Bottled water seems to be the crazetoday. Americans are drinking about 6.4 billion gallons each year, or roughly 23 gallons per person. The dollar value is a staggering $8.32 billion which is second only to carbonated soft drinks.

Athletes Need Water

Water, which is two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen, keeps the athlete going; it is the most important element for human survival making up 70% or more of body weight. As little as a 2% loss of body weight through dehydration can have a very negative impact on performance. So what do you reach for, the water fountain or the bottle and which one is safer?

Bottled Vs. Tap

Is tap water really the bad guy poisoning your body with chemicals and bacteria as some people have claimed? Is bottled water really purer as advertisers would have you believe? The answer is YES and NO! The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has set standards to assure the safety of tap water. On the other hand, bottled water is considered a food and is therefore subject to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act administered by the FDA. Therefore, by law, bottled water must produce wholesome, safe, and truthfully labeled products. But here is the key to bottled water, unless clearly labeled that it comes from a natural spring source, most bottled water is actually purified tap water. Therefore it contains equal or lower amounts of contaminants as tap water.

In the case of lead, the ceiling for bottled water is lower. As an additional safeguard to federal and state regulations, the International Bottled Water Association has established its own industry-wide code that calls for yearly inspection of bottled water plants. All members must use one or more of the following practices: source protection and monitoring, reverse osmosis, distillation, filtration, ozonation, and ultraviolet light.

It is interesting to note that both tap and bottled water have received bad press. The discovery of higher than allowable levels of bacteria and chemicals has prompted an occasional warning from the media. But despite these warnings there appears to be no immediate danger to public health from either water source. Your chance of getting sick from bottled water is small but some tainted bottles could slip through the cracks and reach store shelves.

What About Taste?

Most people will agree that metal-flavored water is not very appealing. On the other hand, taste is not a good indicator of safe water and concern is now growing over the types of containers being used which could pass off a residue of the plastic manufacturing process which could possibly be harmful.

Which One Is Best?

Both tap and bottled water are generally safe. Unless clearly labeled otherwise, bottled water is just purified tap water from which manufacturers have removed tastes and colors. There is no guarantee that bottled water is purer or safer.

There are many ways to purify the water that goes into the bottles. Distilled water could be considered the purest in that it is theoretically 100% water. But some feel there is a chance that metals from the purification process could get into the distilled water. Others say that the lack of naturally occurring minerals in distilled water make the body use up its stores rather than replenish it as with regular water. One Japanese researcher believes the crystalline structure of distilled water is different than regular water once it’s been “processed”.

No matter how you slice it, bottled water costs more than tap water and there is no real conclusive evidence to suggest bottled water is a safer or purer alternative to tap water. Our suggestion, in keeping with a “natural” philosophy, is to use bottled filtered natural spring water from a known pure source for your "drinking water".

This will be likely to be purer than tap water, but still contain the natural minerals, and elemental form of spring water. You could also consider a good water filtering system for your home. You can get good tasting, safe water for a fraction of the price of bottled water--providing you change the fiters at recommended intervals. Since there are many alternatives and methods of filtering, we will cover this topic in a future Newsletter. Until then, keep drinking your 10+ glasses per day!

Water, Water, Water by Jack A. Medina, M.A. Roy E. Vartabedian, Dr.P.H., M.P.H. October 2005