One big reason we should all drink pure water is because even treated water can contain harmful biological
and/or chemical contaminants. Have you ever considered that a terrorist could pollute a community's water supply
with a biological or chemical contaminant simply by pumping it through one of the millions of faucets located
in homes and buildings? Since the September 11th attacks, more and more people have become aware of this threat.
So how do we protect ourselves from these poisons that threaten the purity of our drinking water?
There are several ways you can purify your drinking water at home. Carbon filtration,
reverse osmosis and distillation are some of the most popular methods of water purification.
Let's explore each method briefly:
Carbon filtration is one of the oldest methods of water purification. Carbon filters are
relatively inexpensive and are the most effective at removing volatile organic compounds (VOCs),
sediment and chlorine from water. However, these filters are not effective at removing
salts, minerals and dissolved inorganic compounds.3 Additionally, a carbon filtration
system will not provide protection against bacteria, viruses and parasites in drinking water.
Another method of water purification, reverse osmosis (R/O), uses a semi-permeable membrane
with tiny holes or "pores." This membrane allows water to pass through while stopping many
harmful contaminants. R/O can remove mercury, nitrates, chromium, potassium, sodium,
organic chemicals, dissolved solids, minerals, salt and other impurities.4 However, not all
R/O models remove the same contaminants.4 These systems comparatively take out more
water contaminants than carbon filtration systems. It is still possible, however, that some bacteria,
viruses and parasites may penetrate the filtration membrane and remain in drinking water.
A third method of water purification is distillation, which is the process of boiling water
to the point where it evaporates into steam. The steam is taken to a condenser where it is
then turned back into a liquid form, thus creating distilled water. Distillation takes out
virtually all minerals and contaminates in drinking water, even bacteria, viruses, parasites, poisons,
and heavy metals.5 The biggest advantage of distillation is that it produces pure drinking
water. However, it may not be a good idea to drink plain distilled water for long period of
time, due to the fact that distilled water is lacking trace minerals that the body needs.6
Fortunately, trace minerals can be added back into distilled water.
To wrap things up, drinking water is essential for life. Drinking pure water, free of bacteria,
viruses, parasites and other harmful contaminants will add vitality and longevity to your life. We
should all drink to that!
