Is Tap Water Safe?

Not all water is ‘processed’ equally. I repeat, not all water is ‘processed’ equally.

Maddie and I have been discussing the importance of water and upping our hydration game – but if its not good, healthy water, then does this actually nourish and hydrate our bodies?

I hate being thought of as the ‘snob’ who sometimes says no when the waiter asks if I want tap water when out at a restaurant, but I have a good reason to say no and here’s why you might want to as well.

The reason I say no isn’t because I want a nice bottle of water, but because of all the toxins in our tap water.

In 2021, a nine-month investigation by the Guardian and Consumer Reports:

Found alarming levels of forever chemicals, Chlorine, Fluoride, Nitrates, arsenic and lead in samples taken across the US.

The samples came from water systems that together service more than 19 million people.

• More than 35% of the samples had PFAS, potentially toxic “forever chemicals”, at levels above CR’s recommended maximum.

• About 8% of samples had arsenic, at levels above CR’s recommended maximum.

• In total, 118 out of 120 samples had detectable levels of lead.

Almost every sample tested had measurable levels of PFAS, a group of compounds found in hundreds of household products. These chemicals are linked to learning delays in children, cancer, and other health problems. More than 35% exceeded a safety threshold that CR scientists and other health experts believe should be the maximum.

According to Harvard’s Medical Director, continual exposure to environmental toxins (like our tap water) can actually be detrimental to our health. It create dysbiosis in the gut ultimately causing leaky gut.

Leaky gut is when macromolecules, bacteria and toxins are able to pass through your intestinal wall during digestion and travel into your bloodstream. Common symptoms include bloating, gas, diarrhea, food sensitivities, inflammation, etc.

Why is this bad?

When you have leaky gut, essentially, your immune system thinks something is trying to attack you so it protects your body by developing antibodies against the macromolecules.

A lot of the macromolecules that enter your body are the foods you eat. So essentially, you start developing allergies and sensitivities to the foods you’re eating which creates other chronic symptoms and so on.

According to Harvard Health, we already know that increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut) plays a role in certain gastrointestinal conditions such as celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, and irritable bowel syndrome. The biggest question is whether or not a leaky gut may cause problems elsewhere in the body. Some studies show that leaky gut may be associated with other autoimmune diseases (lupus, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis), chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, arthritis, allergies, asthma, acne, obesity, and even mental illness. However, we do not yet have clinical studies in humans showing such a cause and effect.

So we know that our tap water can be a contributor to leaky gut.

Not to mention, according to Dr. Tom O’Bryan, exposure to environmental chemicals are a direct trigger to turning on your genes (genes that are linked to certain diseases that run in our families). What we put in our body either turns on or off those genes. That’s why it’s important to be mindful and aware of the environmental factors that can harm our health.

What can we do to inhibit the consumption of these environmental toxins, especially the ones in our tap water?

An easy and affordable solution is to invest in clean drinking water. Spring water to be exact (which you can buy at any supermarket).

The more environmental and longer term solution is to get a great quality water filter. Sorry to disappoint but Brita doesn’t cut it (it doesn’t filter out most chemicals).

The frustrating part is that its definitely an investment to get a good quality water filter like the Aqua Tru or Berkey (which are the gold standard). But then again, it all comes down to what we value and our spending choices.

Same goes for shower and sink water. Your skin absorbs what you put onto it, including the chemicals in the tap water from the shower and when your washing your face or brushing your teeth in the sink.