Bottled water safety

As some may have read in the news recently, there is much less regulation on bottled water than there is on tap water.

It turns out, bottled water is regulated by the FDA, which has lower standards and less ability to enforce those standards than does the EPA, which regulates tap water but not bottled water. Also, many state tap water regulations tend to be even more stringent than the EPA's.

Currently, some legislators are looking to get bottled water companies to give out as much information about what is in their water as municipalities have to about tap water.

This is yet another good reason for filtered tap water to be used instead of bottled water. Bottled water is more expensive, creates more waste, and is often less healthy for you.

When going to the store, look at the price for bottled water, and compare it to the price of a home water filter system (be sure to take into account how much water the filtration system filters) and you will see the second option is usually much cheaper.

When we use bottled water, we tend to just throw away the empty bottle. Even if it is put into recycling, there is much raw energy used to make and to recycle the bottle. By using filtered tap water, you can use a re-usable container, such as a high-quality stainless steel, glass, or ceramic container.

As mentioned in my post about plastics, the plastic of the water bottle itself can be very harmful. The container alternatives I mentioned above do not have any of those issues. Yes, in a filter system, some parts are plastic, but the water spends a minuscule amount of time exposed to it, and it is at a low temperature.

Bottled water isn't a horrible choice, but you will do better by yourself, and your environment, by making your preference be for filtered tap water, in a re-usable container.

How clean are our cleansers?

When we think of health, we often think of exercise, what we eat and drink, and possibly herbs and supplements. One thing many of us miss is the impact our cleaning products can have on our health.



Many cleaning products have ingredients that can have a very bad effect on our bodies. Currently, there is no laws that say ingredients in cleaners have to be listed. Many cleaners have compounds that can increase breast cancer risk, cause kidney or liver damage, cause nerve damage, and also create general feelings of ill-ease.



Interestingly enough, the industry thinks it is not necessary to list the ingredients of their products. I also find it interesting that whenever any industry (food, cosmetics, etc) is asked to list their ingredients, they usually try to block laws that make it happen. I wonder what they have to hide?



If you do not like the toxic ingredients in most cleansers, you can find alternatives that are much less damaging to our family's bodies. Baking soda and water make for great general cleaners. Citrus oil acts as a disinfecting cleaner, and vinegar works well for windows and other similar surfaces. There are also numerous companies that have fully biodegradable ingredients in products such as laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, dish soap, and other cleaners.



Remember, our health depends not just on the food we eat, but on what we surround ourselves with.