Is bottled water really better than tap?

[almaty 19]

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Bottled water is not necessarily healthier or safer than tap water, Tampa, Florida-based sports nutritionist Cynthia Sass told the American College of Sports Medicine 11th annual Health & Fitness Summit in Dallas.

Twenty-five percent of all bottled water is actually repackaged tap water, according to Sass.

"Bottled water doesn't deserve the nutritional halo that most people give it for being pure," she says. "If you're not an exclusive bottled water drinker, you may find it worthwhile to check into filtering your tap water to save money."

In a recent Gallop survey, most consumers said they drink bottled water because they perceive it to be purer than tap water. Taste and convenience are also factors.

Because bottled water is considered a food, it is regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration. Tap water is regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Both types of water are subject to testing for contaminates.

But Sass points out that an estimated 60 to 70 percent of all bottled water in the U.S. is packaged and sold within the same state, which exempts it from FDA regulation. And 1 in 5 states do not regulate that bottled water.

Moreover, tests on 1,000 bottles of 103 different brands of bottled water found man-made chemicals, bacteria and arsenic in 22 percent of the bottles.

Tap water is also not immune to contamination problems. While most cities meet the standards for tap water, some tap water in the 19 U.S. cities tested was found to contain arsenic, lead, and pesticides, Sass told the conference.

While most healthy adults can tolerate exposure to trace amounts of these contaminates, some people, such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, individuals who are HIV positive or recovering from a transplant or major surgery, pregnant women, children, and the elderly, are more vulnerable.

For these individuals, Sass favors bottled water treated with reverse osmosis, distilled water or city tap water with a filtering system certified by the National Sanitation Foundation.

As for the fitness water craze, skip it, Sass says, noting that fitness and specialty waters with not give an athlete an advantage or edge. In fact, vitamin-fortified waters may pose a risk for over-supplementation.

"Think of your one-a-day vitamin," says Sass. "Some of these waters are multi-vitamins in a bottle, so read the label and compare with the rest of your daily intake, including food," she advises.

[Jasman0717 9]

Most bottled waters don’t have fluoride either.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Bottled water is not necessarily healthier or safer than tap water, Tampa, Florida-based sports nutritionist Cynthia Sass told the American College of Sports Medicine 11th annual Health & Fitness Summit in Dallas.

...

Tampa, FL tap water is gross! I drink bottled because I can drink it w/o getting an urge to vomit.

[Mags 112]

Tap water here in Indiana reeks of chlorine. So, I drink bottled water. It is just plain old water though, not mineral water.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

I can run even Mississippi river water through my e-spring--and get water that is as nice as Bow River (in Calgary) water.

Best BOTTLED water I got was about equivalent to Missouri River water at Bismarck, ND (oft, I can smell chlorine in many bottled waters).

I've seen tap water in parts of US (Vassar, MI--where we went for the Easter Retreat just recently being one) which smells really gross (so you don't even want to bathe in it--the next time we go to Vassar, at Thanksgiving, we've decided to carry a BOX of LOC-wipes with us as we can then nicely substitute these for both soap AND that awful tapwater).

[john_and_marlene 162]

We have a deep aquifer well and a good filter system.

[babybunny 2]

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Bottled water is not necessarily healthier or safer than tap water, Tampa, Florida-based sports nutritionist Cynthia Sass told the American College of Sports Medicine 11th annual Health & Fitness Summit in Dallas.

Twenty-five percent of all bottled water is actually repackaged tap water, according to Sass.

"Bottled water doesn't deserve the nutritional halo that most people give it for being pure," she says. "If you're not an exclusive bottled water drinker, you may find it worthwhile to check into filtering your tap water to save money."

In a recent Gallop survey, most consumers said they drink bottled water because they perceive it to be purer than tap water. Taste and convenience are also factors.

Because bottled water is considered a food, it is regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration. Tap water is regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Both types of water are subject to testing for contaminates.

But Sass points out that an estimated 60 to 70 percent of all bottled water in the U.S. is packaged and sold within the same state, which exempts it from FDA regulation. And 1 in 5 states do not regulate that bottled water.

Moreover, tests on 1,000 bottles of 103 different brands of bottled water found man-made chemicals, bacteria and arsenic in 22 percent of the bottles.

Tap water is also not immune to contamination problems. While most cities meet the standards for tap water, some tap water in the 19 U.S. cities tested was found to contain arsenic, lead, and pesticides, Sass told the conference.

While most healthy adults can tolerate exposure to trace amounts of these contaminates, some people, such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, individuals who are HIV positive or recovering from a transplant or major surgery, pregnant women, children, and the elderly, are more vulnerable.

For these individuals, Sass favors bottled water treated with reverse osmosis, distilled water or city tap water with a filtering system certified by the National Sanitation Foundation.

As for the fitness water craze, skip it, Sass says, noting that fitness and specialty waters with not give an athlete an advantage or edge. In fact, vitamin-fortified waters may pose a risk for over-supplementation.

"Think of your one-a-day vitamin," says Sass. "Some of these waters are multi-vitamins in a bottle, so read the label and compare with the rest of your daily intake, including food," she advises.

oh you sound like that girl in my training class. talking about how we all are gonna die from bottled water.

[Robor007 0]

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Bottled water is not necessarily healthier or safer than tap water, Tampa, Florida-based sports nutritionist Cynthia Sass told the American College of Sports Medicine 11th annual Health & Fitness Summit in Dallas.

...

Tampa, FL tap water is gross! I drink bottled because I can drink it w/o getting an urge to vomit.

The water in this area tastes terrible. I'll use a filter (Brita pitcher) on it and drink it but straight out of the tap it is nasty.

[Jenn! 918]

Tap water where I am is fine. I think bottled water is a waste of money...

[LaL 418]

agree with the other Floridians here... u will start growing an arm out of your back if you drink the tap water here. gross. I did have a reverse osmosis guy come over and do all sorts of neat little tests... the testing on the tap only did slightly worse than our store brand bottled water though

i wonder how the desalination plant is going to fare. I met my hubby while he was down here working on that project, seems like 4 years later its finally going to begin!

Edited April 10, 2007 by lal_brandow

[Nikita2Charles 32]

Lot of it at time has to do with the mind. I recalled on Dateline TV one time they caught this water man filling the truck at the local firehydrant. So how many people actually know they were drinking normal tap water.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

The irony is that the standards for bottled water in US are no better than those in India.

(difference is that in India, you can get unadulterated--doesn't mean it's good, just that they didn't substitute something nastier--water in BAGS).

[sereia 0]

i watched a whole special on this when i was living in london. they tested all kinds of fancy bottled waters and found them to be no different. its basically all about preference of taste!

currently i use a brita filter system for my water at my apartment here in ny.

[almaty 19]

i drink tap water from the refrig..it has some type of filter,,..not into bottled water..sanita never drinks straight water.....

[Marry American 0]

I prefer bottled water. I don't really think it is that much better though.