The dangerous toxin that makes tap water safer than bottled water

I grew up with a water filtration system installed in our house so every glass of water I drank was filtered, clean and tasted great.

So, when I moved out and got married, it was a no-brainer that one of our first purchases was a similar system to install in our new home.

But, not everyone goes the water filter route to ensure their water is as safe as possible.

In fact, a good friend of mine purchases a case or two of bottled water each week for her family. They drink it at home, she sends it with her kids to school and she and her husband use it at work.

This has always worried me because I look at those plastic water bottles and still see the possibility of chemicals in the plastic leaching into every sip — even though most are supposedly BPA-free now.

That might make some people feel better, but I hate to be the bearer of more bad news about America’s love affair with bottled water…

Water with a side of poison

You’ve probably heard of the company, Consumer Reports. They test everything from the safety of the cars you drive to how good the picture is on the flat screen TV you’ve been thinking about buying.

And it turns out that they test the safety of bottled water, too.

Just this week, they’ve issued a new report warning that a serious health danger was discovered in 11 brands of bottled water — arsenic.

Yep, the toxin that makes rat poison effective and can cause cancer, liver disease, coma, and even death was found in 11 brands with six of them at levels that Consumer Reports considers the maximum. Are these could be brands of bottled water that you and your family may have been drinking…

FDA says don’t worry about the arsenic

While the FDA considers up to 10 parts per billion (ppb) of arsenic safe, Consumer Reports begs to differ.

They say that since arsenic is highly toxic — the World Health Organization (WHO) has proven that long-term exposure to the poison from drinking water can cause cancer and skin lesions, it’s associated with heart disease and diabetes and can halt cognitive development and lead to death in children — that’s simply too much.

Related: How to recognize these 5 toxic dangers (slideshow)

That’s why Consumer Reports is demanding that the FDA revamp their current rules and lower the maximum allowable amount of arsenic in drinking water to 3 parts per billion.

“It makes no sense that consumers can purchase bottled water that is less safe than tap water,” said James Dickerson, Ph.D., chief scientific officer at Consumer Reports. “If anything, bottled water — a product for which people pay a premium, often because they assume it’s safer — should be regulated at least as strictly as tap water.”

The worst offenders

So, which brands failed the Consumer Reports testing?

According to their officials, brands whose water contained arsenic at levels higher than 3 ppb include:

• Starkey owned by Whole Foods
• Peñafiel owned by Keurig Dr. Pepper
• Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring Water
• Volvic owned by Danone
• Crystal Creamery
• EartH₂O

Crystal Creamery and EartH₂O are both regional brands.

The two worst offenders were Starkey at 9.8 ppb and Peñafiel owned by Keurig Dr. Pepper at 17. In fact, the results were so staggering for Peñafiel that the company informed Consumer Reports that they have taken their production facility in Mexico offline to improve its filtration system.

Considering how lax the regulation is in the bottled water industry and the dangerous levels of arsenic found in a number of brands, if you want the safest water possible for you and your family, you might be better to do what I do…

Skip the bottled water completely and instead install a quality filtration system in your home.

Editor’s note: Have you heard of EDTA chelation therapy for removing heavy metals and toxins? More people know it for what it can do for varicose veins and arterial health. Check out Dr. Michael Cutler’s guide, Chelation: Natural Miracle For Protecting Your Heart and Enhancing Your Health. Click here for a preview…

Sources:

1. Arsenic in Some Bottled Water Brands at Unsafe Levels, Consumer Reports Says — Consumer Reports
2. Toxic Arsenic Found In Major Bottled Water Brands — Zero Hedge
3. What is arsenic poisoning? — Medical News today