Drinking Water Treatment ~ Why Chlorine is So Very Dangerous


Natural organic substances such as fruits, vegetables,
and soy products can form dangerous cancer-causing
compounds when combined with chlorinated water

© Stephanie Relfe

Some of nature’s most valuable and essential anti-cancer and anti-disease phytochemical nutrients, which are commonly found in food, have been discovered to form deadly cancer causing substances when consumed or combined with chlorinated tap water. This discovery includes familiar foods including soy, fruits, vegetables, tea, many health products, and some prescriptions.

Recently, a joint study was undertaken in Japan by research scientists at the National Institute of Health Sciences and Shizuoka Prefectural University. They determined that natural organic substances react when exposed to chlorinated tap water, forming dangerous cancer causing compounds named MX, which stands for “Unknown Mutagen.” They are similar to the already well-known and more easily detected cancer causing THMs (trihalomethanes).

Earlier studies by scientists in Finland in 1997 determined that MX is 170 times more deadly than other known toxic by-products of chlorination, and was shown in laboratory studies to damage the thyroid gland as well as cause cancerous tumors.

There is nothing wrong with the organic substances themselves. It is chlorine that is at fault for turning them into the deadly THM and MX cancer cocktail. The reality is that the organic substances have been shown to be highly beneficial combined with pure drinking water.

It is certain that the fresh plant foods we eat similarly react with the chlorinated tap water we drink with our meals, creating toxins. This means that fresh fruits and vegetables, green salads, green tea, black tea, herb teas, soy products, vitamins and various health supplements, and even some pharmaceutical drugs all can be implicated in combination with chlorinated water.

The dangerous cancer causing agents which are produced are extremely toxic in infinitesimal amounts so small and obscure that they are very difficult to detect. Very little chlorine is required.

Many years ago laws were passed making chlorination of water mandatory. Now, the chlorine industry and government agencies must continue their existing policies, because if sudden or drastic changes are made the legal liabilities would be staggering. This predicament could make the tobacco industry scandal seem insignificant in comparison. Educating people to the dangers of chlorine would be admitting to knowledge of the problem, which could invalidate past studies and certainly raise serious legal problems.

Although chlorine has essentially eliminated the risks of waterborne diseases such as typhoid fever, cholera and dysentery, there are many pathogens that are not controlled by chlorine. Better methods of water treatment exist, such as ozonation, and many alternatives are already used throughout the world.

This message is of utmost importance to the general public, because chlorine will one day, in the near future, be exposed as a major cause and contributor to cancer and degenerative disease. Chlorine will also be found to be responsible for damaging the body’s immune and hormonal systems by mutating the food-based plant estrogens and phytochemicals that support those systems. A healthy immune system should be your first and best line of defense against disease.

What can you do?

Eliminate or reduce all chlorine wherever possible. Don’t drink chlorinated tap water. The best way to remove it is to get a reverse osmosis filter, because reverse osmosis also removes fluoride, which is rated a 4/5 on the world poison scales (5 is the highest point). We got a very reasonably priced reverse osmosis filter from ebay.com and a water cooler and some 5 gallon jugs. We use a 2 micron filter. This was as small as we could go and still get a decent flow of water, because of the high level of contaminants in our town water.

Don’t bathe in chlorinated water if possible. Filters are available for faucets and shower heads.

The bottom line is that the real culprit is chlorine, not the substances with which it reacts. Many people have larger filter systems installed right on the water line entering their house. Chlorine is everywhere… the ice tea you order at a restaurant was probably made with chlorinated water, your salad leaves may have been washed with chlorinated water… it goes on an on. Many people who read about the dangers of chlorine for the first time are horrified and shocked that this toxic substance is flowing right out of their faucets. But, it is, and knowing about it can only help you to evaluate how you can effectively deal with this toxic addition to daily life.

Water Test Kits

If you’re wondering whether a water source has chlorine in it, you can purchase water testing kits at your local pool supply store. They’re inexpensive and will tell you if that bottled water you’re buying is really free of chlorine or not.

We have two suggestions:

1. Reduce toxins as much as possible from your daily routine.
2. Supply your body with products that will de-tox and flush existing toxins from your system.

          

Copyright © Stephanie Relfe 2006 – 3000

Source:
www.relfe.com


 


excerpts from
Swim in Bottled Water
by Raymond Francis

Pools and spas are wonderful for exercise, relaxation and recreation, but they are also health hazards, especially to children. The major challenge with pools and spas is to keep the water clean and safe. The traditional answer to this challenge is to use chlorine. Chlorine is universally used to chemically disinfect water because it is a powerful oxidizing agent that kills germs, bacteria and other living organisms. Most people never give it a thought. Elected public officials assure us that chlorinated tap water is completely safe for human consumption. The truth is chlorine kills microorganisms because it is a very toxic chemical. Chlorine is also toxic to you, and you should not be drinking, bathing, swimming or soaking in it.

It has been estimated that the chlorine in the air of your shower contains up to 100 times the amount of chlorine that is in the water, because chlorine evaporates out of water at a relatively low temperature. If you bathe or shower in unfiltered tap water you are inhaling and absorbing chlorine into your body. In fact, research shows that the dangers of vaporized chlorine are 100 times greater through inhalation and bathing than drinking.

It is even worse when swimming in a chlorinated pool or soaking in a chlorinated spa. While a shower may take only a few minutes, children may spend hours playing in a pool and adults may spend long periods soaking in a spa. All that time, you are breathing in the fumes and absorbing chlorine through your skin.

While chlorine itself is dangerous, even more dangerous is that chlorine reacts with organic matter in the water and forms powerful carcinogens, called trihalomethanes, which are also inhaled and absorbed through the skin. These chemicals, also known as organochlorides, do not degrade easily and they bioaccumulate in the fatty tissues of the body (breast, other fatty areas, mother’s milk, blood and semen). In fact, women with breast cancer have 50 – 60 percent higher levels of organochlorides in their breast tissue than women without breast cancer.

When we drink water, only about 20 – 50 percent of these chemicals ingested are actually taken up into the body because of what happens to them in the digestive system. With skin absorption, virtually 100 percent of the contaminants can go directly into the bloodstream and accumulate in tissues.

Swimming in chlorinated water causes aggravated respiratory conditions such as asthma, dry and brittle hair, dry skin, rashes and eye irritations. Most important is what is happening at the cellular level. Chlorine readily passes through the cell wall and oxidizes the fatty acids of the cell, damaging DNA and disrupting life-sustaining functions.

Full article:
Beyond Health