Healing Strategies:
What to Subtract
Healing Strategies:
What to Add
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In 2004, the Stackelberg study found several compounds, including  
prescription and non-prescription drugs and their metabolites, fragrance
compounds, flame retardants and plasticizers, cosmetic compounds, and a
solvent, apparently that all resisted removal through conventional
water-treatment processes.  Although these amounts were low, drinking water
criteria are based on the toxicity of individual compounds, and little is known
about potential health effects associated with chronic exposure to trace levels
of these multiple compounds.  

Healing Strategies: Get the Purest Water



Finding the cleanest water is one of the most important Subtraction Strategies a
person facing a serious illness can employ because most public water supplies
contain known contaminants. Part of the subtraction process involves making sure
Fluoride and Chlorine are eliminated from the household water so the bodily organs
can function uncompromised.

The Environmental Working Group Organization  (www.ewg.org) reports that the
states, under the mandate of the Safe Water and Drinking Water Act, compiled 260
contaminants as being detected in drinking water between 1998 and 2003.  Of those
260 contaminants, 141 contaminants were found to have no safety standards which
means that they were unregulated contaminants.  119  other contaminants that were
found were regulated did have safety standards.

The body's water supply is responsible for and involved in nearly every bodily
process, including digestion, absorption, circulation and excretion.  Water is also the
primary transporter of nutrients throughout the body and so is necessary for all
building functions in the body.










One regulated contaminant to consider subtracting is Fluoride.

Hot News:   The EPA standard for fluoride in the water has just been reviewed, and
fluoride is also the subject of a new study.  

The National Academies' National Research Council reviewed the EPA's standard
for fluoride - a maximum of 4 milligrams of fluoride per liter of  drinking water - and
made the following findings in a report in March 2006:  Children exposed to the
current maximum allowable concentration risk developing severe tooth enamel
fluorosis, a condition characterized by discoloration, enamel loss, and pitting of the
teeth. Plus, the committee found that people who consume water containing that
much fluoride over a lifetime are likely at increased risk for bone fracture.  
Conclusion:  The maximum level of fluoride allowed in the water does not protect
against adverse health effects.

Fluoride's carcinogenic potential is explored in a new study. Boys who drink water
with levels of fluoride considered safe by federal guidelines are five times more likely
to have a rare bone cancer called osteosarcoma than boys who drink unfluoridated
water.(See Bassin E., et al., Age-Specific Fluoride Exposure in Drinking Water and
Osteosarcoma, Cancer Causes and Control 2006.)

One unregulated contaminant to consider subtracting is Perchlorate

Hot News:  In March 2006, the Environmental Working Group Organization reported
that perchlorate has contaminated the water and soil in at least 35 states, but the
EPA has no timetable to set a national standard - the maximum contaminant level
(MCL) - for perchlorate.  

Perchlorate, the explosive ingredient in solid rocket fuel, is a thyroid toxin.
Groundbreaking research has found the perchlorate in lettuce, supermarket milk,
and human milk.  The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
in 2005 found perchlorate in the urine of every one of 61 Atlanta residents tested,
even though the levels in the water there were very low.  The EWG is calling for the
EPA to set national standards for perchlorate.

Also, the EWG notes that many water companies are switching away from chlorine
as a disinfectant - which yields byproducts like trihalomethanes - to other products
as disinfectants. Trihalomethanes pose problems.  According to the EPA, an excess
of trihalomethanes over the MCL may cause people to experience liver, kidney,
central nervous problems, and may even cause cancer. And now these alternate
disinfectant chemicals or mixtures of disinfectants themselves are unstudied for
disinfectant byproducts.  Other problems with water include lead leaching into the
water from the pipes in houses.

Exploring Types of Drinking Water:  
  • Have your tap water tested to ensure that it is safe to drink. In addition to tap
    water, there are many different types of drinking water to explore and no easy
    solutions. If you do choose to drink water out of  plastic bottles, use heavy
    plastic bottles that are less likely to leach, those bottles with a triangle on the
    bottom with the number 2.

  • Boiling Water:  Boiling water long enough in an emergency may kill
    pathogens, but the process of boiling the water may result in the
    concentration of some of the harmful contaminants.

  • Spring Water:  Springs occur where water-laden rock layers (aquifers) reach
    the surface.  Water will flow from a well whose head is below the water table.

  • Mineral Water:  Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved
    substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value.  Salts, sulfur
    compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in
    the water. Mineral water can often be effervescent.

  • Distilled Water:  Distilled water is water that has had virtually all of its
    impurities removed through distillation (boiling the water and re-condensing
    the steam into liquid water).  The drinking of distilled water has been both
    advocated and discouraged for the purported effect of drinking water in its
    pure form is a more powerful solvent that helps cleanse toxins from the body.
    Detractors argue that it robs the body of essential minerals in this way and
    also deprives it of minerals normally acquired from drinking water.  

  • Reverse Osmosis:  A reverse osmosis unit substantially reduces most
    suspended and dissolved matter from water.  Contaminants are removed by
    forcing water through a membrane having microscopic holes that allow water
    molecules, but not larger compounds, to pass through.  Water flushes away
    the contaminants held by the membrane.  Membranes are made of a variety
    of materials that differ in effectiveness  for different chemicals.  Although
    reverse osmosis removes many organic chemicals, it does not remove all.  
    For instance, it will not remove chloroform.  And it does not remove 100% of
    all chemicals.  

This website is intended as information only. The editors of this site are not medically-trained.
Please consult your licensed health care practitioner before implementing any health strategy.
The information provided on this site is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that
exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her existing physician. This site accepts no
advertising. The contents of this site are copyrighted 2006 by Breast Cancer Choices, Inc.
Contact us for reprint permission.
Website updated January 6, 2008
In 2004, the Stackelberg study found several compounds, including  
prescription and non-prescription drugs and their metabolites, fragrance
compounds, flame retardants and plasticizers, cosmetic compounds, and a
solvent, apparently that all resisted removal through conventional
water-treatment processes.  Although these amounts were low, drinking water
criteria are based on the toxicity of individual compounds, and little is known
about potential health effects associated with chronic exposure to trace levels
of these multiple compounds.  
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