19th June 2012
By Josh Corn, Editor-in-Chief of Live in the Now
Guest Writer for Wake Up World
In the latest scary news about tap water, a new study links psychiatric drug residues that are found in drinking water to increasing rates of autism.
Researchers found that when fish were exposed to tap water containing minuscule traces of the antidepressant drugs Prozac and Effexor, as well as the antiseizure drug Tegratol, they developed genetic patterns similar to those found in autistic individuals. The researchers said that their findings suggest that the small amounts of psychiatric medications found in our drinking water may be a cause of autism. Previous studies have also linked psychiatric drugs to autism-like symptoms.
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How is it that pharmaceutical drugs end up in tap water? Well, it’s thought that the contamination occurs when drinking water co-mingles with treated wastewater, which is purified to remove microbial contaminant, but not drug residues. Municipal water treatment methods are outdated and do little to address the assortment of toxic chemicals that are currently present in our environment. Meanwhile, overall use of psychiatric and other types of pharmaceuticals is steadily increasing worldwide.
So should pregnant women and children — and everyone for that matter — do their best to avoid drinking tap water? While we are lucky in the developed world to have access to water that is largely free of disease-causing microorganisms — a fact that we should never take for granted — drinking plain old, unfiltered tap water is generally not a great idea.
Sadly, high quality drinking water is becoming increasingly difficult to come by in this day and age. Recent analyses of municipal drinking water in the U.S. have shown that, despite government regulations, there are many dangerous contaminants ranging from heavy metals to pesticides present in our water, even after it has gone through municipal water treatment facilities. And governments are only making matters worse by mandating the addition of toxic fluoride and chlorine to drinking water as part of the water treatment process.
So what is the best way to ensure that the water you drink is supporting your family’s health, rather than damaging it? I did some research into the matter and revealed my conclusions in this article, which examines some possible alternatives to tap water.
Sources:
http://www.ewg.org/tap-water/home
About the Author
Joshua Corn is the Editor-in-Chief of the natural health and wellness site, Live in the Now. Josh is a health freedom advocate and veteran of the natural health industry. He has been actively involved in the natural health movement for over 15 years, and has been dedicated to the promotion of health, vitality, longevity and natural living throughout his career. Josh has successfully overcome several personal health challenges through natural means, and believes that sharing information can empower people to take control of their health so they can solve their own problems and live life to its fullest potential. Josh is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Live in the Now. Additionally he serves as CEO of SAN, a company that has been formulating premium dietary supplements since 1995. Josh is currently working on his first book about natural health, and gearing up to launch the Live in the Now radio show. In addition to his work in the natural health field, Josh is an avid outdoorsman, yoga practitioner, animal lover and father of two sons who remind him every day to “live in the now”.
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