Most of us prefer to drink bottled water especially when we travel because we consider it safe when compared to tap water and none of us want to be bed ridden with water borne diseases spoiling a wonderful vacation.
The other reasons why people prefer bottled water is that it is perceived to be purer, tastier and convenient to pick it up on the go instead of carrying pre-filled bottles of tap water. But did you know that bottled water is not necessarily safer than tap water?
Tests conducted on over 103 different brands of bottled water found man-made chemicals, bacteria and arsenic in 22 percent of the bottles. This does not mean that tap water is not contaminated. When tested tap water in some cities had lead, arsenic and pesticides.
According to Cynthia Sass, a Florida-based sports nutritionist twenty five percent of the bottled water is actually repackaged tap water and you paying more for it because it comes in a fancy package. While most healthy adults can tolerate exposure to trace amounts of these contaminates, some people, such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, individuals who are HIV positive or recovering from a transplant or major surgery, pregnant women, children, and the elderly, are more vulnerable.
People who are vulnerable could drink water treated with reverse osmosis, distilled water or tap water with a certified filtering system.
The latest craze seems to be vitamin-fortified bottled water; these fortified bottled waters instead of giving an edge to the consumers could actually pose a risk of over-supplementation and nutritionists warn that many fortified waters are also high in calories contributing to weight gain and leaving a hole in your pockets.
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