Bottled Water: Safe and Healthy?

• Posted by Evert Chris Dimalanta February 3, 2014 - Filed in Health - ##water #health  - 978 views

  

  There is no dispute that our bodies need water to survive. Health experts tell us to consume six to eight glasses of water every day so that our body could function well. In the old days, people do not doubt the safety of tap water. But when population has grown and pollution became prevalent, people now prefer bottled water over tap water, believing that the former is safer. Aside from this reason, people resort to bottled water for convenience, easy access and health considerations.

   

  The common types of bottled water are the following:

   

  1. Distilled. It is purified by distillation process.

  1. Purified. Water undergoes filtration, deionization, reverse osmosis, disinfection or other purification processes.

  1. Spring. Derived from underground formation. It is a kind of natural water.

  1. Mineral water. It comes from an underground source and contains mineral salts or dissolved solids.

  1. Carbonated or sparkling. Carbon dioxide is added which makes water effervescent.

   

  While it is understood that people need healthy and safe drinking water, there is a need to choose the right kind of bottled water. The danger is that we disregard the brand name and the process it has undergone for as long as it is bottled.

  Environmentalists posit that the environmental impacts of manufacturing and disposal of bottled for drinking water cannot be simply ignored.  It must be borne in mind that three to five liters of water are required to manufacture one 1-liter of bottle. Also, the production of PET or polyethylene terephthalate, the type of plastic material that is used in the manufacture of bottled water, generates carbon dioxide which is the major greenhouse gas causing global warming. This is not to mention that bottled water is a lot more expensive that tap water.

  There is absolutely nothing wrong preferring bottled water. Just check the brand, process and expiry date and of course, dispose the empty bottles properly.