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Topics: Health, Science, Environment, Food and Drink
Callum Jones
Topics: Health, Science, Environment, Food and Drink
A doctor has revealed the 'deadly consequences' that can happen if you don't filter your water correctly.
Many Americans drink their two litres of water every day from the tap, rather than buying bottled versions from the store.
While this is of course cheaper, you may want to think about the impact drinking this water could be doing to your body.
The water found running from our taps starts as rainwater before steaming into our rivers and streams.
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It is then pumped out to be filtered, and fed through pipes to eventually emerge from the taps in our homes.
Obviously, the state of someone's water depends on how it's filtered, which is largely down to the water company that's providing the goodness.
However, Dr Yvonne Burkart, a doctor of toxicology based in the US, spoke on the Diary of a CEO podcast about things you can do to avoid 'the deadly consequences' that can happen if you don't filter your water properly.
Steven Bartlett, host of the podcast, asked the expert if a simple water jug filtering system, which many households have, is enough.
Dr Burkart said: "It depends on what kind of filter you have. Some of the more mainstream, lower cost, lower end options do not remove fluoride [...] and they don't filter nearly enough chemicals."
Many dangerous toxins are found in tap water, including hormones, endocrine disruptors, pesticides, heavy metals, and fluoride," the doctor explained.
"There's a bunch of contaminants in tap water, depending on where you live. Some are worse than others," she added on the podcast.
"There have been tragic instances of lead, high levels of lead, because of lead piping that water is transported through. So we've got to be careful with the water we're using to drink and cook with."
It's important to remember these cases remain rare, though it can prove devastating if lead poisoning does strike.
Young children can suffer learning difficulties and delay in their development, while adults can experience reduced sperm count, and pregnant women can have premature birth or stillbirth.
For those residing in the UK, tap water is some of the safest found in the world.
Dr Jim Marshall, a senior policy adviser at Water UK, said: "It passes more than 99.9 per cent of quality tests. As a result, there are no specific health benefits to water filters and their use is a matter of personal preference."