It might happen in the airport before a flight. Or on the way home from a gig in another city. Or you’re driving along late at night on an unfamiliar highway and the headlights from the oncoming cars are blaring in your face.

Or it’s raining really hard, and your wipers could certainly be replaced but now is not the time since you must get back home and where will you find a shop that replaces wipers in the middle of a strange highway? Well, nature is calling, and you cannot wait much longer as you struggle in your seat and pray that a rest stop will magically appear.

You must have prayed well because before long you spotted a respectable rest stop (you would have stopped anyway no matter what it looked like at that point.) After taking care of your personal business, you spot an array of bottled water drinks in a fridge on the way out to your car. “Excellent” you say to yourself, because not only are you so thirsty from the long trip and all the worrying about the weather and other personal issues but you realize that you neglected to take your antibiotic on time. You had begged your doctor a few days ago for a Z Pack even though he claimed your terrible sore throat was only viral and here you are neglecting to take that very medication that you had pleaded with your doctor to prescribe for you.

As you don’t want to waste more than a few seconds you grab the first water bottle that catches your eye. It is square shaped with a bright red label and the company must have done lots of research as to what type of bottle would appeal to a rushing driver such as yourself. Bottled water is cleaner than tap water, so you are already ahead of the game. However, it is certainly painful to pay as much as three dollars for a bottle of water that is neither mineral nor spring water.

As many people today are impressed with the claims that spring water is the best water to consume, and you generally use a brand name of spring water in your home water cooler and on the go. However, in your haste you did not check the water bottle you just purchased and now as you head to your vehicle you see that it is not spring water but purified water. “Beggars can’t be choosers”, as the old saying goes while you jug down the water with your antibiotic pill. However, as you continue driving you are annoyed that you paid a hefty price at the rest stop for purified water and not spring water. Let’s check out the different varieties of water that are on the market today.

Most folks will be surprised as to how many varieties of water there are. These varieties include purified water, spring water, alkaline water, caffeinated water, hydrogenated water, distilled water, mineral water and CBD water. (There are other varieties such as structured water (aka magnetized water) which is not recommended by water experts).

What Are the Different Types of Bottled Water and What Do They Mean?

Purified Water: This popular bottled water goes through reverse osmosis which eradicates harmful chemicals. Purified water generally originates as tap water with bacteria such as E. coli that are removed during reverse osmosis. Additionally, the typical taste of tap water is enhanced, and most experts agree that purified water is safe to drink.

Spring Water: This is the most popular water and is regarded respectfully as long as it comes from an environmentally safe source. It’s what water used to be like before it became contaminated with all kinds of harmful things. Drinking reliable spring water is like visiting a far-out spring and filling your cups and bottles full.

Alkaline Water: Another name for ionized water which has a modified pH level is Alkaline water. An electric current splits the water into two different streams, one will remain plain and the other with an increased pH level ( Our bodies try to maintain an average pH level of 7.4) Alkaline water pH levels range between 7 and 9.5 because there are other concentrations of compounds such as magnesium, calcium, sodium and potassium which help keep our body strong in case we are missing these compounds. Proponents of alkaline water claim increased energy, prevention of diabetes and fertility. Unfortunately, although alkaline water is safe the majority of experts dismiss these claims stating that your body is self-regulating and can maintain a safe pH level of about 7.4 without any outside help, in fact, your body will simply excrete any additional alkaline water.

Hydrogenated Water: Water that is Hydrogenated has health benefits although the jury is still out. Hydrogen is added to this water by mixing H2 gas in the water and this is supposed to help lower “oxidative stress”.

Distilled Water: Through distillation the water undergoes a certain type of purification process. Water is heated up to steam and then cooled down which turns the water back into liquid removing contaminants. However, as the contaminants are removed so are some positive minerals which the body needs that are found in plain drinking water. This process does not sound that much different than boiling water at home.

Electrolyte Water: Many folks are aware of the advantages of drinking electrolyte water after working out or while home sick. Fever and exercise deplete the body of fluid and electrolyte water is certainly helpful to restore the lost potassium and sodium in the body. The problem with most electrolyte drinks is that they contain sugar so the label should be checked before consumption.

Mineral Water: As we mentioned above our bodies need certain minerals to stay healthy. There are two types of mineral water on the market, natural and artificial. Natural mineral water must have at least 250 PPM (parts per million) and any water that minerals are added synthetically cannot legally be called mineral water.

CBD Water: Proponents of CBD believe that it has amazing natural medicinal qualities such as anxiety and pain relief and reduction of inflammation. Folks who use CBD oil testify to its pain relief power and other advantages such as silky hair with decreased dandruff. CBD dosage is diluted in water so you would have to drink a lot to make a difference. You might be better off sticking to the real CBD oil although there is nothing unhealthy about drinking CBD water.

Caffeinated Water: Many of us drink several cups of caffeinated coffee per day and some people think that coffee can be counted as part of our daily water consumption which is so vital to our health. According to some caffeine experts, drinking caffeinated coffee actually does the opposite, too much caffeine can be dehydrating. This type of water has no taste but is infused with caffeine to help you wake up in the middle of a hard day at work.

Now if you are a straight black coffee drinker you need not worry about extra calories, but many other coffee lovers will drink their coffee with some type of milk and even sugar. And what about those Dunkin coffee varieties ranging from lattes to other more caloric coffee drinks?

If you can get your caffeine high from caffeinated water, you will be saving on your calorie intake. However, being tasteless, this water will by no means be a replacement for the flavor of a real coffee beverage.

Final Words

It certainly seems that bottled water is here to stay at least until we get our environment cleaned up. With more cars on the road and so much garbage that needs to be disposed of a simple cup of tap water may not be safe to drink. Home water filters are one way to enhance the taste of water and remove at least some impurities. The trouble is most of the world is not home during the day, whether it is school or at work so practically speaking there is going to be a time of day when you will need to purchase a bottle of water. Even if you are in a hurry, wherever you are, in the mall, in a strange office or at the airport, check the label before purchasing bottled water and you may be surprised as to what is inside that fancy-looking bottle.

If you’re okay with regular bottled spring water, there is no need to spend extra money on specialty waters. If you find it difficult to drink unflavored water, then the varieties mentioned in this article could be for you especially if you are on a weight loss diet. Just make sure to check the calorie and sugar content on the specialty water bottle before buying. You could also opt to make your own infused water with your home water cooler. So, the answer to the original question is no, your bottled water does not have to be boring.

It’s hurricane season and 2024 has already produced Hurricane Helene and Milton is banging on Tampa Bay’s door step. Chuck Fuller, a resident of Treasure Island, Florida was interviewed by Fox News after choosing to hunker down for Helene.  “We have been on the island for twelve years and we have gone through numerous storms, and we have always stayed in our three story townhome. It was Thursday evening when the surge hit and within twenty minutes we had four feet of water running through the first floor of our home. We lost everything on the first floor, including two cars. Now with the threat of a catastrophic storm hitting this area, we are preparing by sandbagging, salvaging anything from the first floor, and boarding up. This is the first time in twelve years we will be leaving. Heed the advice of the officials and GET OUT because we have never seen a storm of this magnitude”. 

Chuck is referring to the incoming behemoth Hurricane Milton which is anticipated to land a huge blow to Florida’s west coast. We hope and pray that those residents evacuate the coastal areas and seek shelter inland. Though not out of the line of fire, people will avoid a dangerous storm surge  with water levels as much as 10 to 15 feet above ground level.

Water Water Everywhere But Nothing To Drink

After a storm where major flooding is present the sewer system is overloaded and the water supply is likely to be contaminated. That means any water that has been exposed to the flood waters cannot be used for drinking and only bottled water should be drunk. There are numerous reasons as to why not to drink the kitchen tap water and we will list some below.

1 – Power Outages: The problem is when water treatment plants lose power. This stops the process of the water being treated properly for human and animal consumption. The water treatment plants will filter out any unwanted elements such as particles of debris and tiny bacterias that are harmful to people and pets. When that goes offline due to a power outage that will result in a “boil water advisory”.

2 – Flooding Waters: Not always is the damage just by the shoreline when a major storm hits. Due to the heavy rains that come with the storm, leaves and debris will tend to clog levies and drainage systems. Once the sewer drains are overloaded and not functioning properly the result is flooding. Sometimes it may be a river overflowing while other times it could be a clogged drain, in any case the result is the same “major flooding”. Without a proper drainage system for sewage and pollutants, those unwanted elements can get into the drinking water supply. If that is the case your local municipality will send out a “boil water alert” or recommend drinking bottled spring water. If you are unsure whether or not your tap water is safe to drink, look at the color of the water for cloudiness or particles. Often the water will still be clear so it is best to play it safe prior to consuming your next glass of water.

3 – Storm Damage: Just like hurricanes can cause power outages to water treatment plants they can inflict storm damage to them as well. For the town of Asheville, North Carolina, they have three water treatment plants of which two in the mountainous region are still offline. When there is damage to a water treatment plant the length of time until one can begin drinking tap water can be indefinite, as is the case in Asheville. One needs to understand that these water treatment plants are the vital arteries to dispersing safe drinking water to residents. If they are not functioning properly there is simply no way to treat the water.     

What To Do During a “Boil Water Advisory”?

First things first is to take it seriously as many people often have the false perception that this might not apply to their specific neighborhood. Residents may also give the false notion that our bodies can handle the “bad water”. During a “boil water advisory” there is a good chance that the tap water coming into your home might contain harmful bacteria or viruses. The last thing anybody would want is to consume these negative elements.

1 – Heed The Alert From Local Authorities: Have a way of being updated by your local municipality on the status of the current condition of the drinking water. Some have a website, social network, or phone number where residents can check the status  if the “boil water advisory” is still in effect.

2 – Boil Water For At Least One Minute: In order to be certain that the harmful bacteria or viruses have been killed you need to boil the water for one minute. Once that is done the water is now safe to be used for drinking, cooking, and for brushing teeth. A good idea would be to get a hold of an empty five gallon water jug and to prepare a nice amount of water so that you don’t need to keep taking out the pot every time you’re going to need water for drinking or food consumption. 

3 – Try Using Bottled Water: Using bottled spring water will always be the best option as you are not relying on a tainted source for drinking water. Bottled water is safe and it also will taste better then the treated water you boiled on your stove top. It also avoids using the gas range when the power is out.       

4 – Taking a Shower During a Boiled Water Advisory: Probably the most frequent question asked during a boiled water advisory is can I take a shower? The answer is yes, just keep your mouth closed. The main issue is when the water goes directly into your body through drinking or eating. During a bath or shower the water goes against your body and with the combination of soap and shampoo, the potential contaminants are likely killed.      

What Else Should I Look Out For During a Boil Water Advisory?

Besides for the actual consumption of tap water during a boil water advisory there are other ways people can ingest the bad water post a major storm. We usually think of the commonalities like drinking and eating but you will be surprised that there are other ways that bad water can get into the body. 

1 – Lookout For Your Pets: Keep an eye out to make sure your cat or dog is not drinking the water coming out of the tap. Just as the bacteria and pollutants are harmful for humans they are just as harmful for pets. The way to ensure that they don’t drink the bad water is to provide easy access to clean water.

2 – Washing Fruit & Vegetables: Yes, you will have to wash your fruits and vegetables during a “boiled water advisory”. People will overlook the habitual action of going to the sink and rinsing an apple prior to chomping into it. Be on the lookout for family members and any food that might hang around the kitchen sink. 

3 – Ice Maker: During the warm months people love using the ice maker to chill their drinks. However during a “boiled water advisory” those square crystals of water can potentially contain bacteria and pollutants. Best off is to turn off the ice maker completely as you don’t want to clog the line with debris.

4 – Dental Care: Brushing teeth should be done with spring water as the fluid in one’s mouth can be easily ingested. At the same time, people that use water picks should fill up the reservoir with bottled water. The challenge during a “boil water advisory” is to notice the routine tasks done with tap water and see to it that they are done with boiled or bottled water. Station water bottles around the bathrooms in your home and people will remember to make an adjustment until the advisory is over.

Final Words

Hurricanes are no fun and bring a headache load with it. Here in NJ we had Hurricane Sandy that had a storm surge of four to five feet. That devastated the shoreline and took years to clean up. The anticipated storm surge for Milton is expected to be anywhere from ten to fifteen feet. Even without all the rain and wind that can cause total devastation, local authorities are demanding all to leave the shoreline and move inland. At this point Uber is even offering free rides to get residents out as the area is in grave danger. 

As the residents of Florida brace for a once in a century storm, Milton, please put in a prayer for them. No one can imagine the pain and suffering of what it means to lose or sustain damage to a home. The main thing is that everyone should be safe and if the storm does follow a “boil water advisory” follow instructions from local officials. They will guide you as to what to do during this time and when you will be once again allowed to drink tap water. We hope all will heed the call to leave but time is running out. Stay safe Floridians!          

Unknown to many, fluoride naturally comes from rocks and minerals and the amount present in water varies from area to area. We will analyze how fluoride is linked to a major decrease in tooth decay and how strong anti-fluoride advocates almost outlawed the adding of this substance to general tap water as well as spring water. It is truly fascinating to learn how the cause and effect is researched about particular ailments such as the very substance that caused Colorado Brown Stain ultimately became a huge cavity preventer. It’s reminiscent of how penicillin was discovered from moldy bread.

What Is Fluoride?

Although we know fluoride as a water additive whose purpose is to prevent and reduce tooth decay, it is a natural mineral that is found in rocks, soil, and plants entering different water systems at different levels depending on the place of origin. Although laced with controversy, fluoride today is added to local water in most cities in America. It was originally discovered as a risk for brown discolored teeth when present in large amounts contaminating the water supply of certain towns.

The Risk of Fluorosis

Fluorosis is a distinct and severe discoloration of the teeth named after many years of research to find the reason why a certain town’s citizens had this symptom while other towns did not.

Alcoa Aluminum Helps Find The Culprit For Brown Teeth

It all started in 1901 when Frederick McKay finished dental school and moved from the East Coast to Colorado Springs, Colorado to open his own dental practice. Being from a completely different part of the United States he was able to notice a shocking occurrence, permanent brown stains on the teeth of the inhabitants of Colorado Springs. Some stains were so severe in their dark brown color that folks compared it to the color of chocolate candy. These stains could not be removed, and the locals explained these stains away as too much calcium in the water and the over consumption of pork.

McKay, like any good novice dentist consulted his textbooks but could not find any record of such a disorder which was ultimately named, Colorado Black Stain by a well-known dental researcher, Dr. G.V. Black in 1909. Black was asked to come to Colorado by McKay to see if he could help discover the cause of this ailment which was affecting close to ninety-percent of the children in this area.

Black was quite puzzled that neither he nor Mckay could find this condition in any dental literature. Although Black died in 1925 before the research was completed, he and Mckay did discover an interesting phenomenon, the very teeth of the people who were afflicted with the brown stain had less tooth decay, meaning less cavities. Black and McKay disagreed on a theory that McKay expounded, that something in the water supply was causing the community’s teeth to turn brown. This theory was introduced to these two dentists by none other than some local residents themselves.

McKay’s theory was not proven until 1923 when parents in Oakley, Idaho asked McKay to come to meet them since they were noticing this type of brown stain on their children’s teeth. McKay questioned the parents about when the staining began, and they responded that it started soon after Oakley built a community water pipeline to a water spring five miles away. Although McKay could not find anything in the water to explain the cause of the brown teeth, he still advised them to relinquish the pipeline entirely.

Would you believe that the advice that McKay gave to the parents of Oakley actually kept the color of the children’s permanent teeth white? So even though McKay did not have the sophisticated tools to check the water source he was still able to solve the issue. The puzzle was solved when McKay was called to Bauxite, Arkansas along with Dr Grover Kempf from the United States Public Health Service. Bauxite, Arkansas belongs to ALCOA (aluminum) and they were experiencing the same issue as Oakley, the brown stained teeth. What was quite interesting is that although the children in Bauxite had the staining, a town only five miles away did not. McKay and Dr. Kempf were not able to find any distinct differences in the Bauxite water, so they gave the task over to an ALCOA chemist, H.V. Churchill.

The chemical department at ALCOA had more intricate methods of scientific analysis, one which is called photo spectrographic, and this analysis did find the culprit in the Bauxite water, high levels of fluoride. McKay’s thirty-year mission was coming to a close as Churchill instructed him to pick water samples from other towns who were experiencing brown stained teeth. The next step was to find out what were safe levels of fluoride in water sources. This was handled by several other dental professionals who were able to publicize that 1.0ppm was a safe level for drinking water that would not cause severe discoloration.

Fluoride Prevents Tooth Decay

Now that the fluorosis problem was solved, the head of the dental department at the National Institute of Health, Dr. H. Trendly Dean was onto another project, that although the contaminated teeth were brown and ugly looking, they were amazingly resilient to decay, decreasing the number of cavities.

Fluoride is Added to the Water Supply

It took a couple of years to convince the government agencies that a limited amount of fluoride in the water could save the teeth of countless people, children and adults alike especially considering the fact that fluoride was originally the scrooge of the brown teeth. In 1944, the Michigan Department of Health agreed to add fluoride to the drinking water. For fifteen years tooth decay rates were monitored, and the results were amazing. Tooth decay dropped to over sixty- percent in the children born after fluoridation of the drinking water. The study was quite extensive including approximately thirty-thousand children.

The Red Menace of Fluoridation

Each generation has their own menaces. Today we are dealing with challenges that prior generations have never imagined. In the 1950’s the menace was Communism. Innocent people were accused and blacklisted never to be allowed to work again especially in the entertainment industry. Organizations such as Citizens for Safe Drinking Water accused the advocates of fluoridation of keeping the harmful effects from the public such as lowered IQ scores in children, cancer, infertility, heart disease and birth defects. The anti-fluoride folks believed that the government was infringing on the private citizens’ rights to decide on the quality of their drinking water Many were not against fluoride per say they just did not want it in their drinking water only in their toothpaste and mouthwash.

In 1950, Alexander H. Wallace, an anti-fluoride advocate called fluoride a poison and publicized his opinion through protests and letters to the editors of prominent publications. He even collected signatures from those who were against fluoridation. He wanted the people to vote on it through a referendum, but the City Council pulled a fast one on him and secretly proceeded with adding fluoride to the water. When Wallace heard about this he published and handed out flyers stating, “Get the Poison Out of Our Drinking Water”. The City Council was quite surprised when the people voted against fluoridation on September 19, 1950.

Movies such as” Dr Stangelove” in 1964 called fluoride a dangerous Communist plot and the right winged, John Birch Society claimed secret motives behind fluoridation of the country’s water supply. When the futuristic novel, Brave New World came out it contained information about mandatory government drugs that would keep the population subdued and Wallace convinced people that the government is doing the same thing with fluoridation of drinking water.

What About Bottled Spring Water?

Check out a bottle of spring water such as Poland Spring and you will not find any indication that it contains fluoride. Now this is neither good nor bad because fluoride is safe in low dosages and beneficial for dental health. Yet, as stated earlier fluoride is naturally found on rocks and soil so if the rocks and soil that a spring water flows through has fluoride the water will naturally pick it up. The amount of fluoride depends on the region but most spring water will have less than one milligram per liter.

Although spring water contains traces of fluoride naturally it is much less than tap water. Since fluoride is purposely added to tap water to prevent cavities it will usually be higher. If you are concerned about the levels of fluoride in your spring water (which you should not be since no one is getting brown teeth) there are test kits that will give you the exact amount of fluoride in the brand of spring water, you choose. Always buy a reputable brand of spring water and that will assure you a safe drinking water experience.

Final Words

Today the word fluoride written on the front of most toothpastes is a given. However back in the 1940’s and 1950’s lots of controversy surrounded this chemical that is found in just about every drinking water even in spring water to a lesser degree. Fluorosis, Communism and just plain skepticism still keeps fluoride in the news to this day. We should know how much fluoride is in the water that we drink but most people are only interested in analyzing their drinking water for other types of harmful contaminants. Spring water companies are not required by law to list fluoride in their ingredients. The amount could be insignificant or more apparent depending on which springs the water originates. Fluoride is a natural occurrence, and each area has their own statistics.

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