Bottled Water: What's Really Inside and is it Safer to Drink?

Jan 7, 2011
Tamara Laschinsky

Regulations do not required companies to tell you what's in bottled water - Creative Commons with permission

We believe bottled water is pure and safer for us, but how can we be sure? Recent tests shows most bottled water doesn't reveal treatment process or purity

Yahoo News reported some shocking information regarding the purity of bottled water. Recent analysis done by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) showed that more than half of the bottle water manufacturers did not disclose important information about what's in the bottles you buy.

Environmental Working Group's Bottled Water Test

The Environmental Working Group analyzed 173 bottled water products to determine how many companies disclosed information on the bottled water contents. More than half of the companies analyzed failed the EWG's transparency test. The EWG was looking for product labels that showed the following information:

Where the water comes from
How the water is treated
Results of purity tests

The also looked at the effectiveness of the water treatment methods were. The EWG believes consumers have a right to know what is in their bottled water so they can make informed decisions. The results of the tests were:

18 % did not say where the water came from
32 % did not indicate treatment or purity of the water

The Best and Worst of the Bottled Water Brands

Three brands, out of the 173 tested, received a passing grade from the EWG. These brands disclosed the most information and used more up-to-date methods of treating water. The best brands for bottled water were:

Gerber Pure Purified Water
Nestle Pure Life Purified Water
Penta Ultra-Purified Water

As for the brands that did not do so well, they failed to provide any of the three pieces of required information on their labels. The six brands that got the worst marks on their bottled water:

Whole Foods Italian Still Mineral Water
Vintage Natural Spring Water
Sahara Premium Drinking Water
O Water Sport Electrolyte Enhanced Purified Drinking Water
Market Basket Natural Spring Water
Cumby's Spring Water

Best Selling Brands of Bottled Water

The EWG tested many brands of bottled water and gave them a grade from A - F, with being the lowest grade possible. Of the top selling U.S brands, these bottled water companies received the following marks:

Pure Life Purified Water (Nestle) = B
Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water (Nestle) = C
Aquafina Purified Drinking Water (Pepsi) = D
Dasani Purified Water (Coca-Cola) = D
Deer Park Natural Spring Water (Nestle) = D
Ice Mountain Natural Spring Water (Nestle) = D
Ozarka Natural Spring Water (Nestle) = D
Poland Spring Natural Spring Water (Nestle) = D
Zephyrhills Natural Spring Water (Nestle) = D
Crystal Geyser Natural Alpine Spring Water (CG Roxane) = F

Rules and Regulation on Bottled Water Labeling

While the Environmental Protection Agency says consumers have the right to know where their water is coming from and what is in it in order to make informed choices for their health and that of their family, these bottled water companies are complying with federal law. Bottled water is considered a food product and every company evaluated by the EWG was following the labeling guidelines.

The Best Water to Drink: Bottled vs. Filtered Tap Water

The EWG gives the highest rating to filtered tap water, indicating that so long as the filter is replace regularly, it will be purer than any bottled water. It also saves on waste that enters the environment . From a cost perspective, filtered water is more economical; bottled water can cost you 1,900 times more than what comes out of your tap.

However, if bottled water is your only option, the EWG recommends products that have undergone "reverse osmosis" or "mico-filtration" water treatments.

Sources:

Yahoo Shine, "Best and worst bottled water brand" (accessed January 7, 2010)

EWG, "What's in Your Bottled Water - Besides Water?" (accessed January 7, 2010)

EPA, "Preparing Your Drinking Water Consumer Confidence Report" (accessed January 7, 2010)

Tamara Laschinsky - Health and wellness advocate, author, researcher and owner of Natural e GREEN: Natural Health & Wellness store!

Comments

Feb 24, 2011 2:01 AM

Guest :

I am not as concerned about what is in the water as what is in the bottle. The chemicals in the bottles are making it very likely that there will be many fewer males in the future. Some even see a future with no males. You see, one of the greatest cons in history has been that the males are the superior and stronger sex but in reality women are much stronger than we males are (yes I am a male) and there is a large amount of evidence that women are the superior gender by far. Now that women are getting an equal chance we males took for granted, women are surpassing most males in almost every area. That saying, whatever a male can do, a woman can do better and faster is so true. Most women work circles around us males and they do a much better job.

Now for the chemicals.

A CNN report states that BPA can increase testosterone. From everything I have read, BPA and other chemicals have adversely effected males much more often girls. The fact that the male is actually by far the weaker sex is revealed in that in all but two of the major categories of birth defects (nervous system defects and endocrine system defects) had a higher prevalence among males.
Further evidence that the male is the weaker sex and that they are so by a great amount is the documentary film entitled “The Disappearing Male” was first shown on CBC in June, 2009.
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=1122
“Where have all the boys gone?”
“Millions of males are disappearing.”
“We’re on the Titanic and we see the iceberg but we just can’t turn the ship.”
“It may be a threat to the survival of the species.”
The claims behind the rhetoric are that male to female sex ratios at birth are decreasing, sperm quality and fertility are decreasing, and genitourinary birth defects like hypospadias
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypospadias
are becoming more common. The film blames environmental chemicals, especially endocrine disruptors, and it claims they are causing “the most rapid period of evolution our species has ever seen” and that this may lead to our extinction.
95% of us have elevated levels of it in our bodies, and the younger you are the higher the level is likely to be. The problem is, even very low doses of bisphenol-A have been repeatedly linked to increased incidence of low sperm counts, the earlier onset of puberty, insulin resistance and diabetes, prostate and testicular abnormalities, among other effects.
Notice again, almost all of those affected are male.
Research that shows that boys born to mothers exposed to phthalates had smaller penises, and a whole host of problems which are now referred to as "testicular dysgenesis syndrome". These include reproductive abnormalities that are strongly linked to the later development of testicular and prostate cancer.
Mother nature knew the weakness of the male as compared to the female and that is why 106 males use to be born for every 100 girls. Males die more often at every age and even before birth, it has been found 150 males are conceived for every 100 girls so 45 die even before birth.
However, in the past several years, more girls are being born than males. In one area of Canada that is heavily polluted, 3 girls are being born for every male.
End result, I find it hard to believe that BPA is helping males. If anything, it is showing that males are the weaker sex and if anyone doubts the superiority of women, one has only to watch the males disappear. Don't worry however, before that happens, women will find a way to reproduce without males. I am also sure women would than come up with a solution to bring males back since most of us do want the males around. So males admit your weakness compared to women and seek help in these areas even if they are so many.

As much evidence that we have to show women are superior, I find it odd that many males brag about having to put it bluntly, a pair of balls and they brag about having big balls.

It is my understanding that a man's balls actually makes males weaker., If he did not have them males would live almost as long as women so guys the next time you brag about your nuts, you are nuts.