WATER

I have just decided after weeks of research that the Multi-pure filter was the right one to get. I was tired of going to the well (health food store) to fill my plastic bottles ("healthy" plastic albeit, but that sounds like an oxymoron to me). I wanted to drink water that didn't taste like plastic and that didn't cost me an arm and a leg. If you want a filter and don't know where to get one contact me.

(This is from a german website I found whose address I misplaced- sorry)

25% of bottled water – including Coca-Cola’s Dasani and Pepsi’s Aquafina – are merely prettily-packaged city water. Check the label, the cap or call the bottler to make sure you are not wasting your money on something you can get for free at home.

If you choose to buy bottled water, go for brands with a known protected source and ones that have readily-available testing and treatment information that shows high water quality.

Regardless of where – or how – you get your water, do not deprive yourself. The Institute of Medicine advises that men consume roughly 3.0 liters (about 13 cups) and that women down 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of water a day to stay hydrated and healthy. Filter and bottle your own water (in something other than plastic) - this saves money and ensures the pureness, too.

There are a number of methods of water filtration, each with varying degrees of effectiveness, and varying costs. The general purpose of filtering water is to improve the water's hygiene and aesthetic qualities. (Make sure the filter gets pesticides and Pharmaceuticals out of the water) Some of the available water filters are described below:

Activated Carbon (AC) Water Filters
Activated Carbon Filtration is an established technology that works through absorption of the problematic compounds, primarily to remove taste and odour but systems will also remove some harmful contaminents. AC is a highly porous material with a very large surface area. Chemical pollutants are attracted to and held by the AC's surface. These water filters are best suited for the removal of organic compounds.

Ultraviolet (UV) Water Filters
UV Filters are able to kill the majority of bacteria and viruses in the water which passes through them. However, they won't remove chemical pollutants from the water. Also you should note that the treatment is ineffective outside of the treatment area, so water should be used immediately after it is treated.

Water Distillation (Water Distillers)
Water Distillation involves heating the water to boiling point and condensing the steam. Pollutants with a boiling boint near that of water are hard to remove, but generally the distilled water is of a very high quality.

The major drawback to this method is that it requires a large amount of energy. Some people will also complain that the distilled water tastes flat (this is due to less dissolved oxygen).

Also rumor has it that it depletes minerals from your body which I guess is good if you want to get rid of the toxic heavy metals. But I don't even know if that works. I have tried drinking distilled water for months at a time and both times my nails, skin and hair (not to mention my health) showed detrimental signs of abuse. I wouldn't repeat this experiment.

Sand Filters
Sand based water filters have been used for over 100 years to treat waste water. They are generally used on a larger scale to treat a water supply for a whole community, and will be custom made. Most units require a constant flow of water to work correctly, and so wouldn't be suitable for well water treatment. However, recently a Canadian scientist, David Manz developed an intermitent unit. You can buy pre-built commercial units for home use which are typically used with swimming pool pumps.

Reverse Osmosis
In water filter terms, reverse osmosis (or hyper-filtration) is the process of filtering water under pressure through a semi-permeable membrane, allowing water to pass through but rejecting other particles such as bacteria, toxins, salts, and anything bigger than around 150 Daltons.

HOW NATURE MAKES WATER: The Hydrologic Cycle: Nature’s Own Purification System
Nature recycles the earth's limited water supply through a process known as the water or hydrologic cycle. Powered by energy from the sun, water evaporates from the vast surfaces of the ocean and transpires from plant biomass. Convection lifts the moisture, which cools and condenses into clouds. Water is eventually returned to the earth as snow, sleet and rain. This precipitation accumulates as freshwater on the earth’s surface and percolates below in the ground.

Freshwater
Freshwater represents just three percent (3%) of all water on earth, and nearly 70% of that is frozen in ice and in glaciers.The other 30% of freshwater is located in the ground. Surface freshwater sources, such as rivers and lakes, constitute only 1/700th of one percent of the planet’s total water. These are the primary sources of the earth’s drinking water.

There is widespread concern about the deteriorating quality of freshwater in North America. Growing demand, coupled with increasing levels of pollutants, has led many people to question the safety of their municipal water supplies. Even though city water treatment plants are carefully regulated by the EPA, a lot can happen to water as it travels to your faucet. Tap water is dependent upon the condition of city infrastructure and your home’s plumbing. Lead, asbestos, copper, brass and PVC, which are common plumbing materials, have all been linked to health disorders.

Minerals and Drinking Water
There is much controversy about minerals in our drinking water. As a species, humans evolved consuming surface water found in streams, rivers and lakes. Surface water is naturally low in minerals. When humans began to dig deep wells, they tapped into groundwater with a much higher mineral content. These minerals exist in a form and quantity that the body cannot easily absorb. Consequently, they tend to build up in the organs and tissues, instead of being utilized by the body. FreshPure™ RO Water contains only trace levels of minerals (typically 5-20 ppm), similar to the low levels found in fresh surface water.
Optimally, the minerals needed by the body are obtained from either a diet rich in whole foods, or through food-based supplements. All FreshPure™ Waters systems are located inside reputable natural food stores. We encourage you to contact their knowledgeable associates for more information and for recommendations on how you can improve your diet, health and well-being. The simple step of adding high-quality water back into your diet can help improve your health tremendously.

Over the last decade, sales of bottled water have increased dramatically to become what is estimated to be a US $100 billion industry. From 1999 to 2004, global bottled water consumption grew from approximately 118 billion litres to more than 182 billion litres. In several cities of the developing world, demand for bottled water often stems from the fact that municipal water supplies, if available at all, fail to meet basic criteria for drinking water quality. But companies manufacturing bottled water are also generating large revenues in developed countries. Bottled water sales in the United States in 2004 - higher than in any other country - totalled over US $9 billion for 30.8 billion litres of water, that is, enough water to meet the annual physiological needs of a population the size of Cambodia. Countries in the top ten list of bottled water consumers include United States, Mexico, China, Brazil, Italy, Germany, France, Indonesia, Spain and India. When asked why they are willing to pay so much for bottled water when they have access to tap water, consumers often list concerns about the safety of tap water as a major reason for preferring bottled water.

While most companies market this product on the basis that it is safer than tap water, various studies indicate that bottled water regulations are in fact inadequate to ensure purity or safety. The World Health Organization warns that bottled water can actually have a greater bacterial count than municipal water.

In the United States, the standards by which bottled water is graded (regulated by the Food and Drug Administration) are actually lower than those for tap water (regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency). Most water bottles are meant to be recyclable. However, only 20% of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the substance used for water bottles, is actually recycled. In addition, the PET manufacturing process releases harmful chemical emissions that compromise air quality. In Greece, it is estimated that 1 billion plastic drinking water bottles are thrown away each year. In China, where roughly 70% of rivers and lakes are polluted, the largest demand for bottled water comes from city dwellers, for in rural areas people are too poor to pay for this alternative.