc. Also, you really don't know what is in them. Usually just from a tap someplace. Most of the tap water is fine, but not pure enough for me. Also, if there is some emergency, I want to be able to have water. Not running out of bottles or even clean tap. You just never know. Floods, storms etc.

I am supposed to drink a good 3 three liters a day so I want the best I can research and find.