The Effects of Chlorine in Your Water: Chlorine, Cancer and Heart Disease
We are quite convinced, based on this study, that there is an association between cancer and chlorinated water." -- Medical College of Wisconsin research team
I'm like the canary in the coal mine. I can smell chemicals in water and in the air that other people don't even notice. I can smell when food is "just about to go bad."
My senses have always been offended by the smell of chlorine, as if instinctively rebelling from something negative. The more I read about the effects of chlorine on the system (for example, did you know that chlorine byproducts trigger free radicals that are highly carcinogenic?), the more I believe my body's rejection of it, instantly on smelling it, is justified.
This article details important holistic health information about the water you may be drinking, cooking and bathing in and how you can make it better. There are some big words in this article, like Trihalomethanes, but the bottom line of it is that chlorine just isn't healthy for us to be taking into our bodies or allowing to penetrate our skin and lungs in the shower.
This article courtesy of Aquasana - It will change the way you live.
Water treatment facilities have added chlorine to drinking water since the late 1800's. I was amazed to find this out, thinking it was an addition of the technological age—maybe 50 years tops). By 1904, adding chlorine was the standard in water treatment. For the most part, that hasn't changed even today, a hundred years later.
We don't use chlorine because it's the safest or even the most effective means of disinfection, we use it because it is the cheapest. In spite of all our technological advances, we essentially still pour bleach in our water before we drink it. The long term effects of chlorinated drinking water have just recently being recognized. According to the U.S. Council of Environmental Quality, "Cancer risk among people drinking chlorinated water is 93% higher than among those whose water does not contain chlorine."
Dr. Joseph Price wrote a highly controversial book in the late sixties titled "Coronaries/Cholesterol/Chlorine" and concluded that nothing can negate the incontrovertible fact, the basic cause of atherosclerosis and resulting entities such as heart attacks and stroke, is chlorine. Dr. Price later headed up a study using chickens as test subjects, where two groups of several hundred birds were observed throughout their span to maturity.
One group was given water with chlorine and the other without. The group raised with chlorine, when autopsied, showed some level of heart or circulatory disease in every specimen, the group without had no incidence of disease. The group with chlorine under winter conditions, showed outward signs of poor circulation, shivering, drooped feathers and a reduced level of activity.
The group without chlorine grew faster, larger and displayed vigorous health. This study was well received in the poultry industry and is still used as a reference today. As a result, most large poultry producers use dechlorinated water. It would be a common sense conclusion that if regular chlorinated tap water is not good enough for the chickens, then it probably is not good enough for us humans!
What the heck are Trihalomethanes? There is a lot of well founded concern about chlorine. When chlorine is added to our water, it combines with other natural compounds to form Trihalomethanes (chlorination byproducts), or THMs.
These chlorine byproducts trigger the production of free radicals in the body, causing cell damage, and are highly carcinogenic. "Although concentrations of these carcinogens (THMs) are low, it is precisely these low levels that cancer scientists believe are responsible for the majority of human cancers in the United States." The Environmental Defense Fund
Simply stated chlorine is a pesticide, as defined by the U.S. EPA, who's sole purpose is to kill living organisms. When we consume water containing chlorine, it kills some part of us, destroying cells and tissue inside our body.
Dr. Robert Carlson, a highly respected University of Minnesota researcher who's work is sponsored by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, sums it up by claiming , "the chlorine problem is similar to that of air pollution", and adds that "chlorine is the greatest crippler and killer of modern times!"
Breast cancer, which now effects one in every eight women in North America, has recently been linked to the accumulation of chlorine compounds in the breast tissue. A study carried out in Hartford Connecticut, the first of it's kind in North America, found that, "women with breast cancer have 50% to 60% higher levels of organochlorines (chlorination byproducts) in their breast tissue than women without breast cancer."
One of the most shocking components to all of these studies is that up to 2/3s of our harmful exposure to chlorine is due to inhalation of steam and skin absorption while showering. A warm shower opens up the pores of the skin and allows for accelerated absorption of chlorine and other chemicals in water.
The steam we inhale while showering can contain up to 50 times the level of chemicals than tap water due to the fact that chlorine and most other contaminants vaporize much faster and at a lower temperature than water. Inhalation is a much more harmful means of exposure since the chlorine gas (chloroform) we inhale goes directly into our blood stream. When we drink contaminated water the toxins are partially filtered out by our kidneys and digestive system.
Chlorine vapors are known to be a strong irritant to the sensitive tissue and bronchial passages inside our lungs, it was used as a chemical weapon in World War II. The inhalation of chlorine is a suspected cause of asthma and bronchitis, especially in children. which has increased 300% in the last two decades. "Showering is suspected as the primary cause of elevated levels of chloroform in nearly every home because of chlorine in the water." Dr Lance Wallace, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Chlorine in shower water also has a very negative cosmetic effect, robbing our skin and hair of moisture and elasticity, resulting in a less vibrant and youthful appearance. Anyone who has ever swam in a chlorinated pool can relate to the harsh effects that chlorine has on the skin and hair. What's surprising is that we commonly find higher levels of chlorine in our tap water than is recommended safe for swimming pools.
Aside from all the health risks related to chlorine in our water, it is the primary cause of bad taste and odor in drinking water. The objectionable taste causes many people to turn to other less healthful beverages like soft drinks, tea or other sweetened drinks. A decreased intake of water, for any reason, can only result in a lower degree of health.
The good news is that chlorine is one of the easiest substances to remove from our water. For that reason it logically should serve it's purpose of keeping our water free from harmful bacteria and water borne diseases right up to the time of consumption, where it should then be removed by quality home water filtration.
No one will argue that chlorine serves an important purpose, and that the hazards of doing away with chlorine are greater than or equal to the related health risks. The simple truth is that chlorine is likely here to stay.
The idea that we could do away with chlorine any time in the near future is just not realistic. It is also clear that chlorine represents a very real and serious threat to our health and should be removed in our homes, at the point of use, both from the water we drink and the water we shower in.
Benefits of Shower Water Filtration
With the realization that more chemicals enter our body through skin absorption and inhalation of steam while showering than does from drinking water, the benefits of shower filtration have become very obvious. The Aquasana Shower Deluxe Filtration System is one of the most unique and beneficial products ever developed.
A recent report in the American Journal of Public Health linked chlorine to significant increases in certain types of cancer and stated that "up to 2/3s of the harmful exposure was due to skin absorption and inhalation while showering."
A warm shower opens the pores of the skin and allows a high rate of absorption of chlorine and other chemicals. The steam we inhale while showering can contain up to 20 times the level of chlorine and other synthetic chemicals than tap water due to the fact that these chemicals vaporizes at a lower temperature and at a much faster rate than water.
Inhalation of chlorine and chemical vapors is known to be a strong irritant to the tissues in our lungs and a suspected cause of asthma and bronchitis. When chemicals are inhaled into our lungs they enter directly into our bloodstream and can have magnified effects versus ingested chemicals which are partially filtered by our liver and kidneys.
Other than the obvious holistic health benefits of showering in chemical free water, the cosmetic benefits are even more noticeable. Anyone who has ever gone swimming in a chlorinated pool can relate to the harsh drying effect that chlorine has on your skin and hair. Without the effects of chlorine and other chemicals found in tap water, your skin and hair retain moisture more effectively for a younger healthier look and feel.
The Aquasana shower filter is a patented, uniquely designed two stage system that removes chlorine and other chemicals for a healthier and more enjoyable shower experience. This high capacity filter is easy to install and is an attractive and beneficial addition to any shower.
It's like showering in natural spring water. Once you experience it you'll never go back.
Also from Aquasana—Deluxe Drinking Water Filtration System: Restores water to a refreshingly healthy state for only 9 cents a gallon.
Aquasana Water Enhancement - It will change the way you live.
What do you think? Please enter your comments below.
comments
| healthynewage.com is © HeartCore Corporation 2001-2010
