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Bottled Water Is Not What You Think

Last week on Facebook I asked whether you drink soda, and if not, what you drink instead. I was overwhelmed with all the awesome responses!… and am sooooo happy to see how many of you have broken up with soda forever and are mostly drinking water, homemade tea, and kombucha instead. Yeah!!!

Bottled water sales have FINALLY surpassed soda sales in the U.S. as more people ditch drinks like Diet Coke and Pepsi. While I’m happy to see people make better choices – bottled water is crazy expensive. Depending on how many bottles you buy for yourself and your family every week, the cost adds up quickly. The average person who buys bottled water is spending over $400 a year for a family of four – and that’s being conservative. Drinking filtered tap water is so much cheaper… bottled water costs almost 2000x more!

A large percentage of bottled water is just glorified tap water anyway – so what are you really paying for?

While you might think that your bottled water is from a pristine mountain spring full of minerals, that’s almost never the case… Popular brands like Aquafina (by PepsiCo) and Dasani (by Coca-Cola) are just straight up purified tap water. They take their water from city water systems, run it through more filtering, bottle it, and sell it at a huge markup. Look for the terms “public water”, “municipal source”, or “community water” on bottles, which indicates it’s filtered tap water – but brands aren’t required to disclose this. Those that say “artesian” or “spring” water are typically not from the tap, but are typically MORE expensive and still packaged in plastic that is horrible for our environment. Plastic water bottles create an estimated 1.5 million tons of trash per year!

So, if you want to save yourself a ton of money AND protect our environment, stop buying bottled water. Getting a good water filter for your home is the way to go.

As I’m sure you’re aware, most tap water that isn’t properly filtered is tainted with contaminants like…

  • Pesticides
  • Fluoride
  • Bacteria and viruses
  • Aluminum
  • Chromium 6
  • Radioactive materials
  • Arsenic
  • Prescription drugs
  • Chlorine
  • Parasites
  • Disinfection byproducts
  • Lead
  • and a host of other substances known to cause diseases after long term exposure

You don’t want to be drinking any of those substances… or using tainted water to make coffee and tea at home. That’s why a good home water filter is so important, and will save you literally hundreds of dollars in bottled water costs every single year.

I’ve partnered up with the brand Aquasana because I know how crucial clean water is to my health. I’ve been so impressed with the many inexpensive filter options they offer – their water always tastes great, the NSF certified filters last a long time, and are easy to replace.

All Aquasana drinking water filters are certified to remove and reduce…

  • Chlorine and chloramines
  • Heavy metals like lead and mercury
  • Chlorine resistant cysts like giardia and cryptosporidium
  • Herbicides, pesticides
  • VOCs
  • Pharmaceuticals like estrone and ibuprofen
  • and more…

If you’re on a tight budget you can start out with their Countertop Water Filter. This is perfect if you are living in a rental too!

A step up are their under the counter models, which install easily under your sink…  

If you’d like to make sure to filter out fluoride, they have a Reverse Osmosis (RO) system that is certified to filter all the above contaminants + fluoride.

For the most complete solution, you can get a Whole House Filter. This gives you the peace of mind that the water from every tap in your home is filtered for up to 10 years. I personally love knowing that I can get clean water from every tap in the house, including the bathroom for brushing my teeth and showering.

(Simply click on each filter option to learn about its features and compare here)

Best of all, most of their filters are 50% off right now (expires soon) and they have a 90 day return policy if for any reason you don’t like the filter…which is perfect, so you have enough time to see how much money you are saving when you quit buying bottles. Your purchase also supports the work we do here at Food Babe, so thank you! I only partner with the best companies I personally have used and trust.

If you know anyone buying bottled water, please share this post with them and let them know how much money they can save! I’m sure they will thank you! Here’s to healthy clean water for everyone – and to saving big bucks on this healthy habit too.

Xo,

Vani

P.S. If you already have a water filter, make sure that you replace your filter cartridges regularly and on schedule! I recently tested the water in my home and found pesticides – which I found very surprising at first – until I realized that the filter cartridges needed to be replaced in my system. As soon as I replaced the cartridges and tested my water, the pesticides were gone. See the water testing kit I used here.

 

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25 responses to “Bottled Water Is Not What You Think

  1. Thanks for this great info. I have wanted to address our water for a while now. However there are so many options. To me one of the biggest decisions is to choose reverse osmosis or not, as it takes all of the minerals out of the water. I want to get rid of the fluoride, which I don’t think you can with out using R/O.

    Also, the test kit you have a link to doesn’t list fluoride. Is there another kit you would recommend that includes it?

    Thanks,
    Lisa

    1. Hi Lisa! Reverse Osmosis (RO) is the most effective filter for removing fluoride from regular tap water. The RO system by Aquasana is an under-counter model (not whole house) and has remineralization that puts back healthy minerals to improve pH balance & water alkalinity.

      1. Pam, does Aquasana offer a whole house filter that removes fluoride? Thank you.

    2. I had some of your same concerns as I considered an RO system for awhile. However, I went with a Berkey countertop gravity system with added fluoride filters. It filters out toxins better than most other filters without removing the beneficial minerals. They say it produces safe drinking water even from untreated surface water-can be used in a camping or survival situation. Have you considered a Berkey? Vani or Pam, have you and do you have any thoughts on them?

  2. I would like to have a testing kit for water.
    I have a reverse osmosis, and want too change the filters, they have been there for over 2 years,

  3. Have you heard of putting some stone in the R/O water? I worry about the minerals I am losing in my filter but I don’t want fluoride. thanks

  4. I am a truck driver and only source of water is via plastic bottles is there a product i can buy to filter that water from plastic bottles??

    1. Marco Sulic- U should look into purchasing a Travel Berkey. Even Mike Adams The Health Ranger tested The Berkey & it’s able 2 filter out the most contaminants while being able 2 carry it w u-! So Awesome-! SheilaKay

    2. A friend of mine sells an amazing water bottle with the filter built in. Message me if you want his contact info.

    3. You can try Sawyer on-the-go options. Amazon search for “Sawyer Products Mini Water Filtration System.”

    4. Marko. You can purchase water bottles made of glass or metal and fill them at home with filtered water, get a wide mouth model so you can include ice cubes.

  5. I think this article is totally wrong about this because home water filters categorically do not remove cyanotoxins, which are perhaps the biggest water threat of all (e.g. with the potential of causing people to get ALS and a host of other serious diseases).

    Although some commercial filters that water companies can purchase do remove cyanotoxins, the technology is very expensive and most water companies have yet to purchase it.

    For those who live in locations where water is periodically contaminated with cyanotoxins (e.g. most places where the water comes from lakes or rivers) and the water companies have not purchased this technology, the only way to avoid the toxicity is to purchase bottled spring water or distilled water (or to go a location where spring or well water is present and bring the water back home in containers).

    This problem is not nearly as simple or easy to remedy as this article makes it out to be, unfortunately.

    Lisa Petrison, Ph.D.
    Paradigm Change
    www. paradigmchange. me

  6. Unfortunately, for all of us you are incorrect. I realize that a significant amount of bottled water is just tap water. That should not be an issue, because tap water and filtered water stare some of the same problems with toxicity.

    Neither tap water of bottled water, is free of heavy metal pollution. To remove heavy metal contamination from either one is practically an impossibility. Because heavy metals hitch hike along with water molecules in any ionization process. This happens even in very expensive million dollar systems, Once contamination occurs the water it stays contaminated. This doesn’t even address issues, of medication contamination, solvent contamination, pesticide contamination, and herbicide contamination, All routinely found in tap water.

    However. there may be an additional problem that consumers now face is radio active contamination from Fukushima. In which radioactive particles, hot particles dispersed in rain make it into water, This is basically the same has heavy metal contamination, like mercury. Hot particles consist basically of melted Fukushima core’s or fuel rods, and can contain, Plutonium, Cesium 134, Cesium 137, Iodine 129, Polonium, etc. None of this hot particles will be removed by a filter system.

    The only solution is to buy bottled water from sources pre 2011.

  7. Do you know if these filters will take out GenX? ( I live in Wilmington, NC and we have a major issue right now with a company up river dumping a chemical called GenX in the river.)

  8. Well, I once really trusted Vani and her advise but this whole water thing is a disaster and I notice not once has she come on to address any of the very valid comments of issues with certain chemicals. Maybe the kickback from Aquasana is too lucrative. Ended up here because I was looking for the device she uses to measure what’s in water but found nothing. I live in Horsham, PA where we have a very serious water issue due to a 3M chemical that is in the water due to a fire retardant used at a large but now closed military air station nearby. The two worst contaminants are perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). They were in firefighting foam used at the military facilities and have been linked to cancers and reproductive problems. Supposedly Erin Brockovich is actively on the case but this can take years. What are the best options in the interim?

    1. Geez these comments were merely posted today. How about you give her more time to answer these valid comments. She has a life too ya know.

  9. Your water test kit company is not getting very good review for the last couple months…….

  10. EWG just came out with a list of recommended water filters and Aquasana is not included on the shower list. I called EWG to find out why and they stated they included every brand that was certified as of 2017. I went to Aquasana’s website and it states this shower filter is NSF certified to 42 and 61 standards. I went through the NSF 42 certification publication but cannot find the 4100 model number for this showered. Very confused I called NSF and left a voicemail. NSF sent me this email: NSF has backed EWG response as the Aquasana shower head has not been tested with NSF.

    FROM NSF:
    Hi Megan,

    What the claim is referring to is the media (KDF and coconut) are safe to use in contact with drinking water ONLY. There was no performance testing done on this shower filter as a finished system under standard 42 and 61.

    If I can be of further assistance, please let me know.
    Thank you for your message,
    Mindy Costello, RS MS
    Consumer Information
    1.800.673.8010
    NSF International | http://www.nsfconsumer.org
    789 N. Dixboro Road Ann Arbor, MI 48105 USA.

    Prior, to contacting NSF I reached out to food babe through email and through the food guide members only forum. To this date, I still have not gotten a response. I will not be purchasing a Aquasana shower head to say the least.

      1. I got my pro pur water filter from them about 4 years ago. That is when i stopped drinking Dr. Peppers and started drinking tea using filtered water. I also stated taking youngevity supplements and my health got better.

  11. I am looking for an in depth analysis on bottle waters and how they are made (process details if RO water or standard tap water filtered) Does anyone have this data ? I know a few have been tested and show no chlorine but bromine is preset and some nitrates ! most heavy metals are removed but the VOC ‘s and Trihalomethanes worry me a lot. Any input would be great on this.. Thanks

  12. I have multiple chemical sensitivity. I ordered a Berkey. I did not like it. The water tasted very bad, like chemicals. The bottom of the Berkeley has a rubber lining around it that off gassed toxic smell in my condo. It was awful. Sent back. My friend ordered one. Same situation. She sent it back. We drink bottled spring water now. Will never drink anything else.

  13. Hi, I tried to click on the links provided but none of them work. Does Dani have an update links to water bottles / stainless steal that she loves? And an at home water filter. What do you think of Berkey filters USA? Anything more affordable. THANKS

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