| Ask
The Water Doctor
Your questions
answered by Aquasana's "Water Doctor", Charles Strand. Charles Strand
is Founder and President of Sun Water Systems, Inc and is one of
the leading experts on the need for and benefits of "healthy water".
QUESTION
?
Jennifer Bauldorf, Daytona Beach, FL asks;
How do you know if you need a water filter?
ANSWER *
The Water Doctor;
Virtually everyone will benefit from a home water filtration system.
If all that was in your tap water was chlorine, and chlorine is
in everyone's water, there are significant health and cosmetic benefits
to using chlorine free water. Any child that has a gold fish knows
that chlorine can kill, it's sole purpose as a pesticide is to kill
living cells/ organisms. When we consume chlorine, at any level,
it kills some part of us. It's recently been linked to cancer, heart
disease, birth defects and many serious illnesses. Unfortunately,
chlorine is not the only harmful substance in tap water. Over 90%
of all U.S. water systems contain traces of at least 10
synthetic chemicals and lead. A recent Ralph Nader Report
stated "after reviewing over 10,000 pages of EPA documents aquired
through the Fredom Of Information Act... over 2300 chemicals that
can cause cancer have been detected in U.S. tap water." Water utilities
only test for about 75, no one knows for sure the extent of contamination.
The risk is real and the solution is so easy, quality in-home water
filtration. Thanks for your question! Charles Strand
QUESTION ?
Lynn Barringer; Are shower filters really as important as drinking
water filters?
ANSWER *
In my opinion they are more important! During a 10 minute shower your
body will take on 10 to 50 times the level of water borne chemicals
than from drinking a glass of the same water. During a warm shower
the pores of our skin open up and absorb chlorine and other chemicals
at an accelerated rate. Even worse, the steam you inhale is far more
contaminated than the water itself due to the fact that synthetic
chemicals, including chlorine, vaporize much faster than water. While
over 96% of the water that comes out of your shower head goes down
the drain, almost all of the chemicals vaporize into the air we breathe
before the water hits the ground÷ making the steam more concentrated
with chemicals. Also, inhaled chemicals go directly into the blood
stream and have magnified adverse effects. But if the only benefits
to shower filters were cosmetic, it would still be a must have in
my book. Showering in purified water offers amazing benefits for skin
and hair. Anyone who has ever swam in a chlorinated pool knows how
chlorine dries out your skin and hair. The thing most people don't
realize is that we typically have more chlorine in tap water than
in our swimming pool! We have always sold more shower filters than
anything. ItÌs one of those products that once you use it youÌll never
do without, and you feel compelled to tell others÷ like seeing a great
movie for the first time! Thanks for your question, Charles Strand
QUESTION ?
Amanda Powers asks; How much chlorine in tap water is to much?
ANSWER *
In my opinion, any chlorine in our drinking water is too much, however
the EPA guidelines allow up to 4 parts per million (ppm) in municipal
tap water. I find this alarming since a standard pool test kit shows
that levels above 3 ppm are not safe to swim in! I think common sense
would tell us that if it is not safe to swim in, it most likely is
not safe to drink. With a very minimum amount of effort, especially
on the internet, the evidence that chlorine is linked to cancer, heart
disease and many other health problems is overwhelming. We need chlorine
in water to kill bacteria, but it should be removed prior to use.
Dr. Greg Novac asks; Is filtered water better than distilled or reverse
osmosis water?
ANSWER *
While there are good arguments on both sides of this debate, the more
recent thoughts are in favor of filtered water. From a practical standpoint,
the human body was designed to run on water that exists naturally
on our planet, water that contains traces of inorganic minerals such
as calcium, magnesium and potassium. Nowhere on Earth does de-mineralized
water occur naturally. Distillation and R.O. systems produce de-mineralized
water with an acidic pH. Many recent reports claim that Ïprolonged
consumption of distilled or de-mineralized water can only lead to
some form of mineral deficiencyÓ. Water by nature has to balance itself,
when the minerals are stripped from water it causes the pH to drop
and water to become acidic. It then seeks to balance itself (a basic
law of nature) and does so by taking on minerals, primarily calcium.
If we consume de-mineralized water, it will actually pull minerals
from our body to balance itself with. This has been demonstrated and
reported in many recent books and studies. My booklet, ÏAll About
WaterÓ refers to several of these books and studies. Our filter system
was intentionally designed to filter out harmful contaminants and
to allow the natural minerals to remain, and it is my strong belief
that this is the healthiest water.
QUESTION ?
Pat Welsh, Boca Raton FL, Asks;
How long has the Aquasana system been out?
ANSWER *
Our Answer: We first introduced the Aquasana Drinking Water System
in December of 1999 under an exclusive contract with a large nutritional
products company. The system sold initially for $199.95, and was a
good value at that. We have sold millions of our products as ÏPrivate
LabeledÓ and still do. The Aquasana line is our best product, and
we recently chose to market it direct to consumers in order to offer
better pricing. By selling factory direct, we have cut our retail
prices in half! Our hope is that we can continue to expand our consumer
direct marketing efforts and offer these products at discount prices,
direct to people like you÷ so tell your friends! We also still provide
these products to a select group of health and nutrition companies
under private label who are willing to market them at comparable prices
and want the best! Thanks for your question!
QUESTION ?
Jeff Meehan, Long Island, NY asks: ÏWe use the Brita water pitcher
at home and usually drink bottled water when weÌre not at home, can
you give an un-biased comment?
ANSWER *
Charles: Probably not! IÌm pretty proud of our products, but IÌll
try. First let me say that I feel that there are no ÏbadÓ water filter
products, any filter is better than no filter. Brita is the best selling
system in the world currently (weÌre gaining fast), and it does improve
the quality of water. These types of pour through filters are limited
in performance, primarily due to size. They are not designed to perform
at the same level as our products, a simple comparison of the Performance
Data Sheet that comes with theirs and ours shows this. The real question
is why pay more to get less? While these pitcher filters are less
expensive initially, they cost considerably more to use÷ about 22
cents a gallon compared to 9 cents a gallon for Aquasana, and they
simply donÌt work as good! As for bottled water, since U.S regulations
on bottled water are so weak÷ the quality is at best ÏunknownÓ. With
a ÏgoodÓ home water system÷ you can fill your own bottles and be sure
of the quality. Occasionally, bottled water is the only available
choice. When this happens, I prefer the European brands because their
purity standards are much stricter. I hope this helps, thanks for
the question!
QUESTION ?
Debra Langley, Detroit, MI asks: ÏIf chlorine in our water is so unhealthy,
why do they use it?
ANSWER *
Charles: IÌve always wondered who ÏtheyÓ are. In this case it should
be ÏweÓ. Our public water utilities are governed by Federal agencies,
which are governed by us. While chlorine and itÌs by-products are
known to have significant adverse health effects on humans, we choose
it over water borne disease outbreaks like typhoid and cholera that
plagued most countries prior to chlorines introduction in the late
1800s. We donÌt use chlorine because itÌs the most effective means
of disinfecting water, we use it because itÌs the cheapest! With all
the technology we possess today, we still essentially pour bleach
in our drinking water to kill bacteria. There are several more healthful
methods of disinfecting public water supplies, some other countries
have turned to alternative methods because of recent findings about
chlorine risks. The problem is that they are much more costly, and
in reality÷ less practical. The fact that less than 1% of the water
supplied to our homes is used for consumption, itÌs just not practical
to produce Ïhealthy waterÓ from a central supplier. Most people would
not be willing to pay the price for alternative disinfect ion methods,
which would more than triple water costs. Logically, the solution
is to keep chlorine in our public water systems right up to the point-of-use
and then remove it with home water filtration÷ which in reality is
the only way to ensure healthy water. Thanks for your question! |
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