Is Tap Water Safe? (aka Is There Prozac In Your Drinking Water?)

There are times when water emergencies are issues to boil water before drinking it, but did you ever wonder if your tap water is safe to drink to begin with?

The truth might shock you.

There's so much to think about regarding toxins we put in our bodies – from pesticides on food, to chemicals on our lawns, to chemicals in our personal care products, chemical “nasties” are everywhere.  All of those are important, but since we drink so much water and our bodies are made up of so much water, it's something to really look into.

Have you been:

• wondering if your tap water is safe to drink,
• purchasing cases of bottled water from the store or
• deciding what kind of water filter to get?

Eating a healthy diet is crucial for healthier living, however, it's so important to think about the quality of the water that you're drinking.

Why Should You Filter Your Water?

Water is Crucial for Good Health

Did you know that our bodies are about 55-60% water? Water's function in our bodies is critical to good health.

Here's what water does in our bodies. It:

• Is a vital nutrient to the life of every cell.
• Transports nutrients, minerals, and chemicals to every cell in our bodies.
• Regulates our internal body temperature by sweating and respiration.
• Metabolizes nutrients for use by the body.
• Assists in flushing waste mainly through urination.
• Acts as a shock absorber for brain, spinal cord, and unborn babies.
• Forms saliva.
• Lubricates joints.

We Drink Water Every Day

It's one thing to eat an occasional hot dog.  But it's another to drink contaminated water each and every day.

I mean, does it really make sense to buy organic, or at least whole foods, but then drink unfiltered tap water?

Water is certainly the item that we consume the most of by volume and by weight.  So it makes sense that we pay the most attention to it, over and above everything else. In my opinion, it's one of the most important things we must change on our path towards health, air quality being another.

Contaminants In Tap Water

Drinking enough water is critical for good health, but clearly it needs to be clean water.

City water departments clean the water by filtration and sterilization, but the truth is that even the sterilization is part of the problem due to what's left behind as byproducts.

Following is a list of things that are in your tap water, some of which will likely shock you.

Chlorine

Chlorine is linked to cancer and reproductive system damage, amongst other things (source). Also, chlorine in water leads to the production of toxic byproducts including chloramines (source). In fact, drinking aside, there are even healthy concerns regarding chlorine on your skin when swimming or bathing.

Fluoride

Fluoride is a known carcinogen. There are some who say that drinking fluoridated water helps with dental health, but studies showing that were done before 1975, when fluoride toothpaste become widely used (source).

Meanwhile, some people claim that fluoride is incredibly dangerous to be ingesting (source). In fact, there are studies showing an apparent link of fluoride to lower IQs in children (source) and to microbiome damage(source).

My thinking is that if you want to get fluoride, then brushing your teeth with it makes more sense than drinking it. However, we avoid fluoride completely and use other things like the toothpaste and other dental products in this post about glycerin in toothpaste. My hygienist is thrilled with how these products are working for me.

Arsenic

Arsenic gets into lakes, rivers and underground water when things like rocks that contain arsenic erode and dissolve into the water. It can also enter groundwater as an industrial and agricultural waste product.

 Arsenic in drinking water is a huge problem because it's toxic at very low levels and is well known to be a carcinogen (source).

Perc (a Dry Cleaning Chemical)

Perc can get into well water or other water that's a source for drinking water when groundwater comes in contact with a toxic spill or from water contaminated with waste from dry cleaners.

Mercury

Rain and snow carry mercury that's in the air to lakes, rivers and reservoirs. Mercury can also seep into underground water supplies from the waste of industrial sites and hazardous spills (source).

Uranium

Uranium enters local water, air and food supplies by leaching from natural deposits and also from industrial and agricultural sites like mills, the nuclear industry, from fertilizers and the combustion of coal and other fuel products.

Pharmaceuticals

Yes, you're drinking other people's meds! Pharma products enter the drinking water through urine, people disposing of meds in the water system, and also waste from pharmaceutical companies (source).

PCPPs (Personal Care Products)

Of course personal care products get into the water system as we use them (in the case of shampoo, body wash, conditioner, detergent, and the like. But they also come from industrial waste and people disposing of products down the drain.

And More

In fact, there are likely up to a total of at least 830 synthetic chemicals in the water coming out of your tap. (source and source).

Many of these are linked to cancer and other diseases, even when ingested in small amounts.  And that's not to mention what might be leaching into your water through copper or PVC pipes in your home.

Simply put, water quality just isn't up to safety standards.

One of the main problems is antiquated testing due to the presence of so many more toxins in the environment than there were years ago. For example, you for sure don't see Prozac listed as a contaminant on municipal water tests.

To be fair, my city's water site does have a statement showing that they are concerned about this issue and are performing some testing of our water to monitor levels of PCPPs (Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products).  Kudos to them for being ahead of the curve on this, but it's still not enough.

I think you'll agree with me that the answer to the question, “Is tap water safe to drink?” is a resounding “NO!”

How to Take Clean Water With You

When you're home, it's easy enough to get clean water if you have a great water filter in your house.

However, once you leave your home, things are a little more difficult, so the best way to deal with this is to take your clean water with you.

If you know our family in person, you've likely seen us toting our water around in stainless bottles for a long time. We even occasionally risk insulting hosts by bringing bottles of water to the table with us when we're invited for a meal.

When the alternative is drinking tap water, I try not to worry about what others might think, because I'm trying to do the best for my family, and after reading articles like those cited above, I feel that a little embarrassment is a small price to pay for good health.  Plus, it might spark conversation that helps get the healthy-living message out to others.

If we clean up our water, are we solving all of our problems?  Of course not, but to quote Maria Von Trapp from The Sound of Music, it's “a very good place to start.”

This water problem is just one part of the greater problems that truly are everywhere in our environment.

We have toxic water, polluted air, heavy-metals in cosmetics, pesticides in food, mercury in fish, EMF's (electromagnetic frequencies) coming at us from our cell phones, fluorescent lights, smart meters, plus BPA leaching from our plastics and more. The list goes on and on.

Many people these days are dealing with auto-immune disorders, chronic fatigue, autism, and the like. We're all like canaries in a coal mine; by our illnesses and disabilities, warning others that something is wrong. Very wrong.

If we can start by cleaning up our water, that's a very good place to start.

Do you drink tap water? Will you keep doing so after reading this post?