How much do you know about the bottled water you drink? Not as much as you might think. I found out this week that Dasani water contains potassium chloride. Did you know that?<\/p>\n
What is potassium chloride and why should we care? Here\u2019s why: There are 3 steps when someone is put to death by lethal injection. First\u00a0Sodium thiopental, to render the \u201coffender\u201d unconscious. Second, Pancuronium\/Tubocurarine, to stop all muscle movement except the heart. And last, you guessed it,\u00a0Potassium chloride, to stop the heart from beating, and thus cause death.\u00a0That\u2019s right boys and girls, Dasani water contains an ingredient that has been used in the the death penalty. Yet it\u2019s in Dasani water.\u00a0Apparently your friendly neighborhood Coca-Cola bottling company doesn\u2019t think water is sufficient enough when making\u00a0bottled water<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Oh, they also add regular salt and\u00a0Epsom\u00a0salt to their water. Why? Because salt makes you thirsty, and what do you do when you\u2019re thirsty? That\u2019s right; drink more water. Dasani says\u00a0it\u2019s \u2018enhanced\u2019 with these \u2018minerals\u2019 for a \u2018clean, pure taste\u2019. Uh huh. Sure.<\/p>\n So with that being said, I decided to take a look at what, if any, bottled water<\/em> we should<\/strong> be drinking.<\/p>\n According to\u00a0a report released from Environmental Working Group<\/span><\/span>\u00a0(EWG), \u201cBottled water companies try hard to hide information you might find troubling,\u201d says Jane Houlihan, senior vice president of research for the Washington D.C.-based research and advocacy group.<\/p>\n EWG analyzed the labels of 173 unique bottled water products and company websites to determine if companies disclose information on where water comes from, how or if their water is treated, and whether the results of purity testing are revealed. The nonprofit also looked at how effective (and advanced) any water treatment methods are. Researchers followed up by calling dozens of bottled water companies to find out which ones willingly tell consumers what\u2019s in their bottles.<\/p>\n The Environmental Protection Agency\u00a0says on its website<\/span><\/span>\u00a0that consumers have the right to know where their water comes from and what\u2019s in it so they can \u201cmake informed choices that affect the health of themselves and their families.\u201d Tap water is regularly tested and consumers\u00a0can find their local water info online<\/span><\/span>. That\u2019s not necessarily the case with bottled water, which is not required to disclose that information to consumers. \u201cBottled water is a food product and every one of these companies is complying with federal law,\u201d says Tom Lauria, of the International Bottled Water Association. Yeah right.<\/p>\n More than half of the bottled water products surveyed failed EWG\u2019s transparency test \u201318 percent didn\u2019t say where their water comes from, and another 32 percent did not disclose any information on treatment or purity of water.<\/p>\n Only three brands earned the highest possible marks for disclosing information and using the most advanced treatment methods available –\u00a0Gerber Pure Purified Water<\/b>,\u00a0Nestle Pure Life Purified Water<\/b>, and\u00a0Penta Ultra-Purified Water<\/b>.<\/p>\n On the other end of the spectrum, these six brands got the worst marks in EWG\u2019s report because they don\u2019t provide consumers with the three basic facts about water on product labels or their company website –\u00a0Whole Foods Italian Still Mineral Water<\/b>,\u00a0Vintage Natural Spring Water<\/b>,Sahara Premium Drinking Water<\/b>,\u00a0O Water Sport Electrolyte Enhanced Purified Drinking Water<\/b>,\u00a0Market Basket Natural Spring Water<\/b>, and\u00a0Cumby\u2019s Spring Water.<\/b><\/p>\n Here\u2019s a look at the 10 top-selling* U.S. brands:<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. Pure Life Purified Water (Nestle), EWG grade = B<\/p>\n 2. Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = C<\/p>\n 3. Aquafina Purified Drinking Water (Pepsi), EWG grade = D<\/p>\n 4. Dasani Purified Water (Coca-Cola), EWG grade = D<\/p>\n 5. Deer Park Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D<\/p>\n 6. Ice Mountain Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D<\/p>\n 7. Ozarka Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D<\/p>\n 8. Poland Spring Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D<\/p>\n 9. Zephyrhills Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D<\/p>\n 10. Crystal Geyser Natural Alpine Spring Water (CG Roxane), EWG grade = F<\/p>\n Filtered tap water received the best grade (an A<\/strong>) from EWG because if you change your filter regularly, EWG says it is purer than bottled water, plus it saves money (bottled water can cost up to 1,900 times more than what flows from your tap). Drinking tap water also takes less of a toll on the planet. EWG offers\u00a0plenty of tips for filtering your tap water\u00a0so that you can drink the healthiest water possible.<\/p>\n What should you do when bottled water is your only option? \u201cWhile our top choice is filtered tap water, when you do need to choose bottled water, we recommend brands that tell you what\u2019s in the water and that use advanced treatment technologies like\u00a0reverse osmosis\u00a0and micro-filtration,\u201d says Houlihan. Advanced treatment technologies remove pollutants that other methods don\u2019t. You should look for bottled water products that tell you where the water is coming from and how pure it is. –\u00a0About GMOs and 10 Reasons to Avoid Them<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span> Thanks for stopping by! If you are an entrepreneur or a blogger or you just have a passion you want to share with others, be sure to click on the link below and watch the video to see why I chose Empower Network<\/a> as my preferred blogging<\/a> platform. It\u2019s great to earn extra income online as well as get your posts ranked near the top of Google!<\/p>\nHow does your bottled water brand stack up?<\/h3>\n
\n*<\/i>Sales rankings from the Beverage Marketing Corporation.
\nSOURCE<\/i><\/p>\nIf you liked this story, you\u2019ll love these:<\/h2>\n
\n –\u00a0Sugar Can be Found in these 9 Surprising Places<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span>
\n –\u00a0[LIST] 12 Fruits and Vegetables with the Most Pesticides<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span>
\n –\u00a0Are You Eating More than Usual? Here are 6 Possible Reasons Why<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nBefore You Leave!<\/h2>\n