The Alarming Reality About What’s Lurking in Your Tap Water

10% Of the samples of Nashville area tap water had 1.6 parts per billion of lead, the heavy metal lead, in the tap water. There is no safe level that exists of lead. Radon levels, which is extremely toxic, were 307 times higher than the Environmental Working Group's health guidelines.

382,000 Deaths in the United States annually from All right, so I do want to answer some questions that I get constantly about water, and that is— Hey, everyone. Dr. Josh Axe here. Welcome to the Growth Lab Podcast.

Today, I'll be uncovering what's actually in our tap water, and it may surprise you some of the toxic chemicals that are found in tap water in places like California, Nashville, Tennessee, which is my hometown here, and places like Florida and Texas. I'm gonna get into this today. Also, I'm gonna go through exactly what you should do in order to get clean water. Now, let me ask you a question.

Did you know that the glass of water you drank this morning may have been laced with a toxic cocktail of what's known as forever chemicals? And the EPA recently released a report that confirms that drinking water of over 25 million Americans is contaminated with what are called PFAS, known as, again, forever chemicals.

And PFAS exposure is linked to problems like cancer, obesity, brain and nervous system damage, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, decreased fertility rates, liver damage, and hormone disruption. And chemicals like lead, arsenic, mercury, and polyfluoroalkyl substances are being consistently detected in municipal water supplies at really surprising levels.

There was a study done by the US Geological Survey, and it estimates that at least one forever chemical, one of those PFAS, PFASs, is detected in 45% of US drinking water. Again, some of those PFASs can also include things like heavy metals.

Now, even concentrations that are deemed acceptable under current legal limits can accumulate in the body over time and lead to neurological disease, developmental issues, immunological and endocrine damage over time. So legal doesn't necessarily mean safe or ideal. And most water, while it might meet the EPA standards, but contaminants still far exceed safe levels.

Now, the EPA has stated that drinking water is a known source of lead exposure among children in the United States, particularly from corrosion of pipes in homes and other elements of drinking water distribution systems.

Now, the National Toxicology Program concluded that childhood lead exposure is associated with reduced brain function, reduced academic achievement, and increased attention-related behavioral problems like ADHD. And we see a lot of these conditions, everything from ADHD, autism, learning behavioral issues, and decreased performance in schools are continually on the rise.

So now I wanna share with you what they found in the water of some specific cities. And I wanted to start off with my hometown, Nashville, Tennessee, and what they found in the tap water there. According to a recent study, They found that Nashville tap water does in fact contain PFAS known as forever chemicals.

And even though these are regulated and routinely tested for, 10% of the samples of Nashville area tap water had 1.6 parts per billion of lead, the heavy metal lead, in the tap water, which is especially concerning for kids since there is no safe level That exists of lead.

Now, Nashville Public Schools have also been found to have very high levels of lead in tap water, including other things like chromium-6. Levels are found to be 4 to 6 times higher than the concentration deemed safe. And disinfectant byproducts like chloroform found in water have also been found in Nashville tap water and have an increase in Cancer risk.

And I want to mention this idea with, uh, or the term forever chemicals. Forever chemicals mean that these are waters that aren't necessarily filtered out easy by your own body. So heavy metals like mercury, it's very difficult and challenging for your body to get rid of lead and mercury if you are exposed to those toxic heavy metals.

Now I want to turn to the tap water in California, specifically Riverside, California. You know, uh, the Environmental Working Group Did a study and they found that radon levels, which is extremely toxic, were 307 times higher than the Environmental Working Group's health guidelines.

In addition, they found high levels of arsenic, levels detected at 172 times the EWG's health guidelines, and also high levels of chromium. Now I want to turn to Houston, Texas. Houston, Texas tap water had 500 times the EWG's health guidelines of halocytic acid and 528 times levels detected of arsenic. And we know arsenic has been linked to issues like cancer and other health issues.

We found a very similar thing in Philadelphia and their tap water in halocytic acid at 615 times, which is a known carcinogen. And I want to go over one more study here, and this has been an ongoing issue.

In fact, a study from the EHP— you'll notice here we're looking at many different tests here, Environmental Working Group, other studies, Environmental Health Perspectives Group here— and they found that exposure to these chemicals through drinking water was associated with 382,000 deaths in the United States annually from 1999 to 2015.

And that number has since decreased to approximately 70,000 deaths annually in recent years, which is still a very high number. And the way that you should really think about this is that these little chemicals over time, the arsenic, the mercury, the lead, the radon, they add up and they accumulate in your tissues over time. So drinking it once, you're probably not going to notice a difference.

But imagine drinking tap water in an area For 30, 40, 50, 60-plus years, in addition to other chemical exposures. And those just start to slowly accumulate over time. It's like a speck of sand and you have a big 5-gallon bucket.

Well, one speck you're not going to notice, but if you do that, if you add in a little bit of sand and a few of those specks every day for 60 years, eventually your toxic burden starts to overflow. And that's when you start to get— Sick. Health conditions that you start to notice, like brain fog, could be autoimmune disease, could be cancer, but these start to accumulate in the body over time.

Now, I want to talk to you about some solutions and things you can do to get clean water for yourself. And children is just as important, if not more important. You can go to the ewg.org, that's Environmental Working Group, ewg.org/tapwater, and type in your zip code. And you can find out the quality of tap water in your area.

And what I would suggest is focus on the things that move the needle the most. And the greatest thing you can do in order to get clean water is get an at-home water filter. Now, you can simply hook one up to a sink in your kitchen or a bathroom, and that's where you get all of your drinking water. You can also get a whole house filter.

I do want to mention, Most of these chemicals, they're gonna be— have the greatest absorption rate when you are drinking them. So you're gonna get much higher doses that way. I do wanna point out though, that if you're in an extremely toxic— your water's extremely toxic and you're showering or bathing and soaking in water, your skin is actually your body's largest organ.

And certain chemicals can get through your skin into your bloodstream and body, especially if it's very high doses over time. But I'd say if you're focusing on majors, The greatest thing you could do is simply just get a simple filtration system for your drinking water at home. Oftentimes, some of these filtration systems could be anywhere from $150 to— they can range to in the upper thousands.

But I know for myself, when Chelsea and I first got married and we didn't really have a lot of financial means, and myself when I first graduated college, I ended up buying a water filter that I believe was a reverse osmosis for my sink. And I want to say it was around $150 to $200.

And listen, for some people that can be a big investment, but if you can over time cut things out in order to get a water filter, it's extremely helpful. One of the things Chelsea and I have, as we've moved even recently, is we bought a Berkey water filter. Removes heavy metals like iron and lead and mercury. It removes pharmaceutical drug contaminants. It removes Fluorine and arsenic and rust.

It removes volatile organic compounds such as chlorine. And so, a Berkey filter is a really good option. All right, so I do want to answer some questions that I get constantly about water, and that is, should I consume hydrogen water or alkaline water or structured water or positively charged water? I want to say this, I think all of those types of water can be good.

In fact, I've used at home many times and drink water that's structured water, Structured water is believed to be more symmetrical, more similar to water you would get in a natural spring or stream, and could have more positive benefits on the body. Hydrogen water can reduce oxidative stress and could have many benefits, possibly even a couple benefits regarding anti-aging.

Alkaline water can help our body get more alkaline. However, I do believe that when it comes to alkaline water, We should be getting more alkaline minerals from our vegetables and our fruits and minerally dense foods and things like seaweed. It's better to get minerals there than our water supply in most cases.

So, all that being said, if you're going to invest in any sort of water system, first and foremost, invest in a water system that's going to get the fluoride and chlorine and radon and mercury and lead and all of those toxins out of your system, whether that be a Berkey or a reverse osmosis water filter. I invested in a whole house system years ago called pH Prescription.

So there are some really great water filtration systems that get the toxins out. And then on top of that, if you want to do hydrogen water or structured water or positive charge water, there absolutely can be some additional benefits there of those types of water. So hey, I'd love, love to hear from you.

And hey, I'd love to hear if you go on the Environmental Working Group I'm going to look that up. I'm going to put this in the keywords here. It's ewg.org/tapwater. I'd love to know what the tap water is like in your area and if there are any toxins above normal in your area. I shared what's high in my city, Nashville, Tennessee, but I'd love to hear from you.

I'd also love to hear from you your thoughts on some of your favorite things in order to help energize your water, or if you have any brands that you like for water filtration systems. And if you have a water filter that you drink out of, and even I'm also curious to know, notice if you notice a difference. Now, I can tell a difference if I'm drinking water.

I can really taste the chlorine oftentimes versus not if I don't have a filter. But again, I'm curious if you can tell the difference as well for yourself. So, hey, leave a comment in the comment sections below. I want to say, hey, thanks so much for listening. If you're not subscribed to the podcast, please subscribe.

And if you know someone else who needs to know this, for instance, if you live in a city like Nashville and you see some of the things in water that aren't good, hey, post it to your social media page or post this video so more people can learn the truth about they need to be drinking filtered water because these toxins accumulate over time. And I appreciate all of you.

Being on mission with me, uh, to help me spread the truth about how to best take care of our health, body, mind, and spirit. Hey, thanks so much for watching this video.