Drugs Are Ending Up In Our Water!

Breaking News? Not really…

By Nurse Mark

This headline, from Associated Press, has appeared in a number of news sources over the last few days: “Even if you’re careful, drugs can end up in water”.  The news article covers a recently released study which shows that – surprise, surprise – prescription drugs are finding their way into rivers and thus into drinking water.

While this article makes this sound like “New News” it’s really not. We here at the Wellness Club have been telling our readers about this problem for years. ‘Way back in 2004 for example, we wrote:

And people used to joke that the Post Office should put Valium in it’s stamps…

Prozac ‘found in drinking water’

When that headline appeared in my news feed I was certain that it must be some sort of joke. Visions of “Monte Python’s Flying Circus” danced through my head (yes, that is some of my favorite humor…). Then I read the article and realized that no, it was not a belated April Fool’s gag, it was reported in deadly earnest. Please read the article – it speaks for itself.

As you read, ask yourself about the state of our water supply. With our pharmaceutical industry urging ever-more of it’s concoctions upon us, a pill for every ill, one has to wonder where all that chemistry goes after it passes through our bodies… Not only must we question what this is doing to our water supply, but also what the effects of this are a little further down the chain – after all, that same water irrigates our crops and slakes the thirst of our farm animals. What then, when our food supply begins giving these chemicals back to us in Heaven knows what form?

There is no research that tells us of the long-term effects of these substances on us, our crops, and our food supply. Instead of constantly striving to find new ways to control the symptoms and complaints of our “modern ills”, perhaps we should be asking our pharmaceutical giants to look into putting nutrition back into our daily fare. Surely there might be some profit in that. Meanwhile, I’ll be humming the theme music from “The Flying Circus” today…

And so, this has been going on for some time – a quick search finds more headlines:

• Monday, March 10, 2008: Study Finds Traces of Drugs in Drinking Water in 24 Major U.S. Regions.
• Tues., March. 11, 2008: Few regulations for drugs in drinking water
• December 25, 2009: EPA boosts vigilance on drugs in drinking water

These articles are telling us such comforting things as:

Though U.S. waterways coast to coast are contaminated with residues of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, there’s no national strategy to deal with them — no effective mandates to test, treat, limit or even advise the public.

If that doesn’t worry you, even a little bit, how about this:

Water providers rarely disclose results of pharmaceutical screenings, unless pressed, the AP found. For example, the head of a group representing major California suppliers said the public “doesn’t know how to interpret the information” and might be unduly alarmed.

Well… So the water providers know there is a problem, but don’t want to tell us – fearing that if we know too much we might be “unduly alarmed.” Indeed!

Alan Goldhammer, a vice president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said such trace amounts “really do not pose a human health issue.’’

And Big Pharma seeks to placate us – a little bit of this, and a little bit of that… no problem! There have long been joking references to adding statin drugs to the water supply – who knew it would cease to be a joke and would become a reality so soon?

It is clear to us that while agencies like the EPA may be beginning to adopt a new attitude toward the problem, Americans are still pretty much on their own – much of our water is contaminated, and it’s likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future. If we want clean, unadulterated water we will have to ensure it for ourselves – we cannot rely on commercial or municipal suppliers to provide it for us.

We wrote about this in our last issue of HealthBeat News: Guys: Is Your Water Turning You Into a “Girlie-Man”? , and it is worth repeating here:

Your Best Bet for Safe Drinking Water

Your best bet for safe, clean drinking water is install an under-sink or countertop water purifier. The reverse-osmosis type is very reliable. If you don’t want to invest the money to do that, a simple pitcher with a charcoal filter is better than most bottled water. You say you are on the road or away from home and you want pure drinking water? Here is a great idea, and really inexpensive – a filtered sports bottle!

And don’t forget your shower-water! When you’re hot (and your skin’s pores are wide-open), you can absorb toxins from the water. Shower-head filters are inexpensive and reliable.

A Good Water Filter is a Cheap Investment in Your Health

A reliable, highly-effective under-sink water filter is an excellent health investment, especially when you consider how important water is to health. The human body is about 60% water. That means we can have 60% of our total body weight contaminated with estrogen-mimicking toxins if we drink lousy water.

The highest-rated water filters cost about the same as the cheap junk.

Aquasana Water Purifiers  makes some of the highest-rated filters at the best prices.

How will you protect yourself and your family?

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