Hi,
I must return to the health issues surrounding water — it is our most important nutrient, by far! “Residues of birth control pills, antidepressants, painkillers, shampoos and a host of other compounds are finding their way into the nation’s waterways.”
This was stated in the New York Times yesterday. You need to be actively concerned about the flood of pharmaceuticals now found in our water and in the waters used by other life-forms, who normally would not be exposed to these materials. Who knows what it does to them? And for those in our food-chain, we get another whammy when we poison them, too.
We are already seeing the possible mass extinction of amphibian salamanders and frogs, which would cause a crippling cascade in the natural food-chain, and even though some of this is attributable to the scourge of an unknown, highly-effective parasite, it won’t take much for humanity’s pollution to finish the amphibians off.
Food fish are also being affected by our pollution in lakes, streams, rivers and the ocean, and as fish is a foundational human food (unlike larger animals), this is important.
Evidently, “water treatment” processes are ineffectual or inadequate. I really don’t think you want to be exposed to all this or have your children exposed either. So, you have to act!
According to the Times article, “…the F.D.A. said in its review, many contaminants “survive wastewater treatment and biodegradation, and can be detected at low levels in the environment.””. Unbelievably, most are not even tested for in the usual water-treatment processes.
I would also continue to add the alarm about the poisonous forms of fluoride which are being added to many community water supplies in America, Canada and Australia.
What can you do?
___ Apart from being proactive in fighting for better over-sight and action by government “watch-dogs”, consumers need to learn more about how to clean their own water and be willing to get it tested.
___ Get a local “take-it-back-to -your-pharmacy” program started in your community. That will at least get expired medications out of the loop.
___ Participate when your community has a hazardous waste materials pick-up OR get a program started. Keep all medications, expired or not, under lock and key, so children and pets stay safe.
What does it do if your attempts at health are being subverted by our governments’ ineffectiveness on this issue? We can’t idly stand-by and let our health be robbed and our planet be desecrated.
And, as Big Pharma takes the chance to medicate more and more of the aging Western Boomer populations, the situation is likely to get worse. So here are more ways to act.
___ Learn about water filtration and study what measures you can afford to use to fix your own water at home. Take your “better” home water with you to work, where you will have little say as to what comes out of the tap.
Keep your water in polycarbonate plastic jugs if you cannot get a glass carboy bottle or ceramic crock to use with a little stand. Polycarbonate is not perfect, but it is strongest and least problematical of all the plastics I have researched.
Glass carboys, ceramic crocks and polycarbonate jugs are available for purchase online if your health store does not carry them or can’t order them. Make sure any ceramic glazes are lead-free.
___ Do not use distilled water as an option. It is sold in the worst type of plastic jugs, and these also leech deleterious compounds into the water … especially fake estrogens which can make males of any age less virile or even impotent. Even if distilled water came in glass bottles, you would need to take mineral supplements for the helpful minerals have been removed from the water.
___ Learn what kind of pipes you have bringing your water – from the reservoir to your home. The whole system counts. Plastic pipes are definitely not recommended. Copper is somewhat problematical, depending on the compounds used to solder the joints, and the copper can be leached out if the water is too acidic. Excess copper is harmful; it is needed in just trace amounts for your good health. Cast iron is best for pipe material (but it is hardly used anymore). The concrete communal pipes are not benign, either. Pretty much figure your communal water is just for bathing.
___ If your water system is chlorinated, know that chlorine may kill the bugs, but it is harmful to you too, especially when breathed as steam in a shower or bath. Go to your health food store and get shower and bath filters. They are expensive (about $40 US dollars, each), but they are priceless if they prevent lung cancer etc.
Chlorine and fluoride are halogens and are known for being VERY chemically-active elements. They act mercilessly on your body, searching out chemicals to bond with. Fluoride is particularly invasive — all the way into your bones, and it is thought to be a potent cause for initiating bone cancer.
Understand that chlorine also produces dangerous carcinogenic amines when it combines with leafy materials as it is “sterilizing” the water in reservoirs etc.
___ Reverse osmosis and sophisticated charcoal filtering (like in the best water machine dispensers at your super-market) do help, but they do not get rid of fluoride. You will have to become a consumer advocate and a political activist to get rid of added fluoride, if your community adds it.
I have not yet learned of any other effective method that gets rid of fluoride. If you know one, please comment.
__ Use the best water dispensing machines at your market. At least they are better than what comes out of the usual tap. Work to save for other better, more complete equipment.
___ Use spring water, kept in glass, whenever possible.
You are at least 70% water as an adult; children are up to 90% water. Everything you do to have the purest water be in you and sucked in through the pores of your skin aids your quest for health, lessens your exposure to disease and for diabetics, lessens the considerable organ stress you are already dealing with.
I’ll write more about fluoride, specifically, another time. This article is a work-in-progress, as I hunt for more references … so check back.
Best to all — Em
References:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/03/science/earth/03water.html
http://www.1microwaterco.com/microwater-wp/342/water-purifier-homemade-2
(c)2007 Em http://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com
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