Author Archives: Drink H2O

Arsenic 101: Basic Facts About The Metal In Your Water

Arsenic is a chemical element found in many minerals and mixed in with metals as a strengthening agent. The chemical is notoriously poisonous to multi-cellular life, and arsenic contamination of ground water is a problem that affects millions of people around the world. Kevin Westerling of Water.com answered 5 primary questions that arise from it:

What are the health effects of arsenic exposure?
How do most municipalities plagued with high arsenic levels deal with the 10-ppb mandate?
- Strategies for utilities typically include blending, acquiring new or less/uncontaminated sources, and treatment. Smaller water supply systems often have a hard time controlling arsenic levels due to lack of funds and other resources, so they look to the non treatment options.
Do you consider 10 ppb to be a safe level, and do you anticipate the maximum contaminant level (MCL) to drop in the future?
- The U.S. EPA and the World Health Organization have arrived at 10 ppb based on science provided to them by organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, but, in my opinion, the level should be set at less than 5 ppb. The MCL is often a compromise between science and the cost/benefit associated with the implementation of the standard. We are now more than nine years into the domestic implementation of the 10-ppb standard, and while there are still many communities struggling with the current law, there is evolving science that suggests the standard should be reconsidered. However, I don’t see any real momentum for lowering the level, either by the EPA or the individual states, any time soon. A major contributing factor to implementation and compliance of the arsenic rule is, again, the lack of funds. In other words, it’s pretty much an unfunded mandate. Implementing a lower treatment objective, without adequate funding, would further exacerbate compliance.
Are there important distinctions to be made between organic and inorganic arsenic?
- Yes. Atoms of arsenic bond with other elements to form molecules. If carbon is one of these elements, then the arsenic compound is an organic compound. Organic arsenic is rarely found in natural groundwater. It’s the inorganic arsenic that is typically found in groundwater and is the more toxic form linked to detrimental health effects. If there is no carbon present, then the arsenic compound is inorganic.
What technologies do utilities use to effectively combat arsenic, and how do they differ?
- The most common technologies used for arsenic removal are adsorption and coagulation filtration. Adsorption is a more passive process, but can have higher operating costs for challenging waters when compared to coagulation filtration. The latter entails more operator interface and routine sludge handling. Ion exchange is sometimes used, but requires regeneration and produces a hazardous liquid waste.

For more information about how to remove arsenic from your drinking water, call us today at 619-356-3766 to find out how our EVO Filtration System can remove this deadly contaminant and countless others that are lurking in your family’s drinking water. The system not only removes the contaminants from your water, but remineralizes it for you, producing the healthiest water for you and your family.

How To Encourage Your Children To Drink Water

In today’s age, sugary and sweet drinks are ubiquitous, especially in advertising on children’s shows. Sugary drinks have been tied to health problems such as diabetes, obesity, and attention disorders. While it’s not deemed as “cool” as some of its sugary drink counterparts, water keeps your body hydrated without the negative side effects.

Check Out These Five Benefits of Drinking Water

The British Government’s Chief Obesity Advisor, Professor Susan Jebb, issued guidance saying that parents should introduce strict rules about sugary drinks – limiting juice to one small glass a day with breakfast, and making water the mainstay.

So how can you persuade your children to kick the sugar habit? Here are 8 tips from The Telegraph

Make it fun

Put water in an attractive cup (children love having cups with brightly colored animal pictures or favorite TV characters on), add a novelty straw, use amusingly-shaped ice cubes, or add pretty pieces of fruit like strawberries. This might not persuade cynical adults to up their H20 intake, but is an easy to way to make water appeal to younger children.

Limit their options

Don’t stock your fridge with with fizzy sodas and colorful fruit juices – if you want them, but don’t want your kids to drink them, put the bottles somewhere they can’t see them. But it’s probably best to clear the offending items from the house altogether: children are rather good at tracking down hidden treats, and it’s best to be a be a role model. If they see you drinking water, they’re more likely to follow.

Water first, treats after

If you do want to let your children have fizzy drinks on occasion, encourage them to drink a big glass of water beforehand – once they’ve quenched their thirst, they are much less likely to binge on the sugary stuff.

Explain the benefits

Preaching the virtues of water might sound like a sure way to put your children off it forever, but kids are often genuinely interested in the human body. Take them to the library and get some books on how the body works and nutrition. Teach them how important it is to stay hydrated – even a grumpy teenager might decide to dump the cola if they realize it’s giving them acne.

Take small steps to improve the taste

Depending on where you live, water straight from the tap can be an unappealing prospect. Cold drinks are often more attractive to kids, especially in summer, so freeze your children’s water bottles before school (they’ll have defrosted by lunch) and stick a jug in the fridge that they can access. Filtered water might also taste a little better, while adding lemon and lime slices can add a fruity flavor with far less sugar than squash or juice.

Make it available

The best thing you to can do to encourage your children to drink water is to make it accessible. If they’re playing outside, give them bottles; at dinnertime, put a big jug on the table. If everyone in the family is drinking water constantly, they’ll get used to topping their water levels up.

Keep it positive

Resist the temptation to nag, or to focus on the fact that you want the kids to have water instead of sugary drinks. Encourage them to think about the health benefits, and treat drinking water as a normal part of the day, rather than as a chore.

Make changes gradual

It’s probably a bad idea to throw all the sugary drinks into the trash overnight and announce the next day it’s a water-only house. Start by making sugary drinks an occasional or weekend treat, rather than an everyday habit, serve them in slightly smaller glasses and offer your children the less-bad options, like weak squash instead of fizzy drinks. At the same time, introduce jugs of water to the house. If your child is really fussy, start watering down their juice or squash a little more every day, until eventually they are drinking straight water.

Algae Invade Southern California Drinking Water

myFOXla.com: Residents in a number of inland areas are dealing with some seriously stinky water, the result of a summer algae bloom in a state reservoir.

Silverwood Lake, the highest elevation reservoir in the state water project is suffering from an abundance of blue-green algae caused by warmer temperatures, possibly the result of global climate change.

The algae makes the water from the reservoir smell and taste musty during the heat of summer, according to the Metropolitan Water District.

Affected areas include Claremont, La Verne, Walnut, Diamond Bar, Rowland Heights, Upland, Chino, Chino Hills, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, Riverside, Corona, Norco, Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, Lake Elsinore, Hemet, Perris, Murrieta and Temecula.

The MWD says there is no health risk from drinking the water, although it may be somewhat unpleasant.

The Department of Water Resources is planning to spot treat the reservoir this Thursday and Friday with a form of hydrogen peroxide which will neutralize the overgrowth.

While the water is safe to drink, some water agencies are recommending refrigerating the water to get rid of some of the nasty smell and taste.

What Are the Effects of Algae In Your Water?

Blue-green algae, otherwise known as cyanobacteria or “pond scum,” are microscopic organisms that thrive in pools of standing water when exposed to sunlight during the warmer months of the year. Although they are not typically seen in homes, they are common in ponds and other standing bodies of water. Unfortunately in this case, they have thrived in the reservoir from which we get our drinking water.

Visible Effects

Algae can cause drinking water to change color, but in most cases it is undetectable. Only in extreme situations will the blue-green or yellowish-brown tint of an algae infestation become visible in faucet water. Algae-infested water may also produce scum.

Algae in drinking water don’t give off an odor until the problem is quite severe. In such situations, according to the government of New Brunswick, it will smell like freshly cut grass; in extreme cases, it will cause drinking water to smell like sewage or garbage.

While not all algae produce toxins, it is not easy to tell the nontoxic type from the more dangerous algae. Toxic chemicals released by algae can lead to a number of health problems. If too much is ingested, it can kill animals. According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, humans who drink water poisoned by algae toxins can experience a litany of health issues. This includes long-term problems with the liver, digestive and nervous systems, including liver cancer. Other issues that can come up include headaches, sore throat, fever, vomiting and diarrhea. Contact with the algae toxins on the skin can lead to hives and rashes.

Checkout our Aura H2O Water Filter which can remove these harmful microorganisms from your drinking water. Our filter uses a 14-step, 3 phase filtration technology that removes the contaminants and remineralizes your water, producing the certified healthiest water possible.

Source: Ehow

25 Alkaline Promoting Foods

Living an alkaline lifestyle goes beyond just drinking alkaline water, you also need to make sure your getting antioxidant-promoting foods in your diet. These foods may help neutralize potentially toxic dietary acids, potentially supporting organ health and trimming body mass.

The typical American diet is full of foods like meat and dairy products that tend to increase the acidity of your blood. Recent research suggests that eating too many acid-promoting foods can potentially damage your kidney and liver and may even raise diabetes risk.

But you can help negate acid’s negative effects on the body by balancing your diet with foods that promote an alkaline body environment. Our Aura Alkaline Water Filter can provide you with these benefits through water. Unlike foods, our antioxidant water is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and can provide immediate benefits.

Adding more of these 25 foods into your diet could help support organ health and trim your body mass. We took a look at Dr. Ozs 25 most alkaline promoting foods. The foods are ordered from most neutral to most alkaline-promoting.

Draft beer (most neutral)
Honey
Asparagus
Margarine
White wine
Broccoli
Marmalade
Mineral water
Watermelon
Apples
Red wine
Zucchini
Hazelnuts
Green beans
Tomatoes
Cherries
Radishes
Cauliflower
Potatoes
Apricots
Carrots
Celery
Bananas
Spinach
Raisins (most alkaline-promoting)

Oxidation Reduction Potential in Evolution Healthworks Products

Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP) is a term that gets thrown around a lot in the water filtration industry. Unfortunately, most of the information surrounding the term is vague and commercially-biased. So what exactly is Oxidation Reduction Potential and what are its effects?

Virtually all liquids have an Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP), which is the potential for one liquid substance to reduce to the oxidation of another substance, as measured in millivolts (mV).

In other words, the more powerful the antioxidant, the lower the ORP level. As things oxidize, the ORP rises.

Normal tap water has an ORP of +250 to +400, meaning that its potential for reducing oxidation is nonexistent. Only a negative ORP can reduce or negate oxidation.

Evolution Water has an ORP of -200 to -700, depending in part on the amount of minerals in the source water and how the ionizer is adjusted. This means it has a very high potential for reducing oxidation. Fresh squeezed orange juice has a -250 ORP, as do most other fresh squeezed juices and vegetables. However, if they have been pasteurized or otherwise processed, the antioxidant properties are diminished or removed.

Tests reveal that bottled mineral waters have an average ORP of approximately +200mV only slightly lower than ordinary tap water. It is a simple, but much overlooked, fact that all water “filtered or otherwise” is acidic in nature. Chlorine, other chemicals, contaminants, and byproducts of natural water give it an acidic pH level. Over time, this acidity can be very harmful to your health and the ability to fight disease because many organisms, viruses, bacteria and even cancer, become more prolific and more harmful in an acidic environment.

3 REASONS NEVER TO DRINK BOTTLED WATER

Conversely, higher pH, higher alkaline water becomes a defender of your entire immune system, providing an inhospitable environment for diseases to take hold and cleansing every cell in your body of impurities and toxicities every time you drink. And realistically, there are toxins everywhere. They are in the air we breathe, the foods we eat, the things we touch.

You can’t get away from the side effects of a modern world. But you can fortify yourself from the inside out by consuming double purified, ionized, antioxidant Evolution Water. Our Aura Alkaline Water Filter can provide you with these benefits.

Ionization is a process of electrically charging water by running the water over positive and negative electrodes, ionizing the minerals in the water and creating a high pH, alkaline water. The cleansing and nourishing comes from the high antioxidant quality of the ionized water. Ionized water is a free radical scavenger, counteracts oxidation in every cell of your body and is extremely hydrating..

With Evolution Water you get the absolute cleanest, healthiest, and most energizing form of water available on the planet, ready to use whenever you need it.

How Do Nitrates Get In My Drinking Water? What Are The Effects?

Nitrates are one of the most well known, but dangerous contaminants commonly found in drinking water. It is particularly problematic for vulnerable individuals such as infants and pregnant women.

How do nitrates get in my drinking water?

Nitrates are chemical compounds made up of nitrogen and oxygen. Nitrogen and Oxygen are naturally found in soil, and are absorbed by plants as a source of nutrients. However, nitrates can also be created from various human and agricultural activities such as mining and commercial farming.

Excess nitrates are formed when microorganisms break down things like fertilizers, manure, sewage and the residue from septic tank leaks. When there are too many nitrates in the soil for plants to absorb, water runoff can move those nitrates into groundwater and surface water supplies (and eventually into our drinking water). For example, nitrates placed on corn field runoff into nearby stream, which then either are moved into rivers or sink farther down into the groundwater.

What are the health effects of nitrates in drinking water?

Infants: Infants are the most prone to experiencing health problems from nitrates in drinking water. Nitrate consumption can lead to the possibly life-threatening disease, methemoglobinemia, better known as blue baby syndrome.
Pregnant women and people with reduced stomach acidity: In addition to infants, pregnant women and people with reduced stomach acidity are also prone to methemoglobinemia from nitrate exposure.
Healthy adults: Although healthy adults are less susceptible to health problems from short-term exposure to nitrates in drinking water, prolonged exposure to high levels of nitrates has been linked to gastric problems due to the formations of nitrosamines.

Our Aura H2O Filter can effectively remove nitrates and other contaminants such as fluoride and chlorine from your drinking water.

Source: Colorado State University Extension

3 Reasons Never to Drink Bottled Water Again

What if you could buy something for pennies on the gallon and sell it for hundreds of times its cost? This is precisely what the bottled water industry continues to do every day, to the tune of every-increasing profits.

Majestic peaks, serene rivers, sparkling water droplets. You’ve seen the labels on bottled water; they suggest a pure product worth your two dollars a bottle. Bottled water marketing campaigns make wildly exaggerated claims about purity and freshness. Contrary to what bottled water giants want you to think, tests on leading brands of bottled water suggest a dirtier truth.

Hereare 3 reasons never to drink bottled water again:

1. Bottled water is not safe

Studies by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and a report by the FDA determined that most bottled water is simply repackaged tap water. This tap water is often filtered with reverse osmosis, stripping it of healthy trace minerals leading to possible mineral deficiencies and other complications.

1 in 5 bottles contain illegal levels of chemicals that can cause disease and other complications over time. Where do these contaminants come from? According to the EWG study, some of the contaminants come from pollutants commonly found in tap water. Others can be traced to the plastic bottles housing the water. Phthalates, chemicals known to disrupt testosterone and other hormones, leach into bottled water while they sit on grocery store shelves.

Thanks to a high-dollar lobbying campaign by the bottled water industry, there is no legal limit on the amount of phthalates in bottled water. Silencing groups looking out for your health is obviously a chief concern for bottled water companies.

FIVE BENEFITS OF DRINKING WATER

How does such dangerous water make it onto store shelves? Cunning distribution practices by beverage companies help bottled water evade regulation. 70% of bottled water never crosses state lines, making it exempt from FDA oversight and putting you at risk of whatever contaminants are lurking in your water bottles.

2) Bottled water is a rip off

Bottled water companies have created a beautiful money-making machine. $1 bottles of your favorite brand of water cost just below 6 cents per ounce, twice as much as it costs to fill up at the gas station and thousands of times more than the cost of tap water. Why do people continue to spend so freely on bottled water? Behold the power of marketing.

3) Bottled water hurts the environment

Water bottles are recyclable, but we aren’t very good at recycling them. 38 billion (yes, billion) water bottles are wasted every year, according to an article in Fast Company magazine. It’s important to note that an unknown amount of these bottles never make it to landfills. Massive eddies of plastic trash are trapped in our oceans indefinitely, posing great harm to marine life.

It’s no secret that bottled water produces a lot of waste, but there are a variety of other effects damaging the Earth. According to Food and Water Watch, plastic production eats up more than 40 million gallons of oil per year, enough to fuel 1.5 million cars for a year. Also, plastic decays very slowly, meaning the vast majority of all plastics ever produced still exist somewhere in the environment.

What can you do?

Stop buying bottled water today. Glass or stainless steel bottles are much safer and don’t affect the environment. Evolution Healthworks offers our Evolution Drink Safe, a 750 mL glass container which can help keep our environment and your water as clean as possible.

Is Your Shower Water Making You Sick?

The condition of the water we drink, bathe in, and with which we cook is crucial to our health.

Many people know about the dangers of pathogens or major contaminants in our drinking water, but the voluntary addition of chemicals such as chlorine by local governments can also affect our well being.

Chlorine is used in public water supplies around the country to eliminate pathogens such as viruses and bacteria from our water. Despite the benefits, chemical disinfectants like chlorine can have damaging effects on our bodies.

When local governments use chlorine as a water treatment, the chemical combines with natural organic matter to form compounds called trihalomethanes (THMs), also known as disinfectant byproducts. These compounds are toxic when consumed, inhaled, or applied to the skin and can have lasting negative affects.

Research conducted on the health effects of chlorinated drinking water demonstrate a variety of toxicity issues.

Several studies have found that communities using chlorinated or chloraminated drinking water have an increased risk of bladder, kidney, and rectal cancers. (Via NIH )
THMs from chemically treated water have been associated with a variety of poor birth outcomes, such as spontaneous abortion, birth defects, and low birth weight. (Via NIH)
Chlorine and chloramine vapors are associated with greater risk of asthma and may damage the mucosal lining of the respiratory tract. (Via Occupational and Environmental Medicine)
Freeradicals in chlorinated water have been linked to liver malfunction, weakening of the immune system and pre-arteriosclerotic changes in arteries. (Via Orthomolecular)

The compounds in disinfected water may be able to reach the gut not only through our drinking water, but also through daily showers and baths. A recent post at the Food Renegade blog emphasized this idea, not only highlighting the harmful effects of chlorinated drinking water, but emphasizing the possibly greater effect that showers and baths could have on our intestinal flora. As we know, there’s a strong connection between asthma, acne, autoimmune conditions and the health of our gut flora. With all of this, its fair to think that a microbial imbalance within the body is made worse by all of the chlorine exposure.

Showering and bathing in chlorinated water may expose us to even more chlorine and its byproducts than drinking disinfected water.

While our bodies can filter out some of the chlorine from our drinking water, the THMs and other disinfectant byproducts we inhale during showers and baths may be much more harmful, since the chlorine gas we inhale enters directly into our blood stream. It’s especially easy for our skin to absorb the chemical as hot showers open up the pores (Via Global Healing Center).

Even if you filter your drinking water, the amount of toxins you are exposed to from your daily shower or bath, through inhalation or skin absorption, may be cause for greater concern.

3 WAYS WATER CAN GIVE YOU RADIANT, YOUTHFUL SKIN

Research has demonstrated that the cancer risk associated with chlorinated water may actually be due to showering and bathing, rather than drinking the disinfected water (Via Oxford Journals). This implies that many of the risks to our health from chlorine and other disinfectants and there byproducts may be related to exposure via inhalation or on the skin, and not limited to solely drinking. A single chloroform dose from a 10-minute shower is equal to, and possibly greater than, that from the average two liters of water ingestion on a daily basis.

Improving the filtration of your shower and bath is just as important as the water you drink for these reasons.

Chlorine isn’t the only disinfectant of concern for people. Its derivative, chloramine can also cause a lot of harm. Chloramine exposure may be even more damaging to the linings of the lung than chlorine, and may release ammonia as another toxic byproduct as well.

The filters that remove chlorine don’t necessarily remove chloramine.

Chloramine can be removed for drinking water purposes by our Aura Alkaline Water Filter. This filter can give you the certified healthiest drinking water, free from pollutants such as pathogens, heavy metals, and chlorine.

There are no shower filters on the market that completely remove chloramine. The disadvantage to using them is they’re not as durable or effective as a whole house filtration system, and you would need a separate filter for each shower outlet in the house.

There are, however, whole house water filters that remove chlorine, chloramine, and other contaminants. Our Whole Home Water Conditioner ensures that every drop of your water in your home, is the purest healthiest water on the planet. Works to removes cancer-causing chlorine and other volatile organic compounds from the water in your home.