Water Facts: Bottled or Tap?

**Libby** · 05-03-2007, 07:46 AM

Water Facts: Bottled or Tap?

Posted by Simeon Margolis, M.D., Ph.D.
on Tue, May 01, 2007, 7:45 pm PDT

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/heal...bottled-or-tap

Bottled water has become the fastest growing commercial beverage sold in the United States. In 2005, Americans spent nearly $10 billion on bottled water. And now we are seeing ads for bottled water containing several added (and unneeded) vitamins.

This got me thinking about the origin of the oft-cited notion that we need to drink at least eight glasses of water — presumably in eight-ounce glasses — a day. I can understand taking a bottle of water along on a long hike or 20-mile bicycle ride. But it's hard for me to keep a straight face when I see grown adults sucking on bottles of water in the course of ordinary activities.

Do all these water-bottle-toting folks know something we don't about the benefits of guzzling large amounts of H2O? Or is this another trendy accessory to help us feel better about ourselves, not founded on medical fact?

Several years ago, a report from the Institute of Medicine set the record straight about how much water we should be drinking. It didn't state the number of glasses of water we should drink; rather, it recommended a total daily intake of about 91 ounces of water for women and a total of 125 ounces of water for men.

About 80 percent of this total water can come from beverages like milk, fruit juices, coffee, tea, and beer, not just from drinking water. The remaining 20 percent can come from soups and the water contained in fruits and vegetables.

Should we be counting water consumption like calories? No. According to the IOM report, thirst is an adequate guide for almost all healthy people for meeting their daily needs. The report set no upper limit on fluid intake, but noted that excessive amounts can be dangerous.

Aggressive advertising by the bottled water industry, urging us to drink more water to ensure good health, may help to maintain the "eight glasses of water a day" myth. Surely these ads partly explain why so many otherwise-sensible people find it necessary to carry a bottle of water while attending business meetings or walking down the street.

OK, perhaps they're thinking that bottled water is better than tap water. But is it really? The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) created the policies regulating the industry and claims that bottled water is subject to more aggressive quality standards than tap water. The IBWA, however, isn't quite an unbiased source of safety information for the industry.

To date, no independent investigation has shown that bottled water passes more safety and health checks than tap water. In fact, the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) tested 103 brands of bottled water and concluded there was no assurance that water out of a bottle is cleaner or safer than water from the tap. Another of their conclusions didn't surprise me either: They estimated that 25 percent or more of bottled water is nothing more than tap water.

Given the lack of objective research or evidence to favor bottled water over tap water, the decision on which to drink comes down to an individual choice. However, two things we know for certain: bottled water is more convenient and more expensive than tap water.

The NRDC reported that a five-year supply of bottled water cost over $1,000 compared with $1.65 for the same amount of tap water. Not to mention the environmental impact of the many discarded plastic water bottles that are not recycled.

If you feel the convenience is worth the cost, by all means choose bottled water; but don't feel compelled to drink a lot of it to maintain good health.

**kabin63** · 05-03-2007, 08:10 AM

Thanks Shorty,
I usually just drink tap water. Bottled is too expensive for my blood.

**baronmom** · 05-03-2007, 10:14 AM

We use to get bottled water when I was pregnant with ds3 because we have a well, and were not quite sure what was in the well water. Turns out, we had them both tested, and the bottled had more nitrates in it than our well. We were spending all that money for worse water than what we could have gotten straight out of our tap. Never again.

**acidcookie** · 05-03-2007, 10:22 AM

Yeah, I always just drink tap water. Or filter it through my Brita Filter for coffee and tea, but never bottled water.

**PB&J** · 05-03-2007, 10:54 AM

I read that article yesterday, too! I also just drink tap water. DH prefers it filtered through a Brita pitcher and cold from the fridge. I don't like cold water, so I just drink it straight from the tap.

I try not to use things like water bottles or small, individual bottles of anything, too much waste.

**FrugalMomof3** · 05-03-2007, 11:01 AM

We drink tap water too but have it filtered using the one that attaches to the faucet itself, bottled water is pretty expensive and heck I pay for the water at home anyways, might as well use it

**tbs727** · 05-03-2007, 11:04 AM

I can vouch for the fact that some bottled water is just tap water. At my last job we had a gift shop where we sold specialized water with the company name on the bottle. We purchased the bottled water from a city about 20 miles away, it was their city drinking water.

**Domestic Gal** · 05-03-2007, 11:14 AM

I drink tap water.
I do buy bottled water in the summer though. I buy it for the guys who pick up my trash and recycling. I was outside one time about 3 years ago and it must have been about 100 degrees outside and they were picking up my trash and one of them asked for a glass of water. Ever since then I have giving them water in the summer if I am at home when they come by.
They work hard and it is a very dirty job and most people do not even appreciate what they do. So this is my little way of showing them that someone does appreciate them.

**acidcookie** · 05-03-2007, 11:25 AM

I have one of those Nalgene bottles which I take with me whenever I go to campus. This way I never need to buy water when I'm out either.

These bottles are amazing. They can hold boiling liquids, can be frozen, and are virtually indestructible. Best $8 I ever spent, I've loved them for years!

**acidcookie** · 05-03-2007, 11:34 AM

There's also a huge environmental factor to bottled water:
http://www.refillnotlandfill.org/factslinks.html

**wanderlusting** · 05-03-2007, 11:47 AM

acidcookie- I use Nalgene bottles too-I love that they're leakproof.

**Neeley** · 05-03-2007, 02:09 PM

I am one of those grown adults sucking on bottled water throughout my daily activities. I do not drink it for health reasons, I drink it because I am thirsty. I am diabetic and am constantly drinking something. If I am grocery shopping, watching ball practice, running errands, etc... I always have something to drink and it is usually bottled water or Diet Pepsi.

We also keep a iced down cooler in the truck at all times with bottled water, diet soda and Propell for ball practice, ball games, batting practice etc...$5 for 32 bottle waters is by far more economical than $2 each from the concession stand. Especially when we are at the ballpark for several hours and each of us consumes more than one drink.

**pkellyc** · 05-03-2007, 04:12 PM

Neeley I am also one of thirsty diabetics. I do drink tap water. But I know several people in our city who will not and I don't blame them. Last year we had bacteria in our cities supply and it took them over a week before they notified us! This year they are saying we have lead in our water due to our pipes and we need to let our water run for 30 seconds the first time we use it in the morning. Who knows? I could have been a genius before I drank the water here. I don't remember but that could be due to all the lead consumption before we were notified.

**starsapphire** · 05-03-2007, 09:26 PM

When we're at home and we want water we drink filtered tap water. We have an under the sink filter system that DH got for an amazing price from his last job. In the summer our tap water tastes nasty without it. I buy cases of bottled water during the summer for the convenience, just grab one and go. I keep a couple in the car when I'm driving around. You will see me sucking on bottled water especially in the summertime as I dehydrate very quickly and do not want to end up in the hospital, not to look cool and in style or to look healthful or whatever.

I don't drink water just to get x amount of ounces of water a day. I drink when I'm thirsty. I think the public has gone a bit overboard with the water drinking craze.

**Libby** · 05-03-2007, 10:46 PM

I dont have that specific reuseable plastic bottle but I have several 500 ml bottles I purchased from Eddie Bauer - all on clearance I must add! Reg $15 down to $1.99. I bought 4 or 5 b/c I leave them all over the house and car and one in fridge all loaded, chilled and ready to go. They too hold hot/boiling liquid and dont melt nor retain smell.

We used to have the Brita that went on the faucet and we still have the Brita pitcher somewhere but honestly, I prefer the taste of the basement bathroom tap water vs the kitchen one. I just let it run a bit before I fill my cup/bottle.

I only buy bottled water if travelling - no time to pull over and refill the reuseable bottles so I guess I buy for the convenience. Come summer - I usually have a cooler with ice packs with a soda or two plus the Eddie Bauer bottles of water for shopping and driving around etc. Sometimes I have those drink stix crystals in the car/purse for variety.

I drink purely b/c Im thirsty and sadly that translates to about 3-4L of water alone/day then add everything else in.

But I do wonder how many people actually switched to tap water after reading that article???