President Obama speaks out about food safety - but what about drinking water safety?

Yesterday (March 14, 2009) President Obama said he is forming a Food Safety Working Group to "upgrade our food safety laws for the 21st century," and he formally named former New York City health chief Margaret A. Hamburg as his new Food and Drug Administration commissioner.

President Obama talked about the peanut contamination and his concerns about his children and all our children who are eating peanut butter sandwiches on a regular basis. That's great news, President Obama. I, for one, am delighted that you are taking action to ensure the safety of our food supply and that you care about the health of your children and ours.

But - and this a big. What about the water supply?

Mr. President, our drinking water contains drugs that are not being tested for, and removed, before we consume them each and every day! You need to get concerned about that! You need to start NOW to protect our children AND our grand-children from the contaminants in our drinking water!

I cannot do a better job at stating this than did this YouTube user 'reality2me4u'. Watch the video now.





If this video makes you upset like it does me, then it's time to do something about it. The United States of America now has a President who is concerned about the safety of American children. NOW is the time to let him know that you care about what drugs in your tap water are doing to your children.

It's never been easier to let a President of the United States know what concerns you. It's simple. You just go fill out this form. Go there now and tell President Obama that you want him to do something about the drugs in our drinking water!

If you don't know what to say then here's a suggestion:

"Mr. President Obama: I am concerned about the drugs that are contaminating the drinking water of your children and mine. Every drink from the school cafeteria, every soft drink and even every reconstituted fruit juice poses a risk to our children. It is time to have our water supply cleaned of dangerous drugs and chemicals!"

In the meantime, what can you do? You can do nothing about the water and drinks you and your children drink outside your home. You CAN do something about the drinking water IN your home. Compare kitchen reverse osmosis water filters and whole house reverse osmosis water purifiers and get one installed as soon as you can.

We compare water filters so you don't have to spend your time trying to figure out which ones are the best.

Yet Another Health Risk from Contaminated Water

More than 700 current and past citizens of Shannon, near Quebec City, Canada are alleging in a class-action suit against the federal government that the chemical trichloroethylene, or TCE, seeped into the town's water supply from a nearby Canadian Military Base.

Toxicologist Michel Charbonneau says the results of his three-year study show a strong connection between an industrial TCE, and an abnormally high number of cancer cases in the town.

It is well-know that trichloroethylene is as a carcinogen for humans. The Canadian military affirms the risk of contaminated water was removed several years ago and maintains there has been no danger to the public since 2001.

This is another example of finding out too late, and after many needless deaths, that the drinking water has been contaminated.

Find out how to protect your family at The Best Water Filters.

Lead found in water in Toronto homes

A study, recently released, found that drinking water in more than half of 100 older Toronto homes tested last summer exceeded the acceptable level of lead - by as much as eight times the accepted standard!

The culprit? Aging water pipes. Those aging pipes, which would have been installed sometime before 1955, could be putting up to 65,000 households at risk.

Lead can seriously harm the intellectual and behavioral development of infants, young children and particularly babies in the womb, who are particularly vulnerable to ingesting and absorbing the heavy metal.

I can't help but wonder if the people living in those homes know that there are dangerous levels of lead in their drinking water; and whats more, if the people living in those 65,000 households know what they need to do to eliminate the lead in their drinking water.

There are several simple things that residents can do to lesson the amount of lead they will get in their drinking glass - like running the faucet for at least 5 minutes before using the water (what a waste of water - not to mention time). By far the most effective way or removing the lead contamination and saving water and time is to simply install a water filter that has the ability to remove lead.

This problem of lead in older water pipes is certainly not isolated to Toronto. If you live in an older home, in any city, you need to be concerned about lead contamination in your drinking water. The risk to children, both born and unborn, is great but the solution is simple and will cost less than a night at the movies. Can you afford to take the chance?

Learn more about your water filter options.

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink...

When I was a child, growing up on a small island surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, my father used to recite that little rhyme "Water, water everywhere; And not a drop to drink". He would usually say it when we were out in a boat. Obviously, he was talking about the sea water and the fact that if we had not brought fresh, clean water on board with us, we would have no water to drink even though we were completely surrounded.

That was forty years ago and that old adage is becoming alarmingly true even when we're on dry land. Much of the "fresh" water that exists on our planet has become contaminated and is no longer available for drinking. As a civilization, we have created a water crisis with fresh water now being called the "Oil of the 21st Century".

According to the Water Footprint Network, the production of one kilogram of beef requires 16 thousand liters of water. Production of agricultural products consumes, by far, that greatest volume of available water supply with animal production consuming the largest share.

Every day we hear about becoming more "green" and our "carbon footprint" referring to the greenhouse gasses we all produce on a daily basis. But we rarely hear anything about our "water footprint" and how much pressure our world is putting on clean water supplies.

Think of some simple ways you can save water. They can be as simple as turning off the tap while you brush your teeth or shave. Perhaps, the car isn't quite as dirty as you thought and it really doesn't need a bath today.

You can calculate your water footprint at http://www.waterfootprint.org/index.php?page=cal/waterfootprintcalculator_indv_ext. My water footprint was 674, mostly for food production. Find out your own water footprint. Let us know - how did you do?

We can no longer take our water supply for granted.
Find the best water filters for your home.

Drinking Water for Weight Loss

Will water help me lose weight? That's a question that gets asked a lot - particularly after the holiday season when everyone is looking at dropping those extra pounds gained over the holidays.

If you're looking for a fast way to lose weight, drinking lots of water is NOT the answer. Drinking water CAN help you lose weight but it's not the weight loss secret of the ages.

Now having said that, it is important that you know that drinking water can be a help to the dieter. There are some ways that you can make water your weight loss friend. Here are some that I've found useful over the years:

1 - Sipping water throughout the day can help to curb your appetite but it's not going to stop you from getting hungry. Go ahead and keep water on your desk and take a sip often. Remember that room temperature water is better for you than ice cold water.

2 - Drink a large glass of water with your meals and snacks. It will help to make you fell fuller a little longer.

3 - Sip calorie free beverages throughout the day - iced tea with lemon is good if you use a sugar substitute. This can help to curb sweet craving.

4 - And last but not least - here's a final way that I believe water can help you lose weight. Drinking more water means more bathroom breaks. That means more steps that you'll take during the day. If you take the long way around to the rest room, you'll burn even more calories. Better yet, take the long way around where ever you're going - that's what will really help!

4- DO NOT consume more than 8 glasses of water a day. It is possible to drink too much water and that can make you very sick.

So that's it. Drinking water is not the magic weight loss bullet. But, eating a little less and eating lower calorie foods PLUS moving more will get you there - and water can help. Just be sure it's clean, chemical free water.

How clean is your water? Find out more at The Best Water Filters.

Alkaline Water Ionizers Compared

We are very pleased to announce that Best Water Filters is now providing comparisons of Alkaline Water Ionizers. There is a great deal of misinformation about what these systems do and how they work - and even IF they are of any benefit at all.

Water for Life says it best:

"Simply put, mother nature never intended for us to drink water from the tap. Water in its natural state is alkaline (between 7.5 and 9.5 pH), full of oxygen, minerals from rocks, and energy from the sun that works like an antioxidant in our bodies. But when water is treated municipally, it loses it's energy because it sits around in holding tanks for long periods of time, the oxygen dissipates, and any alkalinity is lost making the water acidic. What's worse, the water is also contaminated with fluoride and chlorine and other substances toxic to our bodies.

The acidic tap water we drink (and acidic bottled water too...) along with acidic foods we consume like meats, bread, rice, oil, and potatoes end up making our body pH acidic. Our bodies must remain at least at a neutral pH of 7.0 to feel good, balanced, and energized. Acid breaks down our bones and tissues, it makes us feel stressed, it gives us headaches, it messes up our bowel movements and digestion, and leads to adult onset diseases like cancer, arthritis, and more."

So how do these water ionizers create "natural state" water?

Water Ionizers emulate the same conversion of glacial H20 into pure alkaline, ionized, oxygenated drinking water, by 'splitting' H20 (Two Hydrogen atoms, one oxygen atom) into two separate streams of water;

1. OH- One atom of Oxygen and one atom of hydrogen negatively charged - the Hydroxyl ion. This is the prized Alkaline water that we drink.

2. HO- One atom of Hydrogen and one of oxygen. This is the acid water we use externally and for germicidal cleaning.

This 'splitting' of the H20 Molecule happens in a sealed ionization chamber within your filter for ionized water, under exact control of a dedicated microcomputer, to ensure the exact result time after time. As filtered tap water passes across 5 specially designed Titanium electrodes, it separates into the two components noted above.

How can I find the best water ionization unit?

Now you can compare the best alkaline water ionizers on the market using our detailed comparison criteria. Determine which Alkaline Water Ionizer is right for your home BEFORE you spend a cent!

Dr. Mehmet Oz recommends Carbon Water Filter

We all know Dr. Mehmet Oz as America's Doctor and a frequent guest on the Oprah show. Recently Dr. Oz conducted an interview with Gary Ginsberg, co-author of What's Toxic, What's Not.

One of the things that were noted as toxic is our drinking water straight from the tap. And if you think bottled water is any less toxic, better read on. This quote from Dr. Oz's interview with Gary Ginsberg tells us that to reduce the toxicity in our lives we need to be concerned about both our water from the tap and water from bottles.

"Often bottled water is city tap water that may be run through an extra filter, which you can do at home for pennies a day and save yourself [money]," he says. "Then you have the plasticizer issue [with bottled water] because plastics do leech into water." Instead of risking the consumption of plasticizers and polluting the environment with empty bottles, Gary says you should use a carbon filter with your tap water and transfer it into portable containers."

A carbon water filter for your kitchen faucet costs less than $30 and can save you money as well as potentially saving you and your family from health problems related to consumption of chlorination by-products. A good quality faucet water filter should have more than a single carbon filter inside. Crystal Quest faucet mounted filters, for example, contain 5 layers of filtration and last from 6 - 12 months (2000 gallons of water).

You can learn more about faucet mounted water filters and compare them at The Best Water Filters - Faucet Mounted Filters.