Dr. Brett Hill - Eat Think Move Chiropractic

Many people don't like drinking tap water because of the taste, especially in my home town of Adelaide where the chlorine taste is pretty strong. But the real reason not to drink the tap water may be your health.

Have you ever wondered what effect chlorine has on your body? Well chlorine is present in the water because it is good for killing bacteria and so helps to remove diseases from the water supply. Unfortunately unlike your immune system chlorine is unable to differentiate between beneficial and unhealthy bacteria. This means that chlorine is one of the major causes of the loss of Probiotics in our body are very important for digestive health. Chlorine has also been shown to create free radicals which may increase vulnerability to cancers, increase ageing, destroy essential fatty acids and hinder cholesterol metabolism. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in America also states that ‘breathing small amounts of chlorine for short periods of time adversely affects the human respiratory system. Human health effects associated with breathing or otherwise consuming small amounts of chlorine over long periods of time are not known'.

Not only that but chlorine reacts with organic material in our water to create DBP's (disinfection byproducts). These DBP's may in fact be up to 10,000 times more toxic than chlorine and even worse than other water additives such as fluoride and the levels of these in our water are closely regulated. In fact the EPA has recommended that the level of these chemicals is zero. Unfortunately though rather than eliminating these dangerous chemicals our authorities have decided that a certain level is acceptable. In fact over the years the acceptable levels around the world have been gradually decreased as the true toxicity of these chemicals has been realised.

One of the worst of these DBP's Trihalomethanes (THMs) have been linked to reproductive problems and miscarriages and has even been shown to increase the risk of bladder and rectal cancer.

And it's not just the chlorine in your drinking water either. In fact one study has suggested that chlorine exposure whilst swimming account for approximately 94% of the cancer risk associated with THM's. In particular studies have shown swimming in chlorinated water to increase the risk of melanoma. Not only are these CBP's drunk by swimmers, they are also absorbed via the skin and breathed in in the air around swimming pools (especially indoor ones where these chemicals concentrate). We are also exposed to chlorine via many other sources including chlorine byproducts released into the air by dishwashers and released into the air from industrial sources.

Find a way to reduce your exposure to chlorine. Be it filtering your water, finding an alternative water source or swimming in an outdoor or even better salt water pool (or ocean).