TRUTH: I am a self-proclaimed filtered water snob. When I was recently traveling and asked my husband for my typical Starbucks order: hot water (so I can make DIY matcha) I kindly asked if he knew if they use filtered water. He immediately made me realize this was a somewhat laughable question and probably not a priority in most kitchens.
At first I felt guilty worrying if Starbucks water was filtered knowing that across the globe there are people who may never see a Starbucks and would be so lucky to have safe tap water to drink. However, the problem is though we have plenty of water deemed "safe to drink", we are potentially being exposed to a range of contaminates that may not have short term and obvious, but long term negative health effects without knowing it.
I feel lucky to have discovered a two-fold solution to this problem, AquaGear water filtration. Their water filters not only ensure that our tap water is free of 89 contaminates, but provide us, as consumers, a way to give 6 months of clean drinking water to needy communities in the developing world. The filters are also 100% recyclable and they will pay for the postage to send them back, at which point they will actually DOUBLE their donation to Thirst Relief International as incentive.
Love that using these water filters also gives me a chance to provide clean water for families in developing countries
Lets get into the weeds a little bit more about why drinking filtered water is a major priority!
Fluoride
Most of us as Americans have fluoride, heavy metals, chromium 6, chloramines, and countless other contaminants in our tap water... Seems hard to believe with water filters that come on many taps, fridges, etc. but it is important to do our research because 96% of conventional household filters still do not remove these contaminants! So what's wrong with fluoride you may ask... don't we need it for our teeth? Okay so in small amounts it can be good for your teeth, but too much fluoride can affect thyroid function, fertility, the endocrine system and even have adverse neurological effects.
Taking Control of our Health
If you are anything like me (a little paranoid, but how can you not be these days...), Flint was a wake up call that unfortunately we cannot always trust our government leaders to make the best and safest decisions for us when it comes to our health, specifically controlling toxins in our water. Knowing that Aquagear filters were tested in Flint, Michigan where the water had 4 times the EPA lead limit, was reassuring that my family's water being safe is in MY CONTROL. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality tested and reported the levels as being reduced to undetectable after going through the Aquagear filter. As much as I hope a crisis like Flint never happens again, knowing I have a filter like this puts my health into my own hands.
Saying NO to the Plastic Addiction
Disposable water bottles are also NOT an option for me. I used to go through almost a pack of them a week without the blink of an eye until I realized what a problem plastic is in our world. 38 billion of them are hitting our landfills and oceans every single year! I have visited too many beautiful places in the world and seen nature tarnished by human action. Committing to a reusable water bottle with filtered water is an easy but huge step we can all take to reduce problematic plastic consumption and minimize our carbon footprints.
Hanging onto the "Good Stuff"
Finally the question I get asked a lot as a filtered water junkie! Will I miss out on the healthy stuff in water by only drinking it filtered? Thankfully trace minerals like calcium and magnesium are still left in my filtered tap water since Aquagear is designed to leave the good stuff behind! Studies have shown the health benefits of drinking filtered tap water to be the greatest compared to unfiltered tap water or water bottles. This is most important for pregnant women and children- specifically noting that many water bottles still contain fluoride in them.
Using an Aquagear filter is a no brainer for me. I am totally willing to claim my filtered water snob label knowing that I am helping take care of not only my health, but the health of our planet and families in developing countries without access to clean water.
This post is sponsored by Aquagear, however all opinions and beliefs are my own. I would only advertise brands that I truly believe in and recommend for leading a healthy, balanced lifestyle.
Aquagear makes recycling easy and hard to resist by paying for the postage and doubling their donation to Thirst Relief International for each filter received