Water water everywhere, why can’t I drink it all?  

I am undeniably a water snob. If you have been around me for any length of time, I have most likely told you that I prefer to drink spring water, exclusively if possible. I try to fight the good fight and spread the word about spring water and yes there is a difference between spring, purified and distilled waters. I figure what better way to get the point across than to use the power of the internet!   I don’t want to bore you guys with too much blah blah blah, so I will keep it simple and to the point.   SPRING WATER is what you should be drinking, it comes from the earth complete with trace elements and natural minerals that your body absorbs and your body needs.   Best yet, it only has one ingredient and that is “Water.” And, yes, you’d be surprised to notice that most of the bottled water you drink has several ingredients “added for flavor.” If i have one selling point before you read further that may just open your eyes, and save you a few more minutes of reading my tirade, read the ingredients of your drinking water… It should just read; “water.”

Most likely, you are drinking tap and purified bottled water and didn’t even know there was a difference. Just to be clear, you’re likely not going to die drinking lousy bottled water nor water from your tap.*   However, companies like Dasani, Aquafina and the entire evil empire controlled by the Nestle corp have been pulling the wool over our eyes for decades, slowly poisoning everyone by serving up plain old municipal tap water, often times, seasoned with table salt “for taste.”   So let’s talk about your run of the mill tap water coming out of your faucet, it undoubtedly is water and it will serve its purpose as a means to hydrate you, but you should try to steer clear.   Tap water is often contaminated with very low, “passable” amounts of toxins and that are deemed to be ok for human consumption. This water, sometimes also, is contaminated with heavy metals and other nasty things that are leached into your body, subsequently, due to where the water is sourced.   But at what level..?   Lets have a look at what might be coming out of your tap, and to be honest, I find myself surprised every time I see this list.

-Arsenic ! Yea, the same arsenic that is sent to the government once a year to literally kill people! This poisonous element is a powerful carcinogenic, which has been linked to an increased risk of the development of several types of cancer.   The Natural Resources Defense Council estimates as many as 56 million Americans living in 25 states drink water with arsenic at unsafe levels. We all remember the Flint Michigan water issues that were all over the news last year? Flint isn’t the only US nor is it the only World city that deals with contaminated water sources. For more information, see the USGS website , which offers maps showing where and to what extent arsenic occurs in ground water across the United States.  

-Aluminum!  Aluminum has been linked to an increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease, but that’s not the only  aluminum found in your municipal water supply can cause a wide variety of other health problems?

Aluminum has been linked to : Hyperactivity, Learning disabilities in children, Gastrointestinal disease, Skin problems, Parkinson’s disease, Liver disease

-Prescription and OTC Drugs!  With the amount of pharmaceutical commercials out there, you can expect that an unnerving amount of America is taking some form of prescription drug or another.  I guess I can’t blame them too much for falling for the perfect lives with the puppies and happy families walking through meadows and whatnot as depicted in the commercials.  Suicide, impotence, hair loss and diarrhea aside, I feel like sometimes I may need some of what they are trying to sell me. You may have been told that if you dispose of your  prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs in the trash instead of the toilet that you do not run any risk of it ending up in the water supply. Unfortunately, this is not the case. In some states, Maine for example , water drains through landfills, known as a leach rate, eventually finding its way into rivers.  From there, it is filtered, then bottled and placed in your local gas station convenient store ready to be consumed.  While you’re not actually drinking mud water, there are still the trace elements in there that can add up to cause a negative effect.  Just to be clear, these are long term effects.  According to studies, human cells do not grow normally when exposed to even minute amounts of prescription or over-the-counter drugs. Some drugs that were never meant to be combined are mixed together in the drinking water you consume every day. Millions of people have drug allergies. How do you know the strange symptoms you may have been experiencing are not in fact your self-manufactured gluten allergy, rather, they are due to ingesting small doses of the drugs you’re allergic to from your drinking water?

-PLASTIC!   I am not talking about bottled water, I am talking about plastic in your tap water.There was just recently a study that found more than 83% of the WORLD’S TAP WATER was contaminated with plastic particles.  The US sat at the top of this plastic throne with over 94% of the US’ tap water contaminated with plastic fibers. Unfortunately, we don’t really know the exact negative affect of this, however we can all agree that our assumptions are probably correct. There is a great article about the plastics in our water sources as well as in the air we breathe!

So, you get it now, just drink bottled water , you should be fine, right? Sorry, you’re gonna get bombarded with more facts!

40%  of bottled water is bottled TAP WATER! Not only that, but there is something called bisphenol A or BPA , which is a synthetic hormone disruptor that has been linked to other serious health problems like; Learning and behavioral problems, Altered immune system function, Prostate and breast cancer.

Did I say this was gonna be a super short right to the point article? Yes, I did, we’re almost there, just stop drinking purified water and stay focused…

Pregnant women should also be wary of the type of water they are drinking. The toxic substances you take into your body from tap or lousy purified drinking water may have a negative effect on the development of your unborn child. The “may” part of the statement is a big if, but there are several studies that show prescription drugs that are leached out in landfills find their way into municipal water sources via rivers lakes and aquifers, as stated above.  

While pretty much all water is treated, trace elements are hard to dissolve with these processes and, just as I mentioned above, there have been these trace amounts found in tap water. I just recently had a baby and you best believe Camille was sipping on fine mountain spring water every day (we have a delivery service that drops off 20 gallons a month for $25 with a hot/cold dispenser).   Again, this is a precautionary measure and you and your baby are likely to be safe if you drink exclusively from the hose on the back porch. However, there are risks you take.

Mountain spring water has naturally occurring minerals that are good for your body and generally sits on an ideal range on the PH scale, (the scale that measures the balance of acidic and alkaline waters).   It is some of the healthiest water on the planet because it is “living water.”   Living water, much like “living food” is in its raw, natural state the way nature intended.   It should be untreated, and only goes through minor filtration to take out the heavy elements and minerals.   This leaves the natural taste and the ever so important trace elements which are very difficult to ingest on a daily basis unless you are consuming special salts or other raw minerals.   That and there are no ingredients added to the water, it’s just water, from the earth.  With that said, your body does need those minerals that are “added for taste,” which occur naturally in Spring Water. Magnesium, Calcium and Sodium are all important minerals. (This is also why you shouldn’t drink distilled water.)

Fruits and veggies are loaded with water as well. I am sure all of us reading this have tried the more popular coconut water.   As an athlete, obviously I can attest to the benefits of drinking spring water.   In addition, you can also look to nature to help quench your thirst.   If you have been to a tropical region of the world, you have undoubtedly encountered someone peddling coconuts on the side of the road.   I personally LOVE coconuts and they are an excellent source of fresh, pure water and electrolytes. Coconuts are also rich in lauric acid, which is known for its immune-boosting properties as well as its antiviral, antibacterial and anti-fungal properties so it’s a great choice when you’re sick or hungover.   They are also an excellent source of potassium, so they work extremely well if you’re cramping up at all, or just as a preventative measure. I recommend drinking some after you play a match or after a day of practice.   Be careful of store bought coconut waters though, they tend to be loaded with sugar. (you should already know about the issues with sugar).   I recommend the raw, organic versions or the ones fresh off the tree!

An even better pure healthy water is vegetable juicing. You have already, hopefully, read my blog post on my healthy morning start.   I like to blend my fruits and veggies so I can get, not only the juice itself, but all the health benefits of the fiber and any outlying vitamins and minerals.

I can’t say enough about the health benefits of drinking spring water.   I actually haven’t had a soda in years and I do my best to drink nothing but water on a regular basis. Again, I aim to help you live a healthier, happier, cleaner life. If I help one person by writing this, then I will be happy, if I change everyone’s mind, I will be absolutely ecstatic! Let’s also be very clear, cost is something that everyone has on their mind. The cost difference between a gallon of purified drinking water and mountain spring water is almost negligible, maybe it is 10 cents at the grocery store per gallon.   A flat of 24-36 waters at Target or Wallmart, maybe $1-2.   But if what I have said still doesn’t sell you on the spring water kick, I want to remind you to read the ingredients of your drinking water bottle. “Minerals added for flavor” is what it might read, but at the end of the day, it should just read “water.”