Yahoo!Shine recently posted an article listing bottled water brands from highest to lowest qualities.  Of course, this list does come with an asterik, as filtered water from the tap in one’s home is purer than anything provided by bottled water companies.  The Environmental Working Group (EWG) gave filtered tap water the best grade (an A).  Not only is filtered tap water purer than bottled water, it can save you copious amounts of money (bottled water can cost up to 1,900 times more than what flows from your tap)!

Tap water is tested regularly and consumers can easily find information on their local water online.  That’s not necessarily the case with disposable bottled water, which is not required to disclose that information to consumers.

Frostbite and hypothermia are not the only health hazards associated with frigid temperatures. Cold weather studies at the University of New Hampshire show increased risk for dehydration, a condition more commonly associated with hot weather.  People tend not to feel as thirsty when the weather is cold.  When they don’t feel thirsty, they don’t drink as much, and this causes dehydration.   We also lose a great deal of water from our bodies in the winter due to respiratory fluid loss through breathing.  Our bodies also are working harder under the weight of extra clothing, and sweat evaporates quickly in cold, dry air.  This is why it is extremely important to drink plenty of water, especially when exercising or working outdoors.

New information regarding the health effects of BPA never seems to stop coming.  This time, BPA has been found to be associated with increased weight and, incidentally,  serious illnesses linked to obesity.  Researchers in China found that adults over the age of 40 with high levels of BPA in urine samples tend to be obese, have more abdominal fat and are insulin resistant.  BPA is used primarily to make plastics, including disposable plastic water bottles, and at least 8 billion pounds of BPA are used by manufacturers yearly.

Many people tend to look at obesity as a cosmetic problem without considering the many related illnesses that go along with it.  Obesity-related illness results in hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths each year in the United States and billions of dollars in health care costs.  Being obese causes an increased risk for developing a number of serious and potentially fatal health problems including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

A prior study published by The Journal of the American Medical Association reveals the same link between BPA and metabolic disorders, consistent with this new research.