By Dr. Mark Wiley

If you drink lots of water you may be imbibing chemicals dangerous to your health. Much of our drinking water has been polluted with chemicals linked to cancer. In addition, a startling amount of bottled water is tap water in plastic and, in some circumstances, may be hazardous to your health.

Water represents not merely an important aspect of health but an essential ingredient for the life of all living beings. Since water makes up roughly 75 percent of the human body (and 85 percent of the brain), it only makes sense that no tissue, organ or gland can function properly without ample supply of this precious bodily fluid. With insufficient water, the improper functioning of the digestive system, lungs, liver and kidneys not only contributes to and triggers pain and inflammation, but can also leave us vulnerable to a wide range of illnesses.

The Importance of Water

Drinking ample quantities of water everyday is so important, that for centuries many traditional cultures have used its healing qualities to cure and prevent various illnesses and diseases. But today we have to use caution when selecting water. In the past decades much of our water supply has become tainted. And, recently, carcinogenic!

That’s right, put aside the misguided notion that all bottled water is as pure as Fiji water and look at the labels. What do you find? That most of what is packaged as spring water is actually tap water. Some companies even go so far as to add minerals to simple tap water and sell it as healthful mineral water. This, of course, begs the question of whether bottled water is actually better for you, or even safer than standard tap water.

But consider what the experts say.

“The bottled water industry promotes bottled water as pure, safe, healthy and superior to tap water, but bottled water is actually less regulated than tap water,” observes Corporate Accountability International Associate Campaigns Director Gigi Kellett. As a matter of fact, experts estimate that about 25 percent or more of bottled water is actually tap water in a bottle.

Bad Water

But the situation is even worse. Bottled tap water, masked as spring water, may be tainted with carcinogens. And it’s perfectly legal.

According to a report on the House Energy and Commerce Democratic web site, “Millions of gallons of potentially hazardous chemicals and known carcinogens were injected into wells by leading oil and gas service companies from 2005-2009.”

Related Article: The Man-Made Nature of Cancer

Of these chemicals, nearly 30 are suspected or known carcinogens. That is, they have the potential to cause cancer. Among the chemicals was methanol, which is also an air pollutant that the Safe Drinking Water Act warns needs more study in order to understand its health effects.

“At least 100,000 gallons of hydraulic fracturing fluids containing a carcinogen,” the report says, has infiltrated the water supplies of “Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Wyoming, North Dakota, New Mexico, Montana and Utah.”

The report describes how the chemicals were injected into water supplies during hydraulic fracturing, a process used in the drilling of natural gas. This drilling method has allowed heretofore uneconomical gas production methods to become, well, economical. But while it is financially economical, it comes at the cost of human health!

Related Article: Optimal Health Is Your Birth Right

Uncertain Protection

The supreme irony I found in reading this report was in this statement: “Hydraulic fracturing has opened access to vast domestic reserves of natural gas that could provide an important stepping stone to a clean energy future.” Clean energy for a cancer-ridden planet!

There currently is no way to thoroughly protect yourself from the effects of carcinogens aside from giving them a wide berth. However, reducing daily stress, eating whole foods and exercising strengthens your immune system in its battle against these dangerous substances. More importantly, for those living in the states with carcinogenic water supplies, I recommend drinking bottled water (even if it’s bottled tap water), as long as it was bottled in a state where the quality of the water has not been compromised.