Let's Talk Water!

Considering that the earth is about 71% water, and the amount of water in our bodies ranges from 45-75% this is a conversation that more people need to be having. We should all know how important water consumption is for our health and wellbeing, but what type? And once we know what type, how much water is enough for our bodies? There is quite a bit of information out there about these questions, but the recommendations can sometimes be hard to understand or even conflicting. So, let's talk about it!

Let's be clear on why water is such a hot topic in health and wellness. It isn't just because we need it to survive, there is currently great concern about what is in our water. Sanitation, water treatment, and waste removal is one of the greatest innovations of modern times, due to its impact on infectious disease reduction, and human health. The problem is that as the human population has grown, the need for efficiency and effective water treatments has caused us to lean heavily on chemicals (and other dissolved substances) to remove pathogenic bacteria, parasites, and impurities from our public water systems and make them safer for consumption. Unfortunately, even at extremely low "regular" levels these dissolved contaminants, and chemicals can build up in our bodies causing diseases to manifest (we will go deeper into this more in a minute). If you want to read more about detoxification and the discussion around that you can take a look this previous article. None of this information is new, and many people have already taken steps to reduce the amount of toxins in our drinking water by using at home water purification systems, or having water delivered to their homes. Even using bottled water that can be purchased, although now we are finding out that certain chemicals that are used with plastics are causing issues such as BPA. All of these options are effective to a certain extent, but they are not all created equal nor do they all haver the same effects on human physiology, and some come with great cost both to our bodies and the environment. And that is why we need to have this discussion. We need to drink water that holds the most benefits for our bodies, without toxins that we need to keep water safe for consumption or having excess wastes either with the water itself or with plastic. It really is a battle of finding balance.

There are many different types of water filters that are available on the market. Choosing one will depend on several factors including the type of plumbing in your home, what exactly you are wanting to filter out, and the amounts of water that you want to filter. Your selection will vary if you have an apartment or condo rather than owning your home, or where you live in the world. All of these things matter, and you will want to start with just understanding what is available to your particular situation and what you are able to do realistically. Ideally, one would love to have an entire filtration system for the entire house. We shouldn't only be concerned with water that is used for consumption. Our skin is one of our bodies most important organs, and we do unfortunately absorb certain things that are put on it. Now, here we get to our first debate in this topic and it really is a good one. Exactly how much of what we put on our skin gets absorbed? This depends on several different things, first what is the substance that we are putting on made of? Most of the time it is things like lotion or soaps. Things that are made to be put on skin, and they are usually made to penetrate the skin. Our skin is not only our largest organ, but it is also a protective organ. It is designed to keep things out, not to allow things to come in. But, that is things in that are natural in their NATURE. Not chemical compounds. This is why this topic is particularly "hot", does the skin allow absorption of many of these toxic chemicals and endocrine disruptors? In my professional opinion, there is a certain amount (however small) of whatever is put on our skin that is absorbing into our bodies. One of the main problems here is that a little might not be a problem, but a little here and a little there adds up pretty quickly when the chemicals really are everywhere, and on everything. So, even though our skin is made to keep things out, we probably want to try to minimize the exposure and possibility of absorption when and where we can. We don't necessarily put water on our bodies, but we do wash our hands regularly, shower regularly, brush our teeth, wash our dishes, we use it for pools and hot tubs, and we are drinking it amoung other uses. These many exposures throughout our days adds up, and in my opinion this is where it is becoming an issue. Now, we don't absorb a lot and I do agree with this argument. If we absorbed all the water that came in contact with our skin we would be extremely bloated, and certainly water logged. Our bodies are designed to keep that from happening via passive diffusion, and our cell membranes prevent this. Our epidermis (the top layer of our skin) also prevents many things from passing through to the dermis (middle layer of skin) where the blood capillaries are and where things are absorbed into the blood stream. There are some beauty products (I refuse to call them health and beauty products because they are not about health) that are actually meant to (and designed) to pass through the epidermis, but this does (according to them) take very specific action and formulation. There is also the fact that different types of skin have different absorption gradients. Example, your heals barely absorb anything but your arm pits absorb quite a bit. There are just so many factors that play into the idea that what we put on our bodies matters, but really I think that if we just keep in mind that there is a certain amount that is being absorbed we can keep a good picture of needing to pay attention rather than obsess. But, I digress. We aren't supposed to be talking about our skin, we are talking about water. Let's get back to it, our skin can be another post for another time.

For at home water filtration, we are really looking at about 8 or 9 different types of filters (there are more, but they are used in commercial water purification companies like Rocky Mountain Water, not in our homes). The 9 different types that we are talking about are distillation, reverse osmosis, mechanical, ultraviolet (UV), carbon block/activated carbon, ion exchange, mechanical, ultrafiltration (UF), ceramic, and water softeners. I feel like what is important to note is that mechanical, and activated carbon filtration do not filter out viruses, bacteria, or dissolved substances (like, fluoride, and lead). These two types are great for filtering larger molecules, and sediments but not really great for dissolved contaminants. Ultraviolet filters, and ultrafiltration are both incredibly effective when it comes to pathogens and microbiological filtration, but they are very poor when it comes to pharmaceuticals, sediments, heavy metals, and dissolved contaminants. Both of these styles of filtration should be used along side another filter type that is effective at removing those types of contaminants. Ceramic filters are similar in that they are limited in their contaminate removal capabilities, they also need to be cleaned very regularly to allow for water to pass through easily, however because of being treated with silver they are effective at killing pathogens. Reverse osmosis and distilled water are great, except that these two filtration systems remove everything, even good minerals that we want like magnesium and calcium. Because they are so efficient, these two types of water filtration require that the user actually adds mineral back into the water. This is actually really important, as these minerals can be leached from our bones and tissues if we are not getting them in our food and water which can lead to unfortunate health outcomes.

From a health and wellness standpoint, what I really want to emphasize here is that the two most effective home filtration systems (RO and distilled) require the user to return minerals into the water in order to avoid deficiencies. Here is where we come to the second of the great debates with water. Does the water we drink need to have minerals or not? Some say no, because we also get minerals from our food supply and this is not entirely untrue. We do get minerals from our food, but because of soil depletion the amount that we get from our water is important. I spoke about the soil health in a previous article and you can read more about that here. I am by no means "knocking" either one of these water filtration methods, in fact I use RO in my own home. But I do also remineralize the water that my family drinks. We have all noticed that if I forget to do this, we have symptoms like muscle cramping when we exercise, restless legs when trying to fall asleep, and my son even has a little bit of constipation if I don't remember to put them in his water. These symptoms disappear almost immediately if we drink water that has the added minerals which tells me that there is something to it (at least for us). I know that this is considered "anecdotal" but I feel like I need to offer what we experience, because it fits with what I know. These two methods are amazing for water purification, they really are. They are known to remove up to 99% of the total dissolved solids found in tap water. This is incredible and both of these types of systems are strongly recommended. Unfortunately, even though this isn't a true "problem" with them, it can contribute to unwanted health outcomes especially with a diet that might not be high in these minerals. Remineralizing the water also has the added benefit of raising the pH of the water (i.e. alkalinizing the water) which is thought to have multiple health benefits, although the research on this is limited. Now, if you do this please know that if you are adding things like lemon to your water it negates the alkalinizing benefits because lemon juice is an acid (didn't know you needed to be a chemist too did you). Just a little "food for thought".

Because most of the filtration systems that are available aren't cheap (in the grand scheme of things) I would say that in order to really get the most for your money you should first take a look at what type of contaminants are in your area. The Environmental Working Group has a fantastic site that is very user friendly. You type in your zip code and get a list of what is reported from your local water source. I have found that even the smallest of towns reports are there, and gives great amount of information. They also have great resources for choosing water filters for your home, which is another great reason to head there for your information. I would also say that purchasing an at home kit would be beneficial just so that you can confirm what you find with the EWO, and pick the appropriate system for your home. There are also people who specialize in water purification systems that you can contact in your area to confirm what you find prior to purchasing a product.

I have found that I do speak about water consumption in both my health coaching consultations, and in many of my supplement consultations because of how important drinking the appropriate amount of water is (which we didn't even get to in this article, maybe another day along with skin, and also the contaminants themselves) and that many people want to switch their water filtration systems to reverse osmosis or distilled water (which again, is GREAT and highly recommended). I would also say that if the world was a perfect place I would want everyone drinking fresh spring water, that comes straight from the source to our homes. But, that isn't the world that we live in. Modern life's impacts on our primitive physiology is why I have a job really. There are so many things that we do in order to manage the high populations, busy lifestyles, and conveniences that we love and enjoy. But they do come at a cost, and that cost is more often than not our health and wellness. If you are interested in more information, please fill out a "connect" form on this website and I would love to continue this wonderful discussion about water filtration and consumption!

Until next time, with Metta! Kxx