Water

Toxins are inescapable and toxins in our drinking water are no exception. One study that looked at global samples of drinking water found that most of our water contains plastic fibres which can be as big as 0.5 cm.

Plastics

These plastic fibres were also found in 12 samples of beer and 12 samples of sea salt.

We like to assume that when we turn on the tap to help ourselves to a glass of water, the clear liquid is free from all pollutants. Just a brief look at the literature suggests that there is more in water than meets the eye.

Drinking water

Water treatment plants do their utmost to ensure that the water that comes out of our taps at home is as safe as they can keep them. However, their reports admit that they do sometimes experience safety ‘failures’. These failures mean that on rare occasions local drinking water can become contaminated with microbes that can harm us such as E. Coli, enterococci, Clostridium perfringens and parasites such as cryptosporidium.

All of these microbes can cause harm particularly in those with a compromised immune system such as the very young, the very old and those who are already sick. Heavy metals including Aluminium, Iron, and Lead can also be found as contamination ‘failures’ in our drinking water.

These ‘failures’ thankfully do not happen very often but what is more worrying are the pollutants that are not even detected by water treatment facilities. These micropollutants are contaminants found in our water that are not readily identified by water treatment plants. The levels of some such as pesticides are regulated.

However, the levels of others such as plastics, pharmaceutical and self-care products are not regulated. It’s perhaps shocking to hear that pharmaceuticals from hospitals and pharmacies get washed into our waterways and don’t all get removed at the water treatment plants.

Research papers show we could be unknowingly medicating ourselves with the water we drink from our kitchen sinks. Painkillers such as ibuprofen and codeine seem to be a regular occurrence but others such as antibiotics and oestrogens, to name but a few, are also found in our drinking water.

By themselves, the individual toxins may not reach sufficient levels to cause harm. However, studies are now beginning to understand that even if one substance does not cause harm, a mixture of different toxic substances is likely to have an appreciable effect on the health of certain individuals. For the most part, our body tries to eliminate toxins by using our gut microbes working with the liver to break them down.

However, the slow and steady onslaught from chemicals in the environment, means that our detoxification and anti-inflammatory systems are constantly at work. Whilst at work, these systems use up valuable resources that our body needs, such as vitamins and minerals.

It may take several decades before our bodily systems become overwhelmed, but gradually it is likely that toxins are allowed to enter our body and get deposited in our tissues. Small amounts accumulate over many years. At some point, the mix of accumulated toxins likely plays their part in damaging the gut microbes and causing low-grade chronic inflammation.

These toxins are also likely to cause direct damage to our DNA. We know this because we can measure it. We can see which toxins become stuck to our DNA. These are called DNA adducts.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals

Many toxins act on our endocrine system and disrupt normal function. These chemicals are called Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs). EDCs can work either on their own or as a toxic mix of chemicals to disrupt the thyroid gland, our reproductive functions perhaps resulting in both male and female infertility or abnormal prostate function.

They may affect the development of the growing baby in its mother’s womb. They may cause disordered sexual organ development. Several studies are now looking at the situation of intersex fish in our rivers as a result of EDCs that are in our rivers.

 

Conclusion

The water that we drink is not as clean as we might have hoped. Whilst individual levels of chemicals may not be at a level to cause harm, the mixture of different toxins add up to expose us to a toxic soup of chemicals.