Environmental Research Center
Biotin: The ROI
Biotin: The ROI
G. Spence
Water Quality & The Water Crisis
Water Quality & The Water Crisis
G. Spence
Now What? 
Now What? 
G. Spence
Lead: Is It Really That Bad?
G. Spence
The Framework of Food Fraud
The Framework of Food Fraud

Sitting: The Silent Killer

You may have heard the quip that sitting is the new smoking. Maybe you took this to heart but maybe you scoffed at the idea that something as innocuous as sitting down could be as detrimental to your health as breathing poison into your lungs. It might seem impossible and in truth, if you find this baffling you are in great company. Despite numerous studies over the last three decades, scientists aren’t entirely sure why sitting is so harmful but the fact remains, it is! Inactivity has been ranked among the top five contributing factors to preventable death.

Inactivity has been tied to coronary heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, colon cancer, mental illness and raises the risk of obesity, deep-vein thrombosis and metabolic syndrome. It also can cause a tightening and stiffening of the largest muscles in the body which in turn makes exercise more difficult and places increased stress on the joints. 

For some, it might be very difficult to immediately incorporate an hour of exercise into their day right away but approaching one’s daily routine with a mindset towards movement can help a great deal. For example, if you have a desk job, getting in some great movement every half hour can help to break up those long periods of inactivity which are the most damaging. Stand up, stretch for a few minutes and try to get a little walking in as well. Consider a standing desk to alternate your position through the day. For some, this may even help with back and neck issues exacerbated by an overly relaxed posture maintained for hours at a time. 

It’s estimated that almost half of the American population gets little to no exercise each day. This has probably increased with the current pandemic and the reduction of team and social based physical activities. People are going dancing less and engaging in team sports with decreased regularity. What are many of them doing instead? Sitting. Sitting in front of the TV or even reading a book. These aren’t bad things and with the stress of today’s new normal they are even necessary things for some of us. However, it is more important than ever to be mindful and intentional about the amount of physical activity we do engage in. 

If you are still tempted to throw in the towel on physical activity, check out these numbers from the Heart Foundation. They found that individuals with little physical activity had a: 

  • 112% increased risk of diabetes.

  • 147% increased risk of cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke.

  • 90% increased risk of death from cardiovascular events.

  • 49% increased risk of death from any cause.

If going for a brisk walk can cut your risk of fatal health complications such as these in half, it may be time to carve out a little time to strut your stuff. Even if you can’t make a larger lifestyle change right now, smaller changes like setting a timer and moving regularly will still help. Every move we make towards a healthier future counts!

Deadly Sweet

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What’s sweeter than sugar, calorie free, and wrapped in a weight-loss lie? If you guessed any sort of “diet dessert” you are right on track. If you’ve ever tried to lose weight you might have considered eating some of your favorite foods anyway but just switching to the “diet” version of that product. Diet soda, for example, is supposed to preserve the flavor you love so much but without any of the pesky calories you are attempting to cut out. If you ever thought to yourself, “Man, this seems too good to be true…” You were, in fact, correct. Studies from as far back as 1987 and as recently as last month, shine light on the fallacy of artificial sweeteners. Not only is your sugar-free product not likely to help you lose weight but it may cause the opposite effect! Even more notable is the possibility that it may cause a wide spectrum of even more serious health issues that go beyond obesity and its complications! 

The most common artificial sweeteners are saccharin, acesulfame, aspartame, neotame, and sucralose. These sweeteners have been approved for use by the FDA but each carries its own list of concerning statistics. All artificial sweeteners are considered to be potentially addictive and to reduce the body’s sensitivity to natural sweetness. This causes whole foods like fruit to be less appealing and foods that aren’t sweet at all to hold even less appeal. Sucralose in particular was noted in one study to increase the amount of food women and those overweight consumed by sending “hunger signals” to the brain, which encouraged the consumption of more calories overall than the control group. Saccharin in a study using lab rats was found to be more addictive than cocaine. Neotame, probably one of the newest additions to this group, is under scrutiny for a noticeable disruption of gut bacteria and negative effects to the gut microbiome and metabolism. Acesulfame has shown a similar propensity to cause a perturbation of the gut biome and has been linked to weight gain as a result. 

Last but not least, the most popular artificial sweetener, aspartame. You’ve probably heard a number or things for and against this additive but here are a few quick highlights. In 1987 there were hundreds of cases linking Nutrasweet (aspartame) to seizures and partial or full blindness! Eliminating the sweetener from the diet often resulted in full or partial recovery and the cessation of symptoms. In 1997 several studies linked Aspartame to not only brain tumors but also neuropsychiatric reactions from headaches to seizures, confusion, depression and even the acceleration of Alzheimer’s disease. The overwhelming recommendation was the removal of aspartame products from public use. In the early 2000s, the studies were a mix of industry-sponsored ones claiming aspartame was safe and independent studies reiterating the conclusions of the previous two decades. In the last 5 years, the list of countries banning Aspartame has grown but the US isn’t currently among them. Whatever side of this ongoing controversy you decide to stand on, there is definitely less risk in limiting or eliminating aspartame as much as possible. 

Artificial sweeteners might claim to carry very few or even zero calories but are they worth it if even a fraction of the claims and studies over the last 4 decades are true? Especially if their ultimate purpose, creating a way to consume sweet food while still losing weight, does not pan out? For the average person, eating real sugar in moderation may just be the safest option for now. Even better, we could eliminate processed sugars altogether and stick to whole foods! Fiber filled fruit for the win!

Enhanced Water or Enhanced Hype?

We’ve talked about clean water free of PFASs and heavy metals. We know that these things can build up in the body and cause a wide spectrum of health issues. However, what about water with a little…extra? Enhanced water has become so popular over the last few years. Everything from flavored water as some try to escape what they consider the height of boredom or consuming a mostly flavorless beverage several times a day, to “enhanced” water with additives such as vitamins and/or minerals sometimes added to effect the pH of the water in question. Is there any benefit to these additions? 

Well, as one might imagine, the addition of flavors isn’t particularly beneficial in and of itself. Adding sugar also undercuts the consumption of pure water to some extent. However, if it encourages one to drink a significantly higher amount of water, it most likely does not undercut the entire benefit. Just be sure that any flavor additives do not contain the chemicals and contaminants we have so far been so careful to clean and keep out of our water. Also, flavors that claim to be sugar free might do even more harm as they are often full of artificial sweeteners used to mask the lack of flavor. It might be much safer to add a few drops of lemon or lime juice to your water if you need to have some flavor. A whole fruit infusion might be a nice compromise as well!

As for vitamins and minerals, it really depends on the specific additives themselves and if they are accompanied by the same problematic ingredients as flavored water. For example, the popular brand Vitamin Water, owned by Coca Cola, contains as much sugar in some of its flavored waters as you might find in a can of cola! In some ways, this is even more problematic than coke because many people consume this product believing they are drinking something good for them. They may not control their consumption or be mindful of their intake in the same way they might with soda.

In contrast, there is some evidence that mineral water containing high amounts of calcium carbonate, magnesium sulfate, potassium and sodium sulfate has a positive impact on the heart, lowering LDL cholesterol and raising the HDL levels! It’s also been noted to lower the blood pressure and improve circulation. It is thought that Americans do not get the recommended amount of magnesium on a daily basis and mineral water can be a good source of magnesium. Additionally, if it is high in calcium, this is thought to support bone health. Overall mineral water seems to land in the positive category health-wise though some people do not enjoy the taste. 

At the end of the day, it is important to not only consume clean water, but to consistently consume water that is free from harmful or problematic additives. If your water has just as much sugar as a coke, you might be missing the mark a little bit. If you are looking for some added benefits, mineral water might be your best option! 

Disorderly Sleep and the Side Effects

We’ve talked a bit about the basics of sleep but let’s delve a little deeper into the dysfunction of sleep! A sleep disorder is basically any condition that interrupts your normal sleeping pattern. You’ve likely heard of a number of sleep disorders without ever looking into this subject. Insomnia for example is incredibly common and most would recognize it as the inability to fall asleep and/or stay asleep. Sleep apnea is also a commonly discussed disorder and is usually the culprit for loud snoring and abrupt and brief pauses in breathing. A popular one in the media is narcolepsy, when someone seems to fall asleep abruptly. More correctly they would be suffering from a cataplexy attack and may be fully conscious as it is happening. There are currently more than 80 recognized sleep disorders including parasomnia, circadian rhythm disorders and other hypersomnia besides narcolepsy. Sleep disorders can affect your overall health beyond just exhausting you. As we’ve discussed, sleep supports your physical, mental  and psychological health and as one might expect, sleep disorders impact all areas of your life. 

The causes of sleep disorders vary almost as heavily as the disorders themselves but there are some well-known origins. Often another condition or disorder can cause a sleep disorder. Things like heart disease, nerve disorders, chronic pain from arthritis or headaches, fibromyalgia can all be the root of a sleeping problem. Unfortunately, something like sleep apnea can also contribute to heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, stroke and other illnesses creating a cycle that feeds into itself and must be intentionally treated and broken out of. The same with mental health sources of sleep disorders such as depression and anxiety. An individual would need to take in the whole picture to be successful in treating one or the other.

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According to a 2016 study:

More than 30% of adults struggle with some form of insomnia.

Read More

So, how would one go about treating a sleep disorder? Some like narcolepsy require a diagnosis from a medical professional and their treatment might require medication but there is a lot one can do to optimize one’s chances of successfully treating a sleep disorder. First, monitoring one’s current sleep pattern and identifying the contributing factors to the disorder (whether that’s a medical diagnosis or acceptance of a known issue like insomnia). If you’ve been going to sleep at 1am consistently and having a coffee an hour before bed most nights, these might be things you need to evaluate and see if they are contributing to your inability to stay asleep. Are you stressed at your job? Have you noticed your depression from high school reasserting itself when you haven’t spiraled for years? Take a look at environmental factors as well? Is your bedroom window right by a street light? Do you live by a busy, noisy road? Do you share a home with someone who works the night shift and is always up when you are trying to sleep? Now, how many of these things can you minimize or eliminate? Then, give yourself some time to adjust and reevaluate! How is your sleep now? Better? No change? Keep evaluating. Do you have major anxiety that you’ve left untreated? Maybe it’s time to figure out a treatment plan for that as well. 

Sleep is the foundation of your health and you are in a position to be your biggest advocate even if the biggest challenge you have to overcome is any reluctance you might have to change. Nutrition, physical exercise, supplements, and an entire spectrum of complementary treatments are there for the taking once you’ve prioritized addressing the root of your sleeping disorder. As always, any supplement or nutritional change should be from a third party tested source or, in the case of fresh foods, acquired locally if possible! If you ever want to get a supplement tested for purity, don’t hesitate to reach out using the form on our “Contact Us” page. 

Wheat: Faster Isn’t Always Better

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Wheat permeates every area of the American diet, from desserts and entrees, to snacks and the best (and worst) breakfast foods. Even that cold drink you knock back with friends on the weekends is basically liquid bread. For some, this isn’t an issue but about 3 million people in the US alone suffer from celiac disease with about 18 million reporting some level of gluten sensitivity. These numbers probably fall short of the truth and most of us likely know at least one person who suffers from a gluten sensitivity. It’s estimated that about 5% of the global population deals with some form of gluten related ailment. Put into perspective, that’s more than the population of both the United States and the UK combined, making it an issue worth noting. While there continues to be a lot of discussion around whether or not this is a real phenomenon, separate from celiac disease, experts seem to agree that the overall impact seems to be much more widespread than celiac disease alone and this phenomenon is just getting worse over time. Wheat is a larger part of the American diet than many may realize and its consumption often correlates with a number of health issues even for those without celiac disease. As we consider the changes in the production of wheat, it's also possible that gluten may not be the only reason wheat has become such a consistent contributor to the rise of gastrointestinal issues in the American population. Let’s take a quick look at how things stand. 

First, while wheat has been a major player in the human diet for centuries, recently, we’ve managed to squeeze wheat, or wheat-based proteins generically called gluten, into EVERYTHING. It’s no surprise that gluten is in foods like bread, pasta or even beer but what about salad dressing? What about soup or processed, or even just pre-seasoned, meats? We also have an entire subcategory of meat alternatives that are made from gluten. Gluten is also used as a type of adhesive and might be added to a number of foods (like ice cream) to function as a binder. More than ever before, we’ve cultivated and incorporated gluten into every area of our daily diet. 

Second, it’s important to know the type of ailments that have been attributed to gluten sensitivity if for no other reason than if you do suffer from any of these issues, limiting or excluding gluten might improve your quality of life. Including celiac disease, the five major categories of gluten-related disorders are dermatitis herpetiformis, gluten ataxia, wheat allergy, and non-celiac gluten sensitivity. These express in a variety of ways including but not limited to bloating, abdominal discomfort, fatigue, a blistering rash, rhinitis, eczema, and wheezing. Plus, Celiac disease alone is often linked to “chronic and persistent diarrhea, malabsorption, abdominal pain, weight loss, and steatorrhea. Atypical and extra-intestinal manifestations include hepatic hypofunction, iron deficiency anemia, hair loss, osteoporosis, growth retardation, epilepsy, psychiatric disorders, mouth ulcers, muscle weakness, fatigue, arthropathy, delayed onset of puberty in children and infertility in adults.” As you can see, gluten-related disorders cover a wide spectrum of ailments and if you consistently suffer from any combination of these issues, a gluten sensitivity might be worth considering.

Third, you might take a look at the information presented so far and wonder why now? Even with the increased usage of gluten in a greater variety of foods, why are we seeing this explosion of related diseases and disorders rapidly growing in the last couple decades? Simply put, efficiency. As we’ve discussed in previous articles, the larger the agricultural yield and the lower the cost of that yield, the higher the profit. Therefore, changes like using genetically modified seeds, new fertilizers and pesticides (like glyphosate-based Roundup) to increase efficiency and profit margins often don’t stop even when we’ve seen what those changes can do to the consumer’s health. Additionally, the over processing of the wheat post harvest and its susceptibility to adulteration by both addition and substitution further complicate the real source of our current gluten-related challenges. It’s possible that those eliminating gluten from their diet and seeing positive health results might be eliminating an avenue for chemical exposure or cutting off the consumption of dust and fillers as well! In the end, locally sourcing your wheat flour and limiting highly processed foods might be a smart choice for supporting your health whether you have a gluten-related illness or not. 

Sleep: The Basic Bits

Sleep is one of the single most important things our bodies need to survive. Without it, the brain starts to shut down and the ability to process information is significantly hindered. Sleep allows the body to rest and recover from the day, with the brain performing a number of vital processes only possible during sleep. 

There are 4 general stages of sleep, three non-REM stages and REM sleep. A complete cycle through all 4 stages can take over a couple of hours. The shortest stage is normally the first stage where you are falling asleep. Your body begins to relax and your brain activity slows a small amount. Stage 2 brings a more noticeable drop in brain activity, as the body begins to shift into a more passive state. The muscles relax and body temperature drops while breathing and heart rate slow. This stage starts out being about 10 to 25 minutes long but can lengthen over the course of the night. You might spend half the night in this stage of sleep altogether. Stage 3 is critical to memory and the restoration of the mind and body. In this stage, one’s breathing and heart rate drop even further with an accompanying drop in muscle tone. A lot of the body’s immune system support and damage reparations are bolstered most heavily during this stage. In contrast to Stage 2, Stage 3 gets progressively shorter as the night goes on and is initially anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes long. Then comes the type of sleep you’ve likely heard the most about, REM sleep! In this final stage of sleep, the body is completely locked down while your brain lights up as if you were still awake. It is during REM sleep that you are thought to have most of your narrative style dreams with structure and vivid realism. This stage is crucial to processing and consolidating your very real memories and is thought to be a big part of the learning and long-term memory mechanism. These four stages of sleep repeat through the night with REM sleep starting roughly 90 minutes after you fall asleep. 

The body’s sleep/wake cycle is governed in part by the circadian rhythms. We may discuss the circadian rhythms in more detail in a later article but it is enough to say that the circadian rhythms are often described as the body’s internal clock, telling us when it is time to rest and time to wake. There are numerous environmental factors that might impact the proper functioning of our rhythms, but humans seem to generally run on an innate 24-hour cycle. Interrupting this cycle with, say, shift work or redeye travel results in issues ranging from minor issues like jetlag to major problems in mental and physical functioning.  

So how much sleep does the average person actually need? Well, that depends on a combination of genetics, age and one’s overall unique biochemical makeup but, generally speaking, the needs vary most noticeably with age. Infants need the most sleep, clocking about 16 - 18 hours a day. Children follow with the youngest still needing around 10 -13 hours while under the age of 5. Older kids under the age of 12 need a little less with averages ranging from 9 - 12 hours. Teenagers take a significant cut needing 8 - 10 and once you are old enough to vote, you are thought to need a vague 7+ hours to be rested. Next time we will talk more about sleep quality but for now, here are a few articles for additional sleep themed reading. 

From the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Sleep Foundation - Sleep Facts



Honey and Crime!

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You might already know that honey carries with it a number of health benefits, from its antioxidant content to its antibacterial properties! It’s also been documented as a helpful digestive aid for gastrointestinal issues as well as being a delicious way to soothe a sore throat or a mild cough. Honey is, generally speaking, beneficial for the average person. 

What you might not know is that honey is the third most common food sold fraudulently in the global market. Honey is adulterated in a variety of different ways ranging from water and corn syrup being carefully added to dilute the real honey, to honey heated for ease of packaging and filtration being marketed as raw. Some experts have estimated that around 30% of the honey in the global market is adulterated with the percentage more than double that number in the US. 

This issue, while perhaps not immediately dangerous to the consumer’s health, does affect us all as first, we will not gain the health benefits we might be using honey for and second, it might just crash our economy. That second part might sound a bit dramatic but honey bees carry the burden of pollination for most of our agriculture crops. Our crops not only feed this country but are still the bulwark of our international trade. Together, the domestic and international agricultural market make up a significant portion of America's economy. Right now, by committing food fraud, merchants are undercutting the sales of beekeepers, who are in turn having to diversify their merchantable services to stay afloat. Add to this phenomenon the loss of many of our honeybees to mites, parasites, blight, MURDER HORNETS, and you have a true crisis on your hands. A lot of beekeepers report losing nearly half their hives in the last few years. 

As a consumer, you can help by supporting beekeepers directly and buying local! This may be one of the most important times to do so! Buy local and if you can’t buy local, buy clean! Have your favorite brand of honey tested and find a company that cares about protecting their supply chain! As you may learn if you continue on to the additional reading linked below, it isn’t enough to pay a lot for a fancy bottle of honey. Sometimes they are the very culprit you are trying to avoid!

Additional Reading Here!

Helpful Hints for Making Sure Your Honey is Real

Fruit over Juice?

You might think that because a fruit juice is natural and “added sugar free” it contains the same nutritional value as the fruit it came from. You might also think that juicing fruit is simply a faster and more direct way to break down a fruit and get to the good stuff. You might also have been shamelessly lied to by a Welch’s commercial! Though it might seem odd at first, whole fruit is significantly more beneficial than the juices we all know and love. Even if you juice the fruit yourself and ensure no added sugars or preservatives, you still aren’t getting the same nutritional profile as chomping into that same fruit in its entirety. 

But why?! Isn’t fruit juice just the apple without the crunch, the grape without the skin or the orange without the pith?! In a way, yes, but those things aren’t just garbage to be discarded pre-consumption as you might have assumed!! They provide fiber! You might have had a friend or doctor ramble about increasing one’s dietary fiber intake and these chewable, juice containing fruit packages are simply made of it. 

Fiber works a lot like that small, bristly brush you use to clean out pipes or reusable straws. It isn’t something that the body is able to break down most of the time and it functions instead as a digestive enhancement, allowing the bowels to more easily eject refuse. Additionally, fiber slows down the rate at which sugars pass through the body, allowing them to be used as energy instead of stored as fat. Fiber is, in a sense, garbage to be discarded during consumption and digestion instead! Systematically discarded through a multitude of little systems and cycles in the body that ensure you get the most nutrients possible from your food while carefully and thoroughly cleaning the rest away!

In contrast, juice hits the digestive system and carries a much higher concentration of sugar without any fiber which drives up the release of insulin and prompts the storage of the extra sugars. This ultimately leads to a crash in blood sugar levels and initiates hunger signals as if you hadn’t consumed much at all. Ultimately, fruit juice is a bit of a trap if you are trying to regulate your caloric intake. Just go for the whole fruits instead and save your body the confusion. 

In addition, there are also a number of nutrients only found in the skin and pulp of certain fruits. Downing only the juices means missing out completely on the benefits of a much more complete food. 

Bonus round: You are ready to consume all the fruit in sight and you’ve procured quite the haul from your local grocery store. What next? Clean those apples! Unless you are able to do our very favorite thing and Buy Locally, your fruit might be covered with a layer of protective waxes and pesticides that you definitely don’t want entering your system. If wax is ruining a water only bath, add lemon juice and baking soda, or vinegar to your water and wash that wax away. Next step, enjoy!

Further Reading:

On Fiber!

On Fiber & Glucose!

Mercury 102: The Basics and A Little More

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Mercury, the smallest planet, closest to the sun and also an incredibly dangerous neurotoxin you’ve likely consumed without realizing it. We’ve already talked about Lead poisoning but that isn’t the only heavy metal we should be on guard for. Mercury is dangerous in every form but most commonly we will encounter it either as methylmercury or elemental( metallic) mercury. Methylmercury is the form of mercury that you may have heard exists in certain fish and seafoods. It is terribly toxic to mammals and builds up in aquatic animals through mechanisms such as bioaccumulation and biomagnification. 

Bioaccumulation is where a chemical in the environment builds up in an organism over time usually through direct exposure or a contaminated food source. An example of this would be salmon swimming in a contaminated river or stream. The chemical contamination is slowly building up in the salmon due to the contamination of their environment. A heavy chemical like mercury is hard to expel once absorbed so even through small increments, the slow accumulation of the chemical is measurable and significant. Biomagnification conversely is when the concentration of a chemical contaminate in one organism is passed on to another organism where it builds up due to the second organism being higher in the food chain and eating a significant amount of the first organism (See Fig. 1.1). This would happen if say, a bear, were to eat the contaminated salmon from our earlier example. Similarly, humans, as an apex predator, tend to consume organisms all along this type of food chain including those at the top of their own chain, thus consuming organisms who have the highest concentration of chemical contaminants. While this consumption of mercury may not cause you to immediately show symptoms of poisoning, it will build up in the body over time and problems can develop once a certain threshold is reached. 

Fig. 1.1 National Geographic image detailing Biomagnification and Bioaccumulation

Fig. 1.1 National Geographic image detailing Biomagnification and Bioaccumulation

Metallic mercury is the other form we are commonly exposed to. This is the form that can be found in thermometers, some light bulbs and old dental fillings and enters the body as a metallic vapor as it is outgassed from the amalgams(mercury compound or mixtures) and inhaled. This metallic mercury passes easily through the blood brain barrier and into the brain. Though some of this chemical will be broken down into mercuric mercury and excreted, some will adhere to the red blood cells and build up in the brain and nervous system.

While anyone would be negatively impacted by the build up of mercury in either form, it can be incredibly detrimental for developing infants. Whether they are exposed through the mother’s exposure in utero or through the mother’s breast milk, this exposure can impact a developing child’s IQ and cause neurocognitive deficits as well as impacting motor skills and spatial awareness. This is one reason a doctor may recommend that a pregnant mother suspend the consumption of fish throughout the pregnancy and even through the breast feeding stage. Limiting the build up of mercury in a developing child is paramount when one considers the long-term effects mercury can have. 

In adults, the impact of mercury can include a wide range of symptoms. Notably immune dysfunction, reduced color vision and changes in coordination, mental concentration and short term memory have all been linked to mercury exposure. The vapor can cause pneumonitis, or a typically noninfectious form of lung inflammation, as well as more general symptoms such as fatigue, weight loss and gastrointestinal issues. A correlation between mercury exposure and heart disease, hypertension and stroke has also been noted. 

So, now that we’ve firmly established the issue with mercury exposure, what do we do when mercury is within our environment and we are likely being exposed to it in some form everyday? First, educating oneself on the correct way to dispose of household sources of mercury, such as broken light bulbs or thermometers allows one to limit acute mercury exposure for oneself and anyone else in your household. Second, limiting the use of mercury containing items in general will go a long way to preventing unnecessary exposure. Third, supporting the general adoption of mercury alternatives either on a global, national or local level will help push us collectively in a direction that will be safer for generations to come. Last, but possibly the most important step is continuing to educate yourself on the impacts of mercury and educating those around you so that others can take similar precautions and join you in monitoring this global issue. 

Sources and Further Reading: 

Water Quality & The Water Crisis

We’ve discussed why drinking water is so important for the body to continue functioning well, but will just any water do? You probably already know the answer to that question, particularly if you’ve ever seen gray water or a swampy pond. Similarly, you might be ok with your dog drinking water from a stream, but you might hesitate to do the same. Rightly so as water picks up bacteria and general debris from its surroundings and needs to be carefully cleaned and filtered before consumption. Otherwise, to borrow from our earlier analogy about attempting to clean a car without water, we’d be attempting to clean a car with muddy water. The same way that water would leave behind a film of new grim and gunk, improperly sourced or unfiltered water can introduce new, harmful bacteria, chemicals, parasites and other unwanted particulates into the body.

Globally, more than 13% of the population is still without safe and clean drinking water. Fully preventable diseases and exacerbated health risks are linked to this lack and each day 800 children under the age of 5 die from contaminated water and little to no water-related sanitation resources. There’s no call to action here but if you’d like to learn more about how you can help solve this global problem, I’ll be including a couple helpful links below.

Here in the U.S. we are facing a different challenge as, though sanitation accessibility and drinking water quality is higher, we still face water contamination due to industrial runoff and as a commercial manufacturing byproduct. In addition to heavy metals like lead or mercury, recent research has gone into perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFASs. PFASs are not currently regulated by the federal government, yet they, like uranium, arsenic, lead and other regulated pollutants, build up in the environment and are linked to a number of health complications such as reproductive cancer, liver damage, thyroid disease, pregnancy complications and immune system dysfunction. 

So, now it would seem that we, the consumers, are caught between a rock and a hard place. We must consume water but many of us are probably consuming contaminated water, especially if we are usually drinking directly from the tap. What is the solution? The big picture is that we need to support the regulation of PFASs at a federal level and the implementation of technologies designed to remove them from our water supply. For now though, the burden still remains with the individual. Granular activated carbon filters and reverse osmosis are two options for filtering your own drinking water. The EPA also suggests nanofiltration osmosis, ion exchange resin, and powdered activated carbon for removing PFASs. Get your water tested, whether you have your own well or are using city supplied water and then find the filtration option that works the best for you! 

Below we’ve included several articles on PFASs and the Global Water Crisis. Enjoy!

Forever Chemicals article.

EPA Information on PFAS

More on the Global Water Crisis + And More + And a little more.



““Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.””
— Mahatma Gandhi