The Hidden Dangers of the Explosion of Bottled Water Use

German researchers have found that the longer a bottle of water sits on a store shelf or in a household pantry, the higher the dose of antimony it contains. Amounts of this potentially toxic trace element were measured for 15 brands of Canadian bottled water and 48 European brands. Concentrations reached more than 100 times the average level of antimony in pristine groundwaters (2 parts per trillion).

However, the concentration was even higher after the bottles were left to sit at room temperature for six months. Antimony concentrations in the Canadian bottled waters increased by 19 percent, concentrations in the European brands increased by 90 percent.
Most of the water tested was packaged in bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Antimony trioxide is used as a catalyst in the manufacture of PET. The different concentrations of antimony in the various brands might have been caused by differing temperatures, water pHs, or exposure to sunlight. 

We Americans pitch 38 billion water bottles a year into landfills -- in excess of $1 billion worth of plastic. And 24% of the bottled water we buy is tap water repackaged by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. (Bottled water: A river of money) . There is a perception among many people that bottled water is somehow more healthy or pure than water from their tap. This is simply an illusion of marketing. A four-year study by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), released in 1999, found that one-fifth of the sampled bottled waters contained known neurotoxins and carcinogens such as styrene, toluene and xylene. Another NRDC study found that, out of 103 brands of bottled water, one-third contained traces of arsenic and E. coli. This means that out of a sample of 1,000 bottles sold in the U.S., at least 300 would have some level of chemical contamination.

A Suffolk County Study in the USA tested 88 bottled waters and what they found was horrifying. It was this study which discovered the cancer agent, benzene, in Perrier and caused it to be withdrawn, but they also found: Freon, kerosene, toluene, trichloroethylene, and xylene in a number of other bottled waters.

The NRDC in the USA reported that one-third of bottled water products they tested were found to violate an enforceable state standard or exceed microbiological purity guidelines, or both, in at least one sample. Despite popular misperceptions (spawned primarily by advertising), bottled water is not regulated as strictly as tap water. In fact, unlike tap water, regulations allow bottled water to contain some contamination by E. coli or fecal coliform and don't require disinfection for cryptosporidium or giardia. And, as Consumer Reports tests discovered, unhealthy chemicals can migrate from plastic bottles into the water.  Why Purified and Distilled Bottled Water are Bad For You

Sometimes bottled water is tap water: In spite of the springs, mountains, and other bucolic scenes depicted on labels, some bottled water is nothing more than tap water, NRDC and Consumer Reports have found. The Aquafina brand, for example, is drawn from the municipal water supplies of Detroit, Fresno, and other cities. Coke and Pepsi - the main producers of bottled water (under different brand names) also use tap, not spring water.

The most common plastic used in water bottle manufacturing is PET (polyethylene terephthalate), an environmentally unfriendly substance that actually requires 17.5 kilograms of water to produce only 1 kilogram of PET. In fact, more water is used to make PET bottles than is actually put into them. The production of the plastic also produces numerous byproducts that are extremely harmful to the environment. The Container Recycling Institute reported that 14 billion water bottles were sold in the U.S. in 2002, yet only 10 percent of these bottles were recycled - 90 percent ended up in the trash. That's an extra 12.6 billion plastic bottles for the landfills; bottles that contained water that was no more - and often less - healthy than tap water.

There is a correlation between the consumption of soft water (purified water is extremely soft) and the incidence of cardiovascular disease. Cells, tissues and organs do not like to be dipped in acid and will do anything to buffer this acidity including the removal of minerals from the skeleton and the manufacture of bicarbonate in the blood. The longer one drinks distilled water, the more likely the development of mineral deficiencies and an acid state. I have done well over 3000 mineral evaluations using a combination of blood, urine and hair tests in my practice. Almost without exception, people who consume purified water exclusively, eventually develop multiple mineral deficiencies. Those who supplement their purified or distilled water intake with trace minerals are not as deficient but still not as adequately nourished in minerals as their non-purified water drinking counterparts even after several years of mineral supplementation.

Purified water tends to be acidic and can only be recommended as a way of drawing poisons out of the body. Once this is accomplished, the continued drinking of purified water is a bad idea. People in Canada and the USA are consuming more bottled water than coffee, tea, apple juice or even milk. But are they being duped by misleading promises that bottled water is healthier, purer and fresher than tap water?

"The wars of the next century will be about water." This is a quote from Ismail Serageldin, former vice president of the World Bank, in 1999. This is the same World Bank that encourages the privatization of the world's water supply. The same World Bank whose members have financial ties to multinational corporations such as General Electric and Enron. The Polaris Institute’s new book, Inside the Bottle: An Exposé of the Bottled Water Industry, sheds light on the deceptive practices of four big companies that dominate the bottled water industry: Nestlé, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Danone. Inside the Bottle provides examples of how citizens can target the “big four” bottled water companies, control private water-takings, and promote public water management in their communities. For more information, check out www.polarisinstitute.org

Bottled water cost more than gasoline! This time last year earth-policy.org published an article stating, "The global consumption of bottled water reached 154 billion liters (41 billion gallons) in 2004, up 57 percent from the 98 billion liters consumed five years earlier. Even in areas where tap water is safe to drink, demand for bottled water is increasing--producing unnecessary garbage and consuming vast quantities of energy. Although in the industrial world bottled water is often no healthier than tap water, it can cost up to 10,000 times more. At as much as $2.50 per liter ($10 per gallon), bottled water costs more than gasoline."

Bottled water is not necessarily any healthier than the water from your tap. In fact, roughly forty percent of bottled water begins as tap water, says the above referenced earth-policy.org. In addition, "Fossil fuels are also used in the packaging [and transporting] of water. The most commonly used plastic for making water bottles is polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is derived from crude oil. Making bottles to meet Americans' demand for bottled water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some 100,000 U.S. cars for a year. Worldwide, some 2.7 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water each year."   Coke Wants to Fool You With Their Bottled Water

Demineralizing effect on the body by reverse osmosis water
The "very clean waters" produced by reverse osmosis, (which also is use by most bottled companies) is called "hungry" or "death" water. It is so clean that nothing is left in it. The water is charged with positive ions instead of negative ions and is also acidic instead of alkaline. The water you drink is supposed to bring all nutrients to the destination and to flush out any free radicals.

Free radicals are basically poisoned waste products produced by smoking, drinking, inhaling polluted air and even by eating and exercising. Your body is like a car engine, every time you turn it on, it burns fuel to move your car, but by doing so produces smoke, which is poisoned.
If you take in this totally clean water then, instead of supplementing minerals to the body it does just the opposite - it takes them away. Can you see that? Can you see that if you would spill clean water over a dirty rock you would have some of the dirt being washed away with the clean water?

That is what happens with hungry (totally clean water) - except it does not take away the dirt but it depletes the body of minerals, calcium and anything else, as it passes trough the body: Everything except the free radicals because they are charged positively. This is also the case with the reverse osmosis water and the bottled water. As you know from school to positive magnets push each other away. So the solution is to drink water, which has a range of minus 250 to minus 800 mV with a PH in the range of 8.5 to 9.5. (a high pH range can easily be produced with an ionizer water machine)

Thirst: Fighting the Corporate Theft of Our Water

THIRST investigates eight recent high-profile controversies over the corporate takeover of water in the U.S, and illuminates how citizens are fighting back in heartland communities like Stockton, CA, Lexington, KY, Holyoke, MA, and Mecosta County, MI. Political corruption, high stakes financial takeovers, and behind the scenes maneuvering by some of the richest corporations characterize a David and Goliath battle in which local citizens muster creative and often surprising organizing methods to preserve their right to local, public control of this precious resource. The PBS documentary "Thirst" showed how communities around the world are resisting the privatization and commodification of water.  Now THIRST, the book, picks up where the documentary left off, revealing the emergence of controversial new water wars here in the United States.

"Water as a fundamental right is guaranteed in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. Under the current system of market-driven economic globalization, there are no limits placed on where capital can go to 'harvest' nature. Both the WTO and NAFTA consider water to be a tradeable good, subject to the same rules as any other good to be managed by market forces- like any other commodity. 'Blue Gold' will become the hot commodity of the future and those who can't afford it will be left behind. Huge  corporate factories are moving up the rivers of the Third World, sucking them dry as they go. Eighty percent of China's major rivers are now so degraded, they no longer support fish. We must declare that water is a public trust to be guarded at all levels of government. No one has the right to appropriate it at another's expense for profit"   Food First, Institute for Food and Development Policy - summer 2001 volume 7 - # 3

Water for Profit
In the past ten years, three giant global corporations have quietly assumed control over the water supplied to almost 300 million people in every continent of the world. A 12-month investigation by journalists in Canada, the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America shows that the results range from questionable to disastrous.

Monsanto Moves to Control Water Resources and Fish Farming in India and the Third World
Over the past few years, Monsanto, a chemical firm, has positioned itself as an agricultural company through control over seed - the first link in the food chain. Monsanto now wants to control water, the very basis of life.

The most toxic commercial beverages that people consume (i.e. cola beverages and other soft drinks) are made from purified water. Studies have consistently shown that heavy consumers of soft drinks (with or without sugar) spill huge amounts of calcium, magnesium and other trace minerals into the urine. The more mineral loss, the greater the risk for osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, hypothyroidism, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and a long list of degenerative diseases generally associated with premature aging.

Health Hazard of Chlorinated and Fluoridated Tap Water

With the advent of electrolysis water treatment in the Japanese marketplace, electrolysis alkaline water was introduced into the dairy farms. This is now beginning to impact on dairy farms in the USA and other countries. In Japan, knowing the positive health benefits and results that were acquired through human consumption, alkaline water was used in place of tap water as the sole source of water for dairy cows. The results of this water usage is reported in the subsequent findings. The information was obtained through 27 dairy farms along with a report from a group of veterinarians. The source of each report is identified at the beginning of each report.

In general, the following measurable conditions were noted:

1. An increase in milk output by 18% - 28%.
2. A notable improvement in the quality of milk.
3. Elimination of strong feces and urine odors.
4. Healthier skin condition.
5. Minimized injury to the udder.
6. Decrease in diarrhea cases.
7. Strengthening of the legs.
8. Increased appetite.
9. Able to reduce mineral supplements normally added to the feed.
10. Due to an improved health condition coupled with stronger legs,
    extended the productive life span of the cows.
11. Improved the fertility rate and reduced still births in new-born calves.

Aside from the above, the following opinions were noted by the veterinarians:

1. A noticeably increased appetite; no new supplements were added to their diet.
   Increase in appetite noted in older cows also.
2. Well digested foods.
3. A beautiful sheen on the cows' hair.
4. Higher fertility rate; higher pregnancy rate.
5. A new-born calf exposed to alkali water matures quicker.
6. A dramatic increase in milk production.
7. Improved liver condition.
8. Strengthened legs.
9. Minimizing of sicknesses; tremendously improved health condition.
10. No adverse conditions noted with the consumption of alkali water. Lesser visits made by veterinarians. 

By drinking alkaline water, we increase our intake of oxygen compared to drinking plain water. The advantage of drinking alkaline water is that while being absorbed by the body, it helps neutralize acidic wastes, making them more soluble in the blood vessels. Thus, acidic wastes will be easily drained out of the body in the form of urine or sweat.

Warning - Alkaline Drops - I would not recommend using drops at all. If you choose to use drops, be very careful of where you store the bottles. The bottle I purchased looked just like a Visine bottle and I accidentally put a drop in my right eye. I am not completely blind but I have some eye DAMAGE DUE TO ALKALI BURN. Thankfully, my contact lens saved me from being completely blind. The only emergency instruction on the bottle was "flush the eye." If my husband had not had the sense to take me to the ER, I would've just followed the directions and would be completely blind. Please be aware that if any gets in your eyes, you must GO TO THE ER IMMEDIATELY. Home flushing of the eye is not sufficient to save the eye from damage. The attending physician could not believe how innocuous the bottle appeared and how it had very little warning of how potent the chemicals were.