Should You Get A Water Filter?

(Picture of Berkey Water Filter, Picture From Follow Your Detour)

This is a question I didn’t really give much thought to until recently. It’s easy to go over to your sink, fill up your glass with tap water, and happily sip away when you don’t know what’s in your water. Ignorance is bliss after all.

However once you learn what’s actually in your tap water and the potential harmful effects, you’ll likely be itching to get your hands on a water filter as soon as possible!

What’s In Your Water?

Exactly what’s in your water will vary based on where you live. You can find out exactly what’s in your water here. But here are some common contaminates in tap water:

• Heavy Metals (Like Lead, Arsenic, Cadmium, Chromium-6, Aluminum, Iron, And Mercury)
• Fluoride
• Pharmaceutical Drugs
• Glyphosate And Other Pesticides And Herbicides
• Chlorine And Trihalomethanes
• Parasites
• Nitrates and Nitrites
• And More!

How Do These Affect Your Health?

Heavy Metals:

“There are 35 metals that are of concern for us because of residential or occupational exposure, out of which 23 are heavy metals: antimony, arsenic, bismuth, cadmium, cerium, chromium, cobalt, copper, gallium, gold, iron, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, platinum, silver, tellurium, thallium, tin, uranium, vanadium, and zinc.” (1)

You may recognize some of these (such as copper, iron, manganese, and zinc) as important minerals for our overall health. While they are in small amounts, too large of an intake of these is still toxic and dangerous.

Heavy metals are common in tap water. They make their way into the water supply via “…soil erosion, natural weathering of the earth’s crust, mining, industrial effluents, urban runoff, sewage discharge, insect or disease control agents applied to crops, and many other [ways].” (1)

Heavy metals have been linked to a plethora of health consequences that I will discuss below. In this discussion I will focus on 7 of the most common heavy metals in tap water.

Lead:

Lead often finds its way into drinking water through corrosion of the pipes that carry it (many pipes are made with some lead). Lead is considered a carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), meaning it causes cancer. (1, 2, 3) “Children are more at risk than adults when it comes to the dangers of ingesting lead. Children will absorb 30-75% of the lead they ingest while adults will absorb only 11%.” (3)

Excessive exposure to lead (aka lead poisoning) has been linked to:

• Abdominal Pain
• Developmental Delay
• Having Trouble Learning
• Lower IQ (A 10 g/dL Increase In Blood Levels Of Lead Correlates To A Loss Of 2 IQ Points)
• Fatigue
• Weight Loss
• Irritability
• Hearing Loss
• High Blood Pressure
• Joint Pain
• Memory Issues
• Reduced Sperm Count
• Miscarriage
• Slow Fetus Growth
• Mental Retardation
• Birth Defects
• Autism
• Premature Birth And Low Birth Weight.
• Death
• Loss Of Appetite
• Headache
• Hypertension
• Renal Dysfunction
• Sleeplessness
• Arthritis
• Hallucinations
• Vertigo
• Psychosis
• Allergies
• Dyslexia
• Hyperactivity
• Paralysis
• Muscular Weakness
• Brain Damage
• Kidney Damage
• Bone Marrow Damage
• Red Blood Cell Damage
• Nerve Damage

(1, 3, 4)

Cascade Of Effects Of Lead In The Body:

Arsenic:

Arsenic is a heavy metal that can get into drinking water by leaching from natural deposits, wood preservatives, pesticides, industrial deposits, petroleum production, semiconductor manufacture, and coal power plants. (1, 6, 7) Arsenic has been linked with many severe health consequences, such as:

• Cancer Of The Skin, Bladder, Lung, Kidney, Nasal Passages, Liver, and Prostate
• Irreversible Changes In The Vital Organs
• Nausea And Vomiting,
• Reduced Production of Red And White Blood Cells (More Specifically Erythrocytes And Leukocytes)
• Abnormal Heart Beat
• Pricking Sensation In Hands And Legs
• Damage To Blood Vessels
• Skin Lesions (Pigmentation And Keratosis)
• Neurological Problems
• Pulmonary Disease
• Hormonal Problems
• Peripheral Vascular Disease
• Hypertension
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Diabetes
• Immunological issues
• Death
• Cognitive Development Issues For Adolescents

(1, 6, 7)

Cadmium:

Cadmium can enter the water supply from corrosion of galvanized pipes, erosion of natural deposits, discharge from metal refineries, and runoff from waste batteries and paints. (8) This heavy metal is particularly harmful to your bones and kidneys, but has many other health consequences as well. These include:

• Cancer (Cadmium And Its Compounds Are Classified As Group 1 Carcinogens For Humans By The International Agency For Research On Cancer)
• Premature Birth And Reduced Birth Weights
• Kidney Disease, Damage, Stones, And Failure (Cadmium Is Highly Toxic To The Kidney And It Accumulates In The Proximal Tubular Cells In Higher Concentrations)
• Bone Weakness And Osteoporosis
• Shock
• Lung Damage (Experimental Analysis In Animals Has Shown That 50% Of Cadmium Gets Absorbed In The Lungs)
• Nausea And Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Muscle Cramp
• Stomach Irritation
• Sensory Disturbances
• Convulsions
• Liver Damage
• Blood Damage
• Zinc Deficiency
• Hypercalciuria (Elevated Calcium In The Urine)
• Anemia (Cadmium Interacts With Iron In A Way That Decreases Hemoglobin And Hematocrit Concentration)

(1, 8, 9)

Chromium-6 (AKA Hexavalent Chromium):

Chromium-6 is one of the main types of the element chromium. It comes from “… burning of oil and coal, petroleum from ferro cromate refractory material, pigment oxidants, catalyst, chromium steel, fertilizers, oil well drilling and metal plating tanneries.” (1) It’s also released through sewage and fertilizers. It’s been linked with:

• Ulcers
• DNA Damage (Formation Of DNA Adducts, Chromosomal Aberrations, Sister Chromatid Exchanges, Alterations In Replication And Transcription Of DNA)
• Cancer
• Asthma
• Respiratory Illnesses
• Kidney Damage
• Liver Damage
• Reproductive Problems
• Developmental Harm

(1, 10, 11)

Aluminum:

Aluminum leaches from rocks and soil into the water supply and aluminum salts are added to the water supply as coagulants to remove turbidity (cloudiness or muddiness). (12, 13) However, many health consequences have been associated with aluminum intake, including:

• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Neurotoxicity Effects Such As Neuronal Atrophy In The Locus Coeruleus, Substantia Nigra, And Striatum
• Decreased Bone Density
• Disturbed Intercellular Communication, Cellular Growth And Secretory Functions
• Nausea
• Mouth And Skin Ulcers
• Rashes
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Arthritic Pain
• Dermatitis
• Brain Damage (For People With Kidney Disease Since They Are Unable To Efficiently Remove Aluminum)

(1, 12)

Iron

Although iron is an important nutrient for our overall health, too much can be harmful. And despite popular belief true iron deficiency is quite rare. Iron overload (excess iron) is actually much more common.

We have a very sophisticated iron recycling system called the Reticuloendothelial System, which can recycle 24 mg or more of iron per day. On top of that woman absorb 3x as much iron as men to make up for iron loss during menstruation. And pregnant women absorb 9x as much iron to help support the growing baby. (14) Therefore we don’t actually need very much iron and it can be easy to overdo.

If your blood work reveals low ferritin or low hemoglobin, it’s much more likely that you have a Vitamin C, retinol (the animal form of Vitamin A), or copper deficiency, than an iron deficiency. All of the previous mentioned nutrients are required for iron absorption and function and deficiency in these are much more common.

Too much iron in water can easily lead to iron overload and a host of health problems. One reason for this is that pathogens, viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, and mycotoxins all love iron (they need to feed off it to survive). Therefore iron in water often brings these unwanted things with it and excess iron in your body helps feed them. (15, 16) Too much iron can also lead to:

• Gastro Intestinal Bleeding And Ulcers
• Heart, Liver, Cellular, DNA, And Brain Damage
• Autoimmune Diseases
• Chronic Diseases
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Cancer
• Calcium, Vitamin E, Copper, And Magnesium Deficiency
• Shocks
• Hypotension
• Lethargy
• Tachycardia
• Hepatic Necrosis
• Metabolic Acidosis
• Death
• Excess Pathogens, Viruses, Bacteria, Fungi, Parasites, And Mycotoxins In the Body
• Development Of Strictures
• Oxidation And Damage Of Tissues

(1, 14, 16, 17)

Mercury:

Mercury is a neurotoxin and it’s considered the most toxic heavy metal in the environment. Mercury can enter the water supply through municipal wastewater discharges, erosion of natural deposits, discharge from refineries and factories, landfill runoff, cropland runoff, mining, and incineration. (1, 2)

“It’s estimated that 8 to 10% of American women have mercury levels that would induce neurological disorders in any child they gave birth to. Rabbits when exposed to 28.8 mg/m³ mercury vapor for 1 to 13 weeks have shown vague pathological changes, marked cellular degeneration and brain necrosis.” (1) Mercury has also been shown to cause:

• Kidney, Brain, Nerve, And Muscle Damage
• Microtubule Destruction
• Mitochondrial Damage
• Lipid Peroxidation
• Accumulation Of Neurotoxic Molecules Such As Serotonin, Aspartate, And Glutamate
• Damage The Developing Fetus
• Bronchitis
• Asthma
• Temporary Respiratory Problems
• Damage To The Tertiary And Quaternary Protein Structure
• “Intervenes With The Process Of Transcription And Translation Resulting In The Disappearance Of Ribosomes And Eradication Of Endoplasmic Reticulum And The Activity Of Natural Killer Cells” (1)
• Interferes With Intracellular Calcium Homeostasis
• Shyness
• Tremors
• Memory Problems
• Irritability
• Changes In Vision Or Hearing
• Lung Damage
• Hair Loss
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Nausea
• Skin Rashes
• Increased Heart Rate Or Blood Pressure
• Depression
• Fatigue
• Headache

(1, 2)

Non-Heavy Metal Contaminants:

Fluoride:

Fluoride has been touted as a cavity preventing, teeth strengthening miracle since the early 1900s, and has been added to a vast majority of the water supply since the 1940s.

But is fluoride really good for your teeth and health?

No! I know you might be shocked to hear this (I was), but fluoride doesn’t prevent tooth decay. In fact there has never been a double blind study to prove that it does!

Fluoride does however delay tooth decay which has led a number of studies to wrongfully conclude that fluoride decreases cavities in young children. By the way these studies count teeth that haven’t even erupted as no decay teeth.

However when you follow these same children into adolescence, cavities increase with increased fluoride exposure.

Not only does fluoride cause cavities, studies show it also contributes to:

• Lower IQ
• ADHD
• A Calcified Pineal Gland
• Dental Fluorosis
• Skeletal Fluorosis
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Difficulty Sleeping
• Early Onset Of Puberty In Women
• Joints Locking
• Hypothyroidism
• In Extreme Cases Can Cause Death
• Cancer
• Genetic Damage
• Damage To The Blood, Bone, Brain, Heart, Kidneys, Liver, Lungs, Thyroid, And Reproductive System.
• Hardening Of Arteries
• Black Tarry Stools
• Vomit (Sometimes Bloody)
• Stomach Cramps Or Pain
• Tremors
• Constipation
• Loss Of Appetite
• Skin Rashes
• Sores In The Mouth And On The Lips
• Weight Loss
• Accelerated Aging
• Immune System Dysfunction
• Gut Inflammation

(18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)

If you want to learn more about fluoride, then check out my article: The Truth About Fluoride.

Pharmaceutical Drugs:

Pharmaceutical drugs enter our water supply from the waste of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, from people flushing drugs down the toilet, from sewage (our bodies don’t absorb all of the drugs we take, therefore some come out in the feces), from runoff from animal farms and agriculture, and more. (25, 26) The flow of pharmaceuticals in our environment can be seen in the picture above.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities are one of the biggest contributors. One study showed that 2 waste water treatment plants that received waste water from pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities had 10 to 1,000 times higher concentrations of pharmaceuticals than 24 waste water treatment plants that did not receive pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities waste. (25)

You would think pharmaceutical would be removed in water treatment plants, however a majority of them don’t have the proper measures to remove them. (25, 26)

Some of the pharmaceuticals in our water include hormones, other endocrine disrupting compounds, antimicrobials, antibiotics, antidepressants, ibuprofen, oxycodone, acetaminophen, caffeine, cotinine, diphenhydramine, carbamazepine, benztropine, hydrocortisone, prednisone, and much more. (25, 27, 28)

Although many organizations dismiss the potential health consequence due to the low levels of pharmaceuticals, other’s argue that these low levels are still dangerous because pharmaceuticals are designed to act in human bodies and to be effective in small dosages. (29)

“And while drugs are tested to be safe for humans, the time frame is usually over a matter of months, not a lifetime. Pharmaceuticals also can produce side effects and interact with other drugs at normal medical doses,” says zoologist John Sumpter at Brunel University in London, who has studied trace hormones, heart medicine and other drugs. (29)

Some evidence also shows that aquatic wildlife can be negatively affected by prolonged exposure pharmaceuticals in the water. This includes the “feminization of male fish [they’re creating egg yolk proteins, which usually only females can do] and masculinization of female fish, delayed sexual development in fish, delayed metamorphosis in frogs and embryo mortality.” (27, 29)

Glyphosate And Other Pesticides And Herbicides:

Glyphosate is the active component in Roundup and it’s the most common herbicide in the world. “Billions of pounds have been applied globally since the 70s. In the US, though we’re only 4% of the world’s population, we use 20% of the world’s supply annually.” (30)

Glyphosate and other pesticides and herbicides get into our water supply via runoff from agriculture. Glyphosate causes a host of health problems, one of the most interesting being it’s negative effects on gut health.

The higher levels of glyphosate in your gut, the more zonulin you release. Zonulin is a protein your body makes that opens the tight junctions between the cells that line your intestines and opens the blood brain barrier. Thus high levels of zonulin lead to leaky gut, autoimmunity, rheumatoid arthritis, decreased immunity, and more! (31)

Other health consequences of glyphosate include:

• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Autism
• ADHD
• Immune Dysfunction
• Joint And Bone Diseases
• Infertility
• Endocrine Disruption
• Anxiety
• SIBO (Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth)
• Constipation
• Slow Gut Motility
• Breast Cancer
• Celiac Disease
• Liver Disease
• Obesity
• Autoimmune Diseases
• Damages Our Gut Microbiome
• Kidney Disease
• Thyroid Cancer
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Lymphoma

(30, 31, 32, 33)

Chlorine And Trihalomethanes:

Chlorine is used to keep our water clean by disinfecting it and killing germs. It does a great job at this however this chemical also has many negative health effects. And according to the EPA, most U.S. water sources contain 300-600 times the amount of chlorine that’s safe to ingest. (34)

The main problem with chlorine is that it combines with naturally occurring chemicals in the water and creates byproducts called trihalomethanes (THMs for short). (34, 35, 36, 37) THMs are a group of four chemicals: chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane, and bromoform, that are known to cause severe health problems. (37)

“According to a report from the U.S. Council of Environmental Quality, the cancer risk for people who drink chlorinated water is up to 93% higher than for those whose water does not contain chlorine.” (34)

And “In the small town of Roseto, Pennsylvania, after changing from drinking mountain spring water to drinking chlorinated tap water, the population went from having no heart attacks to having heart attacks, with no changes to their diets.” (34)

Chlorine and trihalomethanes have also been shown to increase:

• Bladder Cancer
• Gastrointestinal And Colorectal Cancer
• Breast Cancer
• Reproductive Issues
• Immune Dysfunction
• Heart Attacks
• Gut Problems
• Miscarriage And Damage To Developing Fetus
• Heart, Lung, Kidney, Liver, And Central Nervous System Damage
• Inflammation

(34, 35, 36, 37)

Parasites:

Parasites aren’t just from third world countries, feces, and raw or under cooked meat. Parasites are also in fruits and veggies, the air, tap water, soil, and more. They are far more common than people realize, in fact it’s estimated that around 70% of people have them! (32, 38, 39, 40)

There are 1000s of different types of parasites, some are microscopic and some are larger. Most are tiny or microscopic when they enter your body, but after feeding on your food for a while they grow larger. Common parasites in tap water include cryptosporidium, giardia cysts, toxoplasma gondii, helminth nematodes, and entamoeba histolytica. (38, 41)

Symptoms of Parasite Infections Include:

• Fatigue
• Weight gain
• Weight loss
• Acne
• Reassuring yeast or fungal infections
• Teeth grinding (especially at night)
• Sweet cravings
• Bloating
• Constipation/diarrhea
• Headaches
• Nausea
• Itchy anus/genitals
• Insomnia
• Anemia
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Poor tolerance to stress or illness
• Depression/anxiety

(32, 39, 40)

To learn more about parasites and how to cleanse your body of the them, check out the “About Parasites And Parasite Cleansing” section of my “In Depth Guide On How To Detox And Cleanse Your Body” article.

Nitrates and Nitrites:

The main problem with nitrates and nitrites is that they can react with amino acids which creates nitrosamine which is a known carcinogen and harmful compound. (42) Nitrates and Nitrites get into the water supply via agricultural runoff (nitrates are used in the most common fertilizers), animal waste, septic tank waste, and erosion of natural deposits. (42, 43)

One of the most serious side effects of excess nitrate and nitrite intake is Methemoglobinemia, aka blue baby syndrome. Methemoglobinemia is a temporary blood disorder in infants less than 6 months old that causes their digestive system to allow for excess conversion of nitrates to nitrites.

“The nitrite absorbs through the stomach and reacts with hemoglobin to form methemoglobin, which does not have the oxygen carrying capacity of hemoglobin. Thus, the oxygen deficiency in the infant’s blood results in the “blue baby” syndrome. When the nitrate-contaminating source is removed, the effects are reversible,” however if not removed, there is a chance the infant could die. (42, 43)

Nitrates and nitrites have also been shown to increase:

• Cancer
• Thyroid Disease
• Iodine Deficiency
• Colon Cancer
• Central Nervous Disorders (In Extreme Cases)
• Neural Tube Defect
• Intrauterine Growth Retardation
• Cardiac And Central Nervous System Defects In Unborn Children
• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
• Miscarriage

(42, 43, 44, 45)

A Good Water Filter Is A Good Investment!

To sum this up, I highly recommend you get a good quality water filter! Berkey, Aquasana, and CuZn have some great water filters.

I know these can seem expensive, but they really pay off in the long run! Cheaper filters like Brita filters and other cheaper pitcher filters really don’t cut it. They don’t remove enough of the toxins and when you factor in the cost of replacement filters every 2 or so months, they really add up price wise in the long run.

The brands I mentioned above are definitely and upfront investment of about $150-$350. However the filter only needs to be replaced every 4-8 years (depending on the brand and how much you use it, also the Berkey fluoride filters have to be replaced annually). These filters are much higher quality (they filter out a lot more toxins) and in the long run they’re often cheaper than a Brita filter. (This video explains the breakdown of how a Berkey water filter is cheaper than a Brita very well).

I personally think the price is really worth it when it comes to quality water filters. They are such an important tool for protecting us from toxins and preventing chronic diseases and health problems.

I hope this article helped you learn about some of the potential consequences of the toxins in our water supply so that you can make informed decisions that help you optimize your and your families health!

Works Cited

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