Water is an absolute necessity for the body. Our bodies are mostly made of water and as a result, we need to intake a lot of water to stay hydrated. The advent of bottled water has made getting eight glasses of water a day more convenient for our busy on the go lifestyles, but is it healthy? For a while, tap water got a bad rap for not being very clean, and then for tasting bad from too many chemicals. Recently, bottled water has been under attack for the plastic used for the bottle, so which is better? Let’s find out:
There are many places in the world (or even in the US such as Flint Michigan) where clean fresh tap water does not exist. In these less fortunately countries, bottled water is going to be far healthier than any other water sources that are available, but this is not the type of areas we are talking about when comparing expensive bottle water to tap water. Some ask is tap water healthy ? Tap water only pertains to water that has been purified by the state or government and made easily available for public consumption.
One important thing to consider when comparing bottled water to tap water are the safety tests of water. Especially if you’re in a large city, tap water has very stringent safety regulations. If just one strain of bacteria got through, it could make the entire city sick, which is a big repercussion. As a result, tap water is tested daily to make sure that it’s safe. This is not the base with bottled water. Even the best bottled water is only required to be tested monthly – and only at the source. Once the bottles are filled, the water doesn’t get tested anymore. It can sit in storage for year potentially before being opened and there’s no guarantee that the clean water that went into the bottle is the same water that is coming out.
Recent studies have shown a correlation between heated plastic bottles and cancer. An unfortunate side effect of bottled water is that one person usually doesn’t drink an entire bottle in one sitting. Since bottled water is most commonly used when working out, the person working out will leave a bottle of water in their car to drink either before or after the workout. Leaving plastic in a heated car allows for some of the chemicals in the plastic to get absorbed by the water. Then when the bottle is drank by the person, those chemicals are then absorbed into the body. There is a correlation between this occurrence, and the presence of breast cancer in women. Ultimately, this doesn’t make the bottled water unsafe, if just makes bottled water that’s been sitting and baking in the sun in a hot car unsafe.
In general, there’s no real difference to the health benefits of bottled water or tap water. Bottled water is a more expensive, less-environmentally sound option, but still better than not drinking any water at all.