What's in your tap water and how do you get it out?

Plus a major announcement about the future of the newsletter

🎧 Audio Teaser

Here is a taste of the audio voiceover that Be Wellthy Club members can listen to in every newsletter.

With great sadness, I announce this will be the last Be Wellthy newsletter. I never thought this day would come, but it is time for me to move on and pursue other opportunities. I launched the newsletter in October 2020, amid the pandemic, and it’s been a great ride for the last three and a half years. I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have, but all good things must come to an end. I’m sure you have many questions, but I only have one answer: April Fool’s!!!! Be Wellthy lives on!

Today’s topic is the tap water in your home. Unless you have a well, you are tapped into a municipal water supply. While the government is trying to provide clean water, it often adds chemicals to water that are not good for us. One example is chlorine.

Chlorination is the process of adding chlorine to drinking water to kill parasites, bacteria, and viruses. That makes chlorine an antibiotic. You’ve probably heard that antibiotics kill bad bacteria and good bacteria in the gut. While the authorities will say small amounts of chlorine are not harmful, some studies demonstrate the deleterious effects of chlorine exposure.¹

The problem goes beyond drinking water because you absorb all these chemicals every time you take a shower or bath. Here is a short video demonstrating how quickly the skin absorbs chlorine.

I checked the Environmental Working Group’s tapwater database and was appalled. In my town, they detected twenty-four total contaminants, nine exceeding EWG’s health guidelines. The biggest one on the list is arsenic. Remember, legal doesn’t mean safe.

Fluoride is another chemical they put in tap water, ostensibly to prevent cavities. I will address this topic in a future newsletter, but I found a study that demonstrated a link between drinking fluoridated water and TSH and T3 hormones leading to hypothyroidism.² You don’t need fluoride in your water or oral care products, in my opinion.

Solutions for clean water

A whole-house filter would ensure all the water you use is clean and filtered; however, this solution may be too expensive or impractical for your situation. I’ve done the heavy lifting and researched the best options to filter water for drinking and bathing. *Note: Some links below are affiliate links. As an Amazon associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases.

Drinking

• Reverse osmosis under-the-counter system - Reverse osmosis is considered the gold standard in water filtration.

• Countertop system - These are less expensive options that do not require complicated installation. Consider systems like AquaTru, Waterdrop King Tank, Epic Pure Countertop, and Apex MR-1050.

• Pitchers - You get what you pay for with pitchers. ClearlyFiltered pitcher is the top and best choice. The LifeStraw Home is a less expensive option.

• On the go - Avoid plastic water bottles. Filter water from any source with a LifeStraw filtered water bottle. I recently discovered GOpure pods, which are another great option.

Shower

My recommendation is the AquaHomeGroup 20-stage shower filter. It’s so easy to install that even I was able to manage it. You might have heard that activated carbon filters aren’t effective for hot water because they wear out quickly. In this filter, activated carbon is only one of twenty stages. I didn’t notice any less water pressure, but I did notice no more funky smell and softer skin.

Bath

While I don’t take baths often, I want to soak in clean water. I use a bath ball filter that hangs from the faucet to filter water.

Sink

Remember the water you use to brush your teeth and wash your face. Consider the PUR Plus faucet mount filter.

Optimize what you do daily, and you will reap the compounded benefits over time.

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The Daily Habit is where I share my habits related to the fundamentals: sleep, diet, physical activity, mindfulness, and stress management.

Remember to remineralize water after filtering it. Add in some clean minerals/electrolytes for proper hydration.

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I start with a glass of filtered, structured water with BEAM minerals every morning. This is the best mineral supplement on the market, in my opinion. Go to the BEAM minerals website and use code BRANDON51920 to save 20%.

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Last week’s answer

Free raffle entrants: Mark P., Tobias L.

Be Wellthy Club entrants: Amy S., Scott L., Scott S., Ariel E., Steve H., Renata B.

The March raffle is now closed with 13 free entries and 39 club entries.

Free subscribers can still enter to win one monthly raffle prize. Club members get an automatic entry each month to win one of two monthly raffle prizes. All you have to do is email bewellthy@substack.com the correct answer to each week’s brain training, and you will be entered into a monthly raffle to win cool biohacking prizes. You must be a subscriber to win! I do respond to every email.

This week:

What is the smallest number consisting of only 0’s and 1’s that is divisible by 15?

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Two years ago, I wrote about a product I use when it feels like my gut is out of wack. It’s a particular form of magnesium formulated to gently support gut health.

Do you know someone who would appreciate this information? Please share this newsletter with them.

1. https://foodrevolution.org/blog/chlorine-water-harmful/

2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5805681/