Article 3843 | True Chemical Warrior
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Is your water toxic?


Water is an universal substance, you drink it every day, you use it in your daily life for washing, brushing the teeth, you notice it when it rains, snows, you enjoy a bath in a lake or sea, or just enjoy the view of a large water body.

You may probably have a general good feeling about water, unless it comes in a dirty, smelly shape that disgusts you, and you tend to reject it and stay away from it. Or when it rains heavily and you don’t have an umbrella, and you try to hide. But more than these obvious appearances and situations, how often do you think deeper about water.

 

* How often do you think on the influence of the water in your life?

* How often do you think, do your research, form conclusion and implement decision about water in your life?

 

If you are one of the many people that never really took the time to stop and think about water too often, this is the article for you to read. If you are a busy person, you’ll probably be tempted to scroll down the article to seek for the answer to the question. But no need for it here, as I’ll give you the answer straight away. Water can be toxic to human body, however it can be more toxic than you think. It can be toxic in subtle ways.

I have been educated to know about various compounds in the water that give the water its toxicity reputation, due to its chemicals, but also radiations. Until few years ago I did not know that even the purest water can become toxic to human body ‘Intrigued’? I was definitely intrigued by this and could not believe it, until I heard the reasons why, plus some additional unexpected impacts of water.

A doctor detailed me the conditions in which water is toxic. Apparently, if you drink large quantities of water in a short time, something like 10 litters of water in a day, your body absorbs a lot, and you have extra fluids in the body that can produce swelling.

 

Well what can a bit of water swelling do?

The brain, which is surrounded by a fixed structure (the skull/cranium) that prevents it from expanding further. Any swelling produces an internal high pressure to the brain. This can lead to seizures and even coma. However, this is a very rare case, and apparently your brain is more likely to have dehydration problems than over-hydration.  So in a normal day, with no excessive physical effort it is generally recommended as a guide to drink 2 litres of water per day. And it is also best to be aware of how much water you lose through sweat and urine and adapt the water consumption accordingly.

Going back to the toxicity of the water, in the chemical way. Water is a universal solvent, and all chemical elements and substances are more or less soluble to water. The water that we drink contains a lot of elements, the inorganic ones, but also organic ones. In term of inorganic components, water have macro elements (which are necessary for our body in high concentrations (e.g. calcium, magnesium, sodium etc.), and micro elements, which our body need less quantities (iron, selenium, copper etc.). Organic components from water usually come as contaminants. Water should contain a minimum amount of organic compounds, if not zero.

 

Water chemical composition is an important aspect to pay attention to, for many reasons:

One of the main reasons is that we consume water on a daily basis. If we think of toxic compounds, their presence are in low amounts in the drinking water, if drunk daily, they have a big impact on our body over the long term.

 

Water where you live:

If you are fortunate enough to be able to choose where you want to live, do you consider the water quality as part of your decision to move to a particular place? If you chose to drink water from the tap, you should check its composition. You should check it nevertheless, as for example you use the water to shower, and to wash your clothes or things you use in your house.

All copyrights reserved to True Chemical Warrior

All image copyrights reserved to True Chemical Warrior

 

In Europe, the water quality standards are laid down in the EU Drinking Water Directive and each member state should implement this in national legislation to meet the minimum requirements of the quality. There are many elements to consider, but if you need to remember one thing, it is that the EU directive lays down requirements for the supplier to analyse and report the data to the public. The water supply companies should compare the quality of the water they provide, with the quality standards of the country they operate within, which has implemented or is about to implement the EU directive. So in principle, you should be able to have access to the data on the ‘water quality’ and check it from time to time.

The water supplier to your house should give you the information about the water that they provide to you. A lot of information is available online, and I advise you to enquire and look at the research for yourself.

 

When you check the water quality, there are few elements to pay attention to:

Composition (chemical and microbial) and pH. Try to understand which of the elements comply with the quality standards of the country you are in, and which are not. If by comparing this you will notice an increased value, the next step you need to consider is to identifying how can this affect you on long term. Some of the things may be difficult to investigate and judge by yourself, and you may need to ask for help from the supplier, or a specialists, doctors, pharmacists etc.

 

How we supplied water to cities in the past affects people now:

While writing this article what came to my mind was the historical links to the current modern day situation and I would like to share it with you. I went to visit Pompeii and Herculaneum, two ancient Roman cities that are famous nowadays for tourists who go to see how people lived almost 2000 years ago. These cities are fascinating, and it’s incredible to discover that back then the people were not so ‘civilised’ in term of houses, furniture, gardens, public places, baths, etc. However almost 2000 years ago they had current water passing through every house, and they had toilets in the house as well. Now these cities are now in ruins, you can in some places see the water supply plumbing that they had built. When I asked the guide about them, he told me that the plumbing pipes were made of lead. For me it was very surprising, and I asked more questions and what I found out was this, if Vesuvius didn’t erupt and cover these cities with the lava and ashes and killed the people in a short time, the lead poisoning would have killed them, but more slowly. This would have been due to the result of the water contaminated with lead from the plumbing, which the people drank daily in these cities.

 

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All image copyrights reserved to True Chemical Warrior

 

Lead used in plumbing is not just an historical fact, it can also be a modern reality that you still find that some people are living with lead plumbing today, even without knowing it. A lot of old houses have lead plumbing, and it is important to understand whose responsibility it is to know about this and act accordingly. The water companies are responsible for the pipes outside the properties, but inside it is the duty of the property owner to know or investigate the situation.

 

How to discover lead plumbing pipes?

Anybody can do a quick check of their plumbing, by looking at the pipes that lead to your tap under the sink for example. How does lead took like? Lead has a dark grey colour, and although it is a metal, you can easily scratch it. If you went fishing, you probably used lead weights to sink the hook. Or if you went diving, you probably used lead weights to control your buoyancy. If however you are in doubt about recognising lead pipes, just ask a professional plumber to check them for you. Having a more informed opinion on this, you can then decide on whether the replacement of the pipes is advisable or necessary for you.

 

Water Quality:       

The water quality plays an important role for the drinking water, but also for the cooking, washing your body, clothes etc. You may have noticed already when you go to a different place and you wash your hair, your body, you can notice changes. You would probably notice easier the negative aspects, such as the skin getting drier or itchier, your hair frizzier, etc.  Or you use the washing machine to wash your clothes with the usual amount of detergent and you discover at the end of the washing cycle that your cloths are still dirty. These may be signs that the pH of the water is different to what you are used to.

The pH is an important indicator in chemistry, and I think you should have some general knowledge about this. The pH value gives you an indication of the acidity, neutrality, or alkalinity. The water is supposed to be neutral, with a pH around 7. A lower value than pH 7 indicates the acidity, and higher values indicate the alkalinity. The pH of the tap water should be public information, available to you if you wish to be informed. If you buy bottled water, you should check the label for information on the composition and the pH. Some of the bottled waters are not neutral, they are slightly acid or alkaline.

 

What’s the optimal pH in our body?

Some general knowledge you should know is that the best pH environment for our body is neutral to alkaline. Some areas of our body have a different pH, like stomach for example is very acid, but let’s not get focused only on this. Overall our bodies need a neutral to alkaline environment to function at its best and be healthy. Therefore, when choosing the drinks (and foods) I advise you to choose the ones which are neutral towards alkaline and to avoid the ones which are acid. Just pay attention to this aspect as well, as daily activities have a big impact on long term health. Some of the diseases are assumed to be linked to changes of pH in your body from neutral to acid.

 

Our Environment:

You may have heard of acid rain, and the fact that it accelerates the corrosion and degradation of the surfaces that it touches. You may live in an area that is polluted and have often acid rains, and you may have taken some steps already to limit this effect like put your car in a garage, renew the house paint and roof. In the same way you may consider protecting your own body from acids influence.

 

Water consumption:

When you think about the water, you should also consider the microorganisms present into the water as well. If you drink contaminated water, you can easily get intestinal infections. It is a big worry for the travellers and it is justified. Water is not 100 % pure from microorganisms, and it shouldn’t be. We are surrounded by microorganisms, and we adapt to live with them and to use them (our guts are full of them). But some of the microorganisms are known to be pathogens for us, and if present in the drinking water it can quickly cause intestinal problems (diarrhoea, cramps, etc.). This effect can be different from person to person. Generally speaking, there are few categories of people who are more exposed, like children, pregnant women, elderly people and people with a low immune system. But it doesn’t have to happen to the locals for example, they may have been exposed to the pathogens in the water for a long period of time and may have developed defence mechanism to it. But travellers can have different experiences of this. It is best to stay protected, and buy bottled water (and check the label information) for drinking, drink hot drinks (where water has been boiled), avoid having drinks with ice (bacteria can survive in ice as well), or fresh fruit and vegetables washed with water from unknown sources.

 

Sea water quality:

As the summer is approaching, it is inevitable not to think about the sun and sea combination. If you plan a seaside vacation, you may want to check the sea water quality there as well. Depending on where you go, there may be different standards for this, or no standards at all. You can check the Blue flag beaches awarded by the Foundation for Environmental Education, which is well known globally. The certification process is done on a yearly basis, so it is worth checking the Blue Flag website for updates. The award is given not only for the water quality, but also for other criteria related to safety and services for example.

 

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Other toxicity factors of the water:

More than a decade ago, I read about another type of toxicity of the water, due to its internal structure, researched by Masaro Emoto. I read about the influence of external factors (words, pictures, music) on water, which was then frozen and its crystals shape examined under microscope. Emoto claimed that water exposed to positive messages will crystallise in beautiful and symmetric shapes, while water exposed to negative messages would crystallise in ugly formations. The research was very much controversial. I think it is worth having a look at the beautiful pictures produced by Emoto to form an opinion for yourself.

 

Why do we not know more about the vital 75% of our bodies?

Given the fact that our body mainly consists of 75% water, and seeing how many factors influence the water, it made me wonder about the influence of the same conditions outlined by Emoto on my own body. The influence of the external environment, and the internal environment (thought, feelings, emotions) on myself.

This is a fascinating field, and the more you read about this, the more you can discover other links with homeopathy for example. For me, reading about this more than a decade ago, was eye opening information. Back then I took some decision to look into this, I started implementing simple steps, about the things that I introduce in my own body, like drink a cup of tea, eating within environments that are as calm as possible, focusing my attention more to the pleasure of enjoying food and less to hectic thoughts and avoiding stressful discussions while having a drink or a meal. It is not always possible to have the correct conditions, but at least I try my best, and I also try to offer the people around me the same conditions, especially to the people who seem to struggle in this area. It’s so easy to fall into the habit of negativity in our day to day lives. My advice to you is that the next time you feel yourself overwhelmed by negative situations, try to think if it is really worth focusing your attention on it, is it really worth it, and remember Emoto’s research about the influence of external factors.

 

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Water is part of our lives. Water can improve your health, but water can be harmful as well. Enjoy it in a drink, in bath, dive in, surf on it and use it as background for your pictures. Drink water responsibly every day. Be informed and stay safe.

 

True Chemical Warrior

 

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