Bad Bottled Water
It might seem like the most convenient way to stay hydrated.
But not all bottled water brands are created equally. Some, in fact, can be down right bad for you - including long-term health issues. And that's not even touching the environmental impact. Here are some brands to avoid...
Zephyrhills
Many brands actually use municipal water in their bottles.
So, you're really paying someone else to fill up a vessel and then sell it back to you, when your tap water can (in many cases) be much better. In this case, you're just drinking Florida water.
Deer Park
Many customers have given this brand a "D" rating.
Even though they say their bottles are safe, customers and environmental review groups have all noticed a strange taste. This can happen when the bottles are low quality and if they sit out in any sort of heat or sunlight. Toxins leech out and go into the body.
Crystal Rock Waters
One of the biggest culprits in what makes bottled water good or bad, or even just passable, is the fluoride content.
It sounds like something that is good for our teeth, but when ingested, even in small amounts, it can be very bad for the body, including new research which suggests it can lead to thyroid problems. Even if it comes from a home delivery company like Crystal Rock, it doesn't mean it's 100% okay.
Ice Mountain
Most fluoride that is added to drinking water isn't the naturally occurring kind.
The fluoride added to drinking water is "fluorosilicic acid", which is a waste product of the phosphate fertilizer industry. It is more toxic than rat poison in its powdered form, and is heavily contaminated with toxins and heavy metals like arsenic, lead, cadmium, and other radioactive materials.
Ozarka
Ozarka is another brand to stay away from.
Despite the fact that 97% of the world has stopped adding fluoride to their drinking water, many American brands still continue to use it.
Belmont Springs
Avoid Belmont Springs as well. But did you know there's another reason to try to stop consumption of bottled water in general?
The bottled water industry grossed a total of $11.8 billion on 9.7 billion gallons of water in 2012, making bottled water about $1.22/gallon nationwide and 300x the cost of a gallon of tap water.
Propel
Customers have said that the smell is salty and metallic.
The taste might not be as pungent, but it's known to have a weird texture and knocking first- sip. It's sort of like water trying to be Gatorade but failing.
Diamond Springs
According to Business Insider, "If we take into account the fact that almost 2/3 of all bottled water sales are single 16.90z (500mL) bottles, though, this cost is much, much higher."
"It's about $7.50 per gallon, according to the American Water Works Association. That’s almost 2,000x the cost of a gallon of tap water and twice the cost of a gallon of regular gasoline.” So, back off of buying Diamond Springs as well.
Crystal Springs
No matter how safe the water is, the bottles are always something to inspect as well.
German researchers discovered endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), that could adversely affect development and reproduction, to be contained in 18 popular name brand bottled water products. Bye bye, Crystal Springs.
Dasani
Dasani is produced by Coca-Cola.
It might be "as pure as it gets", but it actually contains twice the amount of legally permitted bromate. This compound is often found in, you guessed in, municipal drinking water.
Mount Olympus
There is no "drink of the gods" here.
Bottled water manufacturers are not required to disclose as much information as municipal water utilities because of gaps in federal oversight authority. Customers have allegedly complained about the taste of this one as well.
Aquafina
This is a product of PepsiCo company.
It's actually tap water, purified through a seven-step process. When pH tested, Aquafina comes up acid. This means that although you can drink it, it is not as good as alkaline water. It tastes a bit dusty, with some dissolved minerals and a little salt.
Sierra Springs
Another high-fluoride brand to avoid.
Also, always check if the bottle is BPA-free. Also, it takes 450-1000 years for plastic to start biodegrading, and with the amount of plastic being thrown away and reproduced each year, that’s a lot of excess plastic the world has to deal with.
What Do Instead
Since it's already been proven that tap water is cleaner and cheaper than bottled water, there's only one thing to do.
It you live in a place with good tap water, just have a stainless steel bottle and carry some with you. If you living in a place with less-than-good water, consider a filtration system. Or, do some research on which companies have safe plastic, no fluoride, and no other chemicals. They are out there.