The water supply in most American cities contains chlorine, fluoride, and varying amounts of dissolved minerals including calcium, magnesium, sodium, chlorides, sulfates, and bicarbonates. It is also common to find traces of iron, manganese, copper, aluminum, nitrates, insecticides and herbicides. Prescription medications have also been found in the tap water of 41,000,000 American homes. According to the Associated Press, there is a vast array of pharmaceuticals including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones in the municipal water supplies. The U.S. Government does not require any testing for drugs in the water supplies; nor does it set safety limits for drug contamination. It will be decades before we know the long-term effects of ingesting random cocktails of partially digested prescription drugs. Sadly, our grandchildren will know.
Chlorine
[amazon asin=B00BWIX1EQ&template=*lrc ad (left)]Chlorine bleach in the form of chlorine dioxide is added to practically all U.S. public water supplies as a disinfectant. It is not used because it is safe, but because it is cheap. Adding chlorine limits the liability of the governmental agencies who provide potentially putrid water, because the side-effects of their chlorine disinfection are difficult to trace and occur only after extensive long-term use. For example, it would be easy for citizens to prove that they became ill from drinking non-disinfected water by simply testing the contaminated water for live pathogens, but it is much more difficult to prove that their heart disease or cancer was created by chlorine by-products after twenty years of consuming it. Chlorine bleach is used to satisfy certain priorities, whereby saving money is a much higher priority than long-term public health. When usage of chlorine began in the early 1900’s, the long-term effects were unknown, but there are no longer any legitimate excuses that could be used to justify forcing the public to drink bleach. It is not uncommon to find the chlorine in tap water at such a high level that it is unsafe for swimming pools. A simple chlorine test kit from a local retailer will typically yield surprising results.[amazon asin=B0006VVN1S&template=*lrc ad (right)]
One troubling quality of chlorine is its tendency to neutralize oxygen. Once inside the body, it has an oxygen-depleting effect, and this shifts the body’s pH toward becoming acidic. These effects are disruptive to a person’s immune system, which opens him up to a whole host of potential infections, and it makes him much more prone to suffering allergy symptoms. Water occurring in nature always contains a small amount of hydrogen peroxide, which in many ways makes natural water the opposite of “treated” water in pH, oxygen levels, and in overall healthiness. The difference between pure water and chemically-altered tap water is literally the difference between natural rain and acid rain.
The most significant risk with chlorine products, such as chlorine dioxide, come not from the chlorine itself, but from its dangerous byproducts that are known as trihalomethanes (THM’s). These are produced whenever the chlorine agents contact organic proteins. An example of a THM is chloroform, a proven cancer-causing agent. Animal studies have consistently shown an association between THM’s and cancers of the liver and kidneys. [amazon asin=B000XPB60U&template=*lrc ad (left)]Chlorine and THM’s are strong contributing factors in creating colon and bladder cancers, as well as diabetes, kidney stones, and heart attacks.
Chlorine has been known for years to both cause and worsen respiratory problems, including asthma and pneumonia. As a halogen which damages enzymes, chlorine weakens the immune system upon ingestion. Chlorine causes magnesium deficiencies, which can cause migraine headaches, high blood pressure, chemical sensitivities, and in severe cases, sudden death according to Mark J. Eisenberg, M.D. (especially when it is combined with MSG). Chlorine also decreases the absorption of calcium while increasing its excretion, and the excretion of phosphorus. This increased loss of calcium into the urine can lead to bone-related problems including osteoporosis. Chlorine is known to irritate the skin, the eyes, and the respiratory system.
“Chlorine is the greatest crippler and killer of modern times. While it prevented epidemics of one disease, it was creating another. Two decades ago, after the start of chlorinating our drinking water in 1904, the present epidemic of heart trouble, cancer and senility began.”
— Dr. J. M. Price
Dioxins are a byproduct of the chlorination process, and are known for causing cancers, endometriosis, and neurological damage. Dioxins are present in municipal water as a result of the chlorine.
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