What You Need to Know About Our Water Supply

As a health or wellness coach, or even a holistic nutrition coach, you have likely discussed the important aspects of water, hydration, and overall well-being.  However, you are about to discover the topic “water” is far more complex when it comes to humans and longevity.

In the United States, our drinking water comes from two sources (unless it is imported from France, Fiji or the like). It comes from above-ground resources like lakes and rivers or from underground aquifers or wells. 

How Much Waste is Dumped Into Water?

When looking at our water supply you must take a step back for a moment and look at what is dumped into our current streams, lakes, rivers, and the natural environment. Industries that regularly dump into our rivers include industrial feed lots, sewage waste and sludge, and factories including fertilizer, chemical, metal, and plastic. The EPA “closely monitors and regulates” these discharges but is run and enforced by individual states and their municipalities (and may not be actively enforced). 

Other chemicals found in our water supply come from prescription and over-the-counter drugs, dietary supplements, hormones, antibiotics, cleaning agents, and other products. Many of these chemicals cannot be completely metabolized by the human body. Also, many are endocrine-disrupting compounds or chemicals (EDCs) that either block or mimic natural hormones, thereby disrupting the normal functioning of organs. The EPA currently does not have any enforceable standards for pharmaceuticals and our water supplies, and our sewage systems are not equipped for pharmaceutical removal.  [Read more…]