Healthy Alkaline Water
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What do the Experts Say? Business Training
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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 The addition of chlorine to our drinking water began in the late 1800s and by 1904 was the standard in water treatment, and for the most part remains so today. 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/ There is a lot of well founded
concern about chlorine. 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 by-products) in their breast tissue than women without breast cancer.” One of the most shocking components to all of these studies is that up to 2/3's 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 “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 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.
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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 orcirculatory 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
de-chlorinated water.
When chlorine is added to our water, it combines with other natural
compounds to form Trihalomethanes (chlorination by-products), or THMs.
These chlorine by-products 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
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.