Wednesday, September 19, 2012
The major toxins in your water
Sept 15, 2012 by: Dr. David Jockers amended by Don Porter
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/037205_water_toxins_arsenic.html#ixzz26aQ9wvnY
(NaturalNews) Clean, pure water is one of the greatest natural resources in the world. Every metabolic function depends on the presence of water. Cities are built around abundant supplies of water. There are many industrial toxins present in our municipal water sources that must be avoided.
Water is absolutely necessary for optimizing energy production and detoxification abilities within the body. The ideal source of water is as pure and unadulterated as possible from a natural spring. Unfortunately, our water supply is loaded with toxic contaminants. Here are a few we all need to be aware of and take measures to avoid:
Arsenic: This is a powerful cancer-causing agent. In 2001, the EPA lowered the maximum level permitted in drinking water from 50 ug/L to 10 ug/L due to the well-established carcinogenic risk. The Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that as many as 56 million Americans living in 25 states drink water with unsafe arsenic levels.
Aluminum: This toxic heavy metal is linked with neurological, gastrointestinal and liver damage. Most city water has elevated levels of aluminum. Aluminum competes with calcium for skeletal absorption but does not mimic calcium's effects in the body. High aluminum reduces skeletal mineralization. It also retards the absorption of phosphorus, zinc, and selenium. Zinc and selenium are key immune system modulators. Aluminum causes deficiencies in these critical minerals and malcoordinates the immune system.
Fluoride: This halogen molecule is a highly potent free radical in the body that damages neurological tissue, injures the immune system and hampers thyroid function among many other problems. In a 2006 report by the National Research Council of The National Academies it states,
"Fluoride is an endocrine disruptor in the broad sense of altering normal endocrine function."
Chlorine: This is used to sterilize the water and rightfully so as many infectious diseases can be attained through contaminated water. Natural springs should never be sterilized but city water absolutely should be. Unfortunately, when chlorine is not filtered out of the water and is instead consumed in tap water, it destroys the natural microflora throughout the body. This adversely affects natural immunity and dramatically increases the risk for immune disorders and cancer.
One of the most dangerous forms of chlorine includes chlorine vapors and chloroform gas. The FDA and other US government agencies have reported that most homes in the U.S. have measurable levels of chloroform gas. This seeps out of toilet bowls, dishwashers, showers, etc. These vapors dramatically increase the risk of asthma, airway inflammation and respiratory allergies. Chloroform gas is known to cause acute dizziness, nausea and fatigue.
DisInfectant ByProducts (DBP's): These are used along with chlorine to destroy any form of life in the water. These chemicals include trihalomethanes, halogenic acetic acids, haloacetonitrils and haloketons among others. DBP's are considered to be far more dangerous for consumption than chlorine. They are powerful carcinogenic molecules that destroy the liver, kidneys and nervous system.
Prescription and Over-the Counter Drugs (OTC): Studies have shown that even minute amounts of RX and OTC drug exposure causes human cells to grow and mature abnormally. There are numerous small drug combinations within tap water that are extremely hazardous for consumption.
Some individuals have extreme allergic reactions to certain drugs that may also be present in a very diluted form in the tap water they are drinking.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection tested their water and found a number of different drugs to be present. The most common ones included:
OTC pain relievers such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen
Antidepressants
Birth control pills
Blood pressure and cholesterol medications
Also see: Tap Water Toxins: Is Your Water Trying to Kill You?
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/02/07/tap-water-toxins-is-your-water-trying-to-kill-you.aspx -- Mercola.com
Sources for this article include:
http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/heavy-metals/dangers-of-aluminum
http://www.naturalnews.com/035495_water_filters_health_distilled.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/025996_water_chemicals_toxic.html
About the author:
Dr. David Jockers owns and operates Exodus Health Center in Kennesaw, Ga. He is a Maximized Living doctor. His expertise is in weight loss, customized nutrition & exercise, & structural corrective chiropractic care. For more information go to www.drjockers.com To find a Maximized Living doctor near you go to www.maximizedliving.com Dr. Jockers is also available for long distance phone consultations to help you beat disease and reach your health goals
How are Disinfection Byproducts Created?
The most common disinfection techniques used at water treatment facilities today involve the use of chlorine, chloramines, and chlorine dioxide to kill harmful, disease-causing microorganisms in the water, making it safe to drink.
Unfortunately, over the years scientists have discovered that toxic chemical byproducts form when these disinfectants react with natural organic matter like decaying vegetation in the source water.
The most common disinfectant byproducts formed when chlorine is used are:
•trihalomethanes (THMs)
•haloacetic acids (HAAs)
The EPA takes the dangers of THMs -- which are measured in parts per billion -- very seriously and regulates these compounds. The maximum annual average of THMs in your local water supply cannot exceed 80 ppb (parts-per-billion), and the maximum annual average of HAAs permitted by EPA regulations is 60 ppb.
However even though these are allowed, ideally it would be best to have zero. These levels have been regularly adjusted downwards over the years as science progresses and gains a deeper appreciation of their true toxicity.
As usual, cost is one reason -- and probably the sole reason -- water companies managed to prevent this EPA standard from being reduced even further. Water companies felt it would cost too much to remove a greater amount of these DBPs from their water, so they pushed for an elevated standard.
Nevertheless, it's important to note that the EPA sets the goal for some of these byproducts at zero because they are so dangerous, but unfortunately the EPA goal would be impossible to enforce.
Hence, if you are on a public water system -- meaning a utility company supplies your water -- it's extremely likely it contains chlorine and disinfection-byproducts and you will definitely want to consider purifying your family’s water with a water filtration system that can effectively remove DBPs.Slovak recommends requesting a water quality report from your local water purveyor at least once a year, to see how well your municipality maintains the EPA standards. Keep in mind however that the EPA’s recommended goal is zero! So if your municipality is on the high end, your water may be more hazardous than you’d like to imagine.
If you are like me and obtain your water from a private well, then DBPs are a non-issue as they are only produced when chlorine is added, and it’s highly unusual to add chlorine to most all private well water systems.
How Can DBPs Harm Your Health?
Trihalomethanes (THMs) are Cancer Group B carcinogens, meaning they’ve been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals.
DBPs have also been linked to reproductive problems in both animals and humans, and human studies suggest that lifetime consumption of chlorine-treated water can more than double the risk of bladder and rectal cancers in certain individuals.
One such study found that smoking men who drank chlorinated tap water for more than 40 years faced double the risk of bladder cancer compared with smoking men who drank non-chlorinated water.
A second study found that rates for rectal cancers for both sexes escalated with duration of consumption of chlorinated water. Individuals on low-fiber diets who also drank chlorinated water for over 40 years more than doubled their risk for rectal cancer, compared with lifetime drinkers of non-chlorinated water.
As the vast majority of the U.S. population continues to receive and consume disinfected or chlorinated drinking water, we can assume that Americans are consuming disinfection byproducts every single day, and the number of related cancer cases could be substantial.
DBPs are Even More Dangerous Through Skin Exposure!
As bad as it is to consume DBPs, they may wreak even more havoc when they’re absorbed through your skin!
A study published in the Journal of Environmental Sciences last year found that swimming in a chlorinated pool presented an unacceptable cancer risk.
They concluded that the cancer risk of trihalomethanes from various routes in descending order was:
1.skin exposure while swimming
2.gastro-intestinal exposure from tap water intake
3.skin exposure to tap water
4.gastro-intestinal exposure while swimming
But the cancer risk from skin exposure while swimming was over 94 percent of the total cancer risk resulting from being exposed to THMs!
THMs formed in chlorinated swimming pools have also been linked to spontaneous abortion, stillbirths and congenital malformations, even at lower levels.
This is one of the primary reasons I rarely ever dip in a pool. I far prefer to swim in a lake or the ocean.
The ocean is my favorite, and fortunately I get to do that regularly when I am in Maui over the winter. It always surprises me though how few people swim in the ocean, relative to spending their time in the pool right next to the ocean. Seems people would rather soak up these dangerous DBP toxins than swimming in natural healthy salt water.
Other Dangers in Your Drinking Water
As reported in New Scientist, a comprehensive survey of U.S. drinking water reveals that your drinking water is also likely laced with a wide variety of pharmaceuticals and hormonally active chemicals.
The 11 most frequently detected compounds were:
•Atenolol, a beta-blocker used to treat cardiovascular disease
•Atrazine, an organic herbicide banned in the European Union which has been implicated in the decline of fish stocks and in changes in animal behavior
•Carbamazepine, a mood-stabilizing drug used to treat bipolar disorder
•Estrone, an estrogen hormone secreted by the ovaries and blamed for causing gender changes in fish
•Gemfibrozil, an anti-cholesterol drug
•Meprobamate, a tranquilizer used in psychiatric treatment
•Naproxen, a painkiller and anti-inflammatory linked to increases in asthma incidence
•Phenytoin, an anticonvulsant used to treat epilepsy
•Sulfamethoxazole, an antibiotic
•TCEP, a reducing agent used in molecular biology
•Trimethoprim, another antibiotic
So, What are Your Healthiest Water Options?
Your best bet for ensuring your water does not contain DBPs and various pharmaceutical agents is to filter your own water, at home, using a reverse osmosis filter.
While installing a filter to purify your drinking water is a wise decision as it will eliminate virtually all of the drugs and DBPs, it may not be enough. Your skin absorbs both water and chemicals -- as illustrated in the study on swimming pool contamination and cancer risk mentioned above – so you could still be exposing yourself to dangerous levels of contaminants when you:
1.Shower or bathe
2.Wash your hands
3.Wash laundry
4.Rinse fruits and vegetables
5.Wash dishes, glasses, and other utensils
The biggest risk here is your shower. You can easily absorb as many toxins in one shower as you would by drinking tap water all week long.
So, with that in mind, please keep your eyes open for the next video segment from my Inner Circle expert interview with Robert Slovak, where he will discuss the three most effective ways to ensure the water supply in your home is as healthy as possible.
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