FRESH SPRINGS TAKES HARMFUL CONTAMINANTS OUT OF YOUR WATER
The Effects of Chlorine in Your Water: Chlorine, Cancer and Heart Disease We are quite convinced, based on this study, that there is an association between cancer and chlorinated water." -- Medical College of Wisconsin research team This article details important holistic health information about the water you may be drinking, cooking and bathing in and how you can make it better. There are some big words in this article, like Trihalomethanes, but the bottom line of it is that chlorine just isn't healthy for us to be taking into our bodies or allowing to pe*****te our skin and lungs in the shower. Water treatment facilities have added chlorine to drinking water since the late 1800's. I was amazed to find this out, thinking it was an addition of the technological age—maybe 50 years tops). By 1904, adding chlorine was the standard in water treatment. For the most part, that hasn't changed even today, a hundred years later. We don't use chlorine because it's the safest or even the most effective means of disinfection, we use it because it is the cheapest. The long term effects of chlorinated drinking water have just recently being recognized. Council of Environmental Quality, "Cancer risk among people drinking chlorinated water is 93% higher than among those whose water does not contain chlorine." What the heck are Trihalomethanes? There is a lot of well founded concern about chlorine. When chlorine is added to our water, it combines with other natural compounds to form Trihalomethanes (chlorination byproducts), or THMs. These chlorine byproducts trigger the production of free radicals in the body, causing cell damage, and are highly carcinogenic. "Although concentrations of these carcinogens (THMs) are low, it is precisely these low levels that cancer scientists believe are responsible for the majority of human cancers in the United States." The Environmental Defense Fund Simply stated chlorine is a pesticide, as defined by the U.S. EPA, who's sole purpose is to kill living organisms. When we consume water containing chlorine, it kills some part of us, destroying cells and tissue inside our body. One of the most shocking components to all of these studies is that up to 2/3s of our harmful exposure to chlorine is due to inhalation of steam and skin absorption while showering. A warm shower opens up the pores of the skin and allows for accelerated absorption of chlorine and other chemicals in water. The steam we inhale while showering can contain up to 50 times the level of chemicals than tap water due to the fact that chlorine and most other contaminants vaporize much faster and at a lower temperature than water. Inhalation is a much more harmful means of exposure since the chlorine gas (chloroform) we inhale goes directly into our blood stream. When we drink contaminated water the toxins are partially filtered out by our kidneys and digestive system. Chlorine vapors are known to be a strong irritant to the sensitive tissue and bronchial passages inside our lungs, it was used as a chemical weapon in World War II. The inhalation of chlorine is a suspected cause of asthma and bronchitis, especially in children. which has increased 300% in the last two decades. "Showering is suspected as the primary cause of elevated levels of chloroform in nearly every home because of chlorine in the water." Environmental Protection Agency. Chlorine in shower water also has a very negative cosmetic effect, robbing our skin and hair of moisture and elasticity, resulting in a less vibrant and youthful appearance. Anyone who has ever swam in a chlorinated pool can relate to the harsh effects that chlorine has on the skin and hair. What's surprising is that we commonly find higher levels of chlorine in our tap water than is recommended safe for swimming pools. The good news is that chlorine is one of the easiest substances to remove from our water. For that reason it logically should serve it's purpose of keeping our water free from harmful bacteria and water borne diseases right up to the time of consumption, where it should then be removed by quality home water filtration.
