WATER

BOTTLED WATER MAY BE NO BETTER THAN THAT FROM THE TAP

THE WEST, AUSTRALIA - 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 per cent 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.". . .

Because bottled water is considered a food, it is regulated by the US
Food and Drug Administration. Tap water is regulated by the US
Environmental Protection Agency. Both types of water are subject to
testing for contaminates. But Sass points out that an estimated 60 to 70
per cent of all bottled water in the US 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 US
cities tested was found to contain arsenic, lead, and pesticides, Sass
told the conference. . .

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

http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=371090

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