How to Detox Your Water Usage

Why on earth and how to detox your water usage? Its a good question. Most places in the United States have what we would all consider drinkable tap water. It may taste better elsewhere, but it is very rare that we would have boil warnings or immediately unsafe tap water. Not being immediately unsafe doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be examined for long term build up and subsequent side effects. So lets get on with the topic of how to detox your water usage.

How to Detox Your Water Usage – Why is it Unsafe?

The main additive in water in the United States is Chlorine, the reason for this is that it kills pathogens in the water and it does it quite well. The good news about chlorine is that it is water soluble, so your body doesn’t do a great job of storing it. The bad news is that our thyroid systems are very sensitive to chlorine and exposure over time runs the risk of throwing off the delicate balance or our vastly complicated hormone system. It is also a known irritant so depending on the level in our water could be contributing to skin and eye issues.

The second most common additive to water in the US is fluoride. And aside from vaccines I am not sure there is a more controversial topic on earth. On the one hand it is added water because of studies which have shown that it helps protect tooth enamel. On the other hand it is highly poisonous with acute exposure and is fat soluble so it builds in the body over time. I reduce my exposure to fluoride because of its accumulating effect in our body, and the ways in which it interacts with thyroid, brain, bone density, and the fact that studies about tooth health showed that it only benefits teeth that are in the process of growing (not existing adult teeth).

The last unsafe additive(s) in water is very specific to the source of your water. Water sources are either collection points or tapped straight from ground water both of which are susceptible to leeching from surrounding areas, which most often includes a variety of agricultural runoff. The EWG has a database where you can lookup what things are you in your water that you should know about. For example I live somewhere with exceptionally good water, and even with that I have three contaminates in my water which exceed recommended guidelines (see below).

How to Detox Your Water Usage – What Can I Do About it?

The only thing that can be done to protect yourself is filter the water, and I don’t mean with a Britta or refrigerator filter. There are whole house solutions, but they are both expensive and tricky to maintain. But if you are up for the investment and dedicated to cleaning it properly as often is necessary it is a great solution.

The cheaper route would be countertop filters for drinking and cooking water. With the addition of tap filters for showers and baths. Tap filters for showers and baths are important because chemicals and pathogens are carried in the steam and inhaled directly into your body.

When shopping for a countertop water system you want to look for a reserve osmosis system. I have heard the most about AquaTrue and Berky. Though there are a lot of other brands out there. I personally use the Berky, it is what my doctor recommended as it is relatively cheap, easy to maintain and easy to clean.

With shower and bath filters, I am actually still looking for a good solution. There are a ton of options out there, I just need to pinpoint my exact needs and pick a product. Which brings me to the point I like to bring up whenever discussing these topics. It’s not about shaming, and it’s never an all or nothing things. The point of these posts is to help educate and give you options and ideas of where you you can make small changes in your life which add up to big health gains. You don’t to overhaul everything all at once, rather pick the thing that speaks most to you, or hits on a concern that is close to your heart then look at things again. Maybe you will change more things, maybe you won’t. It’s up to you. At any rate I hope this provided some interesting insights on how to detox your water usage.