“Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink:” Sure, you can’t drink ocean water without suffering some major consequences. But what about tap water? For some reason many still believe that tap water is somehow full of poisons and lacks certain “natural” ingredients. Hey, let’s shovel out $20 bucks each and every month to drink that bottled water that is so heavily promoted. Just look at the commercials:spring water is shown bubbling out of the ground with a awe inspiring backdrop-usually of the Rockies, as a drop dead gorgeous woman, shakes her perfect blond hair and looks toward her chiseled significant other. The kids are thin, lacking acne and are smiling as they frolic in the nearby meadow. And of course, all are dressed in REI style camping attire.

The unspoken message is that somehow this water, which  for a small monthly fee can be delivered to your house,  will transform you and yours into thin, wrinkle and cellulite free youthful wonders.   In a similar fashion, bottled water at the local 7-11 is seen as having some, almost supernatural health benefits.  As is the case for many things in life, if it looks too good to be true, it probably isn’t true.

There is simply no data that in virtually any American community tap water contains dangerous things. On the contrary,   filtering systems used by communities are incredibly effective in eliminating bacteria, viruses and protozoa.  While outbreaks do occasionally occur, there is still a greater likelihood of getting some bug from the purified water,which may or may not be held to as high of a standard  compared with tap water. The “natural” springs where the purified water is obtained may be contaminated  with any of a number of other things including heavy metals and other toxins. Mountain water, for example can be located near an abandoned  mine which is loaded with unpleasant things.

Few studies have shown any more benefits from drinking purified water than drinking tap water. Furthermore, bottled water is not fluorinated, and fluorine helps your child build strong teeth (and by the way is not a Communist plot to poison America). What has been shown is that minority parents tend to perceive more benefits from bottled water and spend on the average about $20  monthly to have this water delivered. This by the way is money that could have been used to defray other important health care costs including buying healthy food.

As you can imagine there are major environmental issues with  bottled water including the plastic containers and the fuel used to deliver the water for those who elect home delivery. The same is true for those bottled waters which you can buy at almost any store.

Bottom line: stick with tap water, you’ll save money and help the environment as well