Tap water is just as healthy as bottled water and is also perfect in terms of hydration levels. In fact, professionals such as Vicku Shanta Retelny, Sharon Haas, Jenn Salid Huber, Kaitlin Hippley, and Diane Han emphasize that even though bottled water is controlled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it is not much different from tap water. On the other hand, you have to take into account those areas where there may be cases of water contamination, so in this situation, you would have to use what is known as water filtration. Read on to learn more.
Keep yourself hydrated
Health and nutrition professional underline that you should maintain yourself totally hydrated throughout the day. The rule of thumb that you should ingest at least two liters of water a day, or almost to eight glasses, has been debunked by several investigations.
How much you require will be different on your body and doesn’t all have to come from drinking fluids. However, when it comes to drinking fluids, good old tap water is most probably your best bet, depending on where you live, according to the professionals.
Don’t spend money and drink tap water
There is a huge wide range of bottled water to select from these days. Some of them tout special health benefits but the scientific investigation just doesn’t back them up say the experts.
“Bottled waters can be expensive and you may not be getting anything special from them,” Vicki Shanta Retelny, a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN), told the Huffington Post. “Of course, it’s better to drink any water than not, but there’s no evidence to support the idea that fancy artesian, spring or alkaline water is more beneficial for you.”
In addition, some of them can have extar micronutrients and dietary supplements, so it’s relevant to be conscious of those in the context of other supplements that are already taken, as cautioned RDN Sharon Palmer about bottled water with supplements. She recommends that you should be conscious of all contents the bottled water you are drinking may have in it.
RDN Sara Haas explains that you should be a label reader and do your documentation. If your are not are doing a lot of physical exertion or spending time in the high temperatures, all of those B vitamins and electrolytes aren’t required.
She explained that, “as for the other additives, play it safe, especially if you have health issues, and speak with your health care team, especially a registered dietitian.”
How to know if your tap water is okay
As RDN Kaitlin Hippley explains, she thinks that tap water is normally safe and usually monitored for contaminants. That said, in some areas there could be a danger of heavy metals leaching into tap water from aging pipes, or there could be localized problemas like E. coli contamination or pesticide runoff.
The utility that supplies your tap water should send you an annual quality exam by 1 July each year, frequently sent with water bills, that you can revise. There is also an information page on local drinking water systems presented by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.
In addition, you can visit the EPA’s Drinking Water Data and Tools website to see if your water supplier posts their water-quality monitoring results. And the U.S. Geological Survey has final data of the water-quality conditions from close to 2,100 domestic wells all along the United States as part of its National Water-Quality Assessment Program.
More over, whether it is for safety preocupations, or you just don’t care for the taste of the water that comes out of the tap, professional advise that is better to use a filtration system to remove impurities.
