Water: Bottled vs. Tap

If you think your bottled water is gathered directly at the mouth of pure mountain spring—think again. What you're most likely drinking is tap water. Even more shocking is that the water you get out of your own kitchen faucet is probably just as "pure" as what you're drinking from the bottle.

Recently, Pepsi Corporation's Aquafina, the leading brand of U.S. bottled water, came under attack for presenting a false image of its water source. Aquafina labels depict snow covered mountains and carry the slogan, "pure water, perfect taste." No where on the label does it state that the water is nothing more than tap water.

Pepsi isn't the only bottled water company that been leading consumers astray. Corporate Accountability International (CAI), which has been pressuring beverage companies to disclose their water sources, claims that up to 40 percent of bottled water brands use nothing more than tap water.

In 2006, U.S. consumers spent $11 billion on bottled water, paying thousands of times more money for the same quantity of beverage drawn from the tap. But that's not all we've been paying; bottled water comes with a high environmental cost, as well.

To quench America's thirst for bottled water, the beverage industry guzzles over 1.5 million barrels of oil each year in the production and transportation of its products. To add insult to injury, our environment is also being polluted by harmful greenhouse gases emitted by water delivery trucks—a harm that could be undone if we simply used the pipes that carry tap water directly to our home.

Don't be fooled. Health doesn't have to come at a high price. Drink plenty of water, eat fresh produce, exercise and keep your body functioning at optimum capacity by making chiropractic adjustments a part of your healthy lifestyle.

[Source: Article in Consumer Affairs, July 28, 2007]