Water Education - Water and Health

Does Drinking Water Contain Chemicals that Can Add Calories, Fat, Sugar, Caffeine, or Cholesterol to One's Diet?

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A lot of people wonder, with all the excess substances in our water supplies...is it possible some of this material is making us fatter or exposing us to more unhealthy things?

In regards to ‘if the water contains calories and fat and even cholesterol’, the answer is 'not likely.' Unless some source of rare contamination exists. It is important to note that low concentrations of caffeine are found in most municipal wastewater that goes into rivers. Some of this could show up in drinking water sources taken from these rivers downstream. Caffeine has become a good indicator of surface water contamination from domestic wastewater.

For the most part your drinking water typically is a secret weapon in battling fat and calories. It is often called "the potion for losing that excess body fat." After all, water covers two-thirds of the planet. If you eat right and exercise at the intensity, frequency, and duration most proper for you-- but still can't get rid of a little paunch here and there, you're probably just not drinking enough water. No need to get defensive. You're actually quite normal. Most people don't drink enough water. Most people are also carrying around a few more pounds than they would be if they did drink enough water.

If you can't seem to get that weight off, try drowning your sorrows in nature's magical weight-loss mineral. It works, and here's why: "What on Earth is 'metabolism', anyway?" People use the term all the time, but ask them what it means and you'll get all kinds of answers. Merriam Webster defines it as, "The process by which a substance is handled in the body." A little vague, but that's really all it means. There are many forms of metabolism going on in your body right now, but the one everyone is talking about it the metabolism of fat.

This is actually something that the liver does when it converts stored fat to energy. The liver has other functions, but this is one of its main jobs. Unfortunately, another of the liver's duties is to pick up the slack for the kidneys, which need plenty of water to work properly. If the kidneys are water-deprived, the liver has to do its work along with its own, lowering its total productivity. It then can't metabolize fat as quickly or efficiently as it could when the kidneys were pulling their own weight. If you allow this to happen, not only are you being unfair to your liver, but you're also setting yourself up to store fat.

As far as drinking water goes in relation to caffeine, calories or cholesterol is concerned, perhaps the greater concern over water contamination is the growing presence of so many prescription drugs — and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen. This heightening worries scientists of long-term consequences to human health. In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas — from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit to Louisville, Ky. Water providers rarely disclose results of pharmaceutical screenings, unless pressed, the AP found. For example, the head of a group representing major California suppliers said the public "doesn't know how to interpret the information" and might be unduly alarmed.

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