If Mother Nature Poured You a Glass of Water...

If Mother Nature Poured You a Glass of Water...

The solution to our global water issues and the plastic pollution of our planet is very complex and people often wonder what can they do as individuals to make a positive impact. One thing we all can do is to not to contribute to landfills by filtering tap water rather than purchasing bottled water. In recent blogs we have talked about the pollution problem with bottled water and about how to choose a water filtration system.

Waterfall for Healthy Water

Filtering our tap water is convenient, cost effective and the best way to provide ourselves and our families with healthy water. Our personal choice for water filtration is the Nikken Waterfall. Imagine if we could create fresh spring water in our own home or office? This is the strategy behind the Nikken Waterfall.  The Nikken Waterfall System is an advanced, technically sophisticated, well designed countertop home filtration system that converts tap water into fresh spring-like water. Using a multi-stage filtration process which cleans, alkalizes, mineralizes, ionizes, energizes and oxygenates the water, the Waterfall produces a light, velvety fresh-tasting water which is highly absorbable and healthy.

Put simply, the Waterfall produces water the way nature intended water to be. Free of contaminants but maintaining an alkaline pH with minerals that are added back after the filtration process. The water is run through a magnetic field that provides a water structure as it occurs in nature.

The Waterfall Gravity Water System has a modern, compact profile and fits conveniently into most kitchen environments. All Nikken water products are designed to the highest standards, using non-leaching, and free of BPA and other estrogenic chemicals. With its Gold Seal of Approval from the Water Quality Association, the Waterfall meets rigorous standards for performance, capacity, and integrity, removing a variety of drinking water contaminants.

The Nikken Waterfall meets contaminant-reduction specifications of National Sanitary Foundation (NSF) Standards 42 and 53 and reduces objectionable tastes, odors, colors, aesthetic chlorine, chloramines, VOCs and mercury from municipally treated tap water. This is considerably better performance than you'd get with many conventional faucet or pitcher--type or water filters. The filtration efficiency is equivalent to more complex and expensive water filtration systems costing $1000’s of dollars.

The water tank components are bio-degradable plastics that will not leach potentially harmful chemicals into the contents of the tank. Nor will they release these chemicals into the soil.  The Waterfall is environmentally responsible in several ways. It reduces the number of discarded plastic water bottles that become trash in landfills. This also decreases consumption of fossil fuels used in manufacturing those bottles. The waterfall is made with recyclable and biodegradable materials, including a polymer that does not leach chemicals into water as some plastics will. 

Features and Benefits that we like most about our Waterfall:

·      Simple operation

·      Multiple-stage filtering process, advanced water-contaminant reducing technology

·      Certified filtration to reduce contaminants, NSF Certification

·      Gold Seal of Approval from the Water Quality Association

·      Natural, gravity-fed filtration – no need for electricity

·      Minerals added back to adjust pH to create alkaline water

·      Filter life LED indicator (The filter-life LED indicator turns from green to red when it is time to replace the filter)

·      Fits perfectly onto kitchen counter-top

·      Non-leaching and BPA free materials

·      Made of bio-degradable plastics for no environmental impact

·      Ease of operation and maintenance

·      Cost effective solution for healthy water

·      Does not require a power source which makes it perfect for power outages or travel

The Waterfall is good for your family, your pocketbook and our planet!

Find out more from your Nikken Wellness Consultant. 

Be Healthy by Choice, not by Chance.

Bottled Water vs. Tap Water

Is Bottled Water Healthier than Tap Water?

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One reason that many people choose bottled water is that they think it’s a healthier choice than tap water. This is good news as many people are looking for healthier options. In fact, 2017 is the first year that bottled water sales have exceeded soda sales in the United States. Bottled water consumption in the U.S. hit 39.3 gallons per capita last year, while carbonated soft drinks fell to 38.5 gallons, marking the first time that soda was knocked off the top spot.

More than one-quarter of bottled water revenue last year was shared by the soda giants Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo which sell Dasani and Aquafina respectively. In the four decades since the launch of Perrier water in the U.S., consumption of bottled water surged 2,700%, from 354 million gallons in 1976 to 11.7 billion gallons in 2015, according to the International Bottled Water Association.

Ok, some people are making healthier choices to drink water instead of soda, but is their choice to drink bottled water rather than tap water fact founded or just the results of good marketing by bottled water companies. People are led to believe that bottled water is spring water with the advertisements and labels portraying pristine mountain streams, waterfalls, or glacial Alpine landscapes. However, nearly 50% off all bottled water is tap water, according to Peter Gleick, a scientist and author of “Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water.”

Contrary to the image of purity advertised by the bottled water industry, bottled water may contain a lot more than simple H2O. In 2008, testing commissioned by Environmental Working Group (EWG), found 38 pollutants in 10 brands of bottled water, including disinfection byproducts, industrial chemicals, radioactivity and bacteria. Two of the brands tested bore the chemical signature of municipal tap water, meaning that they were chemically indistinguishable from what comes from the faucet.

In 2008, scientists at Texas Southern University evaluated 35 brands of bottled water and found that four were contaminated with bacteria. In 1999, the Natural Resources Defense Council tested 103 bottled waters and detected potentially worrisome contaminants, including microbes and regulated chemicals, in about 50% of the samples tested.

This is a quite disturbing from a financial standpoint as bottled water is 2,000 times more expensive than tap water. Another perspective would be going to a sandwich shop for a six-dollar sandwich and paying $12,000 dollars for that sandwich. Just because it is marketed as a healthier sandwich, would we make the same choice. No way.

Don’t we all too often trade convenience at the expense of our health?

The other reason people tell me that they choose bottled water is that it is convenient. My response to that is, don’t we all too often trade convenience at the expense of our health?

Drinking plenty of water is good for your health, but both tap and bottled water can contain contaminants that may be harmful. The best option for getting the safest water possible is to filter your tap water. There are many different types of water filters at a wide range of efficiency and pricing.  I suggest selecting a system certified by NSF International. NSF certifies drinking water filters to standards applicable to each type of treatment option. You may notice the NSF mark on a product along with numbers such as NSF/ANSI 53 or NSF/ANSI 42, which refer to the standard to which the filter has been certified. These models are designed to filter out specific contaminants, so you can purchase one based on your needs.

NSF/ANSI standard 42 is for aesthetic properties of smell and taste.  A healthy choice for a water filtration system would also conform to standard 53 for volatile organic compounds such as trihalomethane, trichloroethylene and many others. These standards should be published and readily available when deciding on which product to purchase. I would also recommend a unit that complies with NSF/ANSI standard 372 for heavy metal reduction. Just as important in removal of harmful substances is the filter systems ability to add back beneficial properties and minerals for a healthy water the way Nature intended.

Be Healthy by Choice, not by Chance. Drink half your body weight in ounces a day of good quality, healthy water.

Author: Gary Lindner, PhD