Dutch drinking water is actually already quite good. But… Contamination is becoming more and more common in tap water. For example, residues of heavy metals, chemicals, hormones, residues of medicines and weed killers are found. So for your health it is not an unnecessary luxury to filter your tap water.
Do you drink healthy
Because the basis of good health starts with good hydration. After all, we are mostly made up of water. Drinking enough water is extremely important for our body to function optimally. If you sometimes suffer from the following symptoms, it could be that your body is not sufficiently hydrated:
- dizzy, nervous and tired
- muscle cramps
- dry mouth and skin
- constipation
- headache
Why filter?
Although the Dutch tap water actually scores very well, there still appears to be a considerable degree of contamination. For example, amounts of the following substances are found in our drinking water:
- PFAS, these are man-made chemicals used in lubricants, food packaging, nonstick coatings, firefighting foam, water-resistant textiles and cosmetics. These substances are also called ‘forever chemicals’. They do not break down and end up in the environment. PFAS are related to cancer and other physical conditions.
- Glyphosate, a pesticide used in agriculture to control weeds. This substance ends up in groundwater and eventually in our drinking water sources.
- Heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and aluminium. Lead enters our drinking water through old lead drinking water pipes.
- Remnants of drugs. According to the RIVM , it is estimated that at least 140 tons of drug residues are discharged into surface water in the Netherlands alone per year.
- Hormones and pseudohormones (including plasticizers from plastics)
- Microplastics. These are mainly found in bottled water (another good reason to switch to a glass drinking bottle ), but it is also found in tap water. From plastic waste in nature, microplastics end up in groundwater.
Advantages of a water filter
If you want to prevent all these substances from ending up in your body through your drinking water, it is advisable to filter your drinking water. The ZeroWater filter is the solution for this. This removes all dissolved substances from the water, so that nothing remains in your drinking water. The ZeroWater filter filters lime, lead, chlorine, glyphosate, PFAS (PFOS / PFOA) and micro plastics and ensures a pure, pure taste. The 5-stage filter removes more impurities from the water than the 2-stage filter of any other brand.
Additional advantages are that the water tastes better (and therefore also your coffee and tea) and you never have to descale your kettle / coffee maker again. Because if you only use filtered water in your devices, you will no longer suffer from limescale.
Tip: add minerals
It is true that the ZeroWater filter also filters all minerals from the water. This filters all dissolved substances from the water and cannot make a distinction. This is easily solved by adding minerals to your drinking water yourself (this is a good idea anyway, even if you do not filter your water). Water needs minerals to be absorbed into our cells. Otherwise, it washes through our body, as it were, and ends up in the bladder without really moisturizing. Therefore, add some celtic sea salt to your water. The ratio here is about 1/4 teaspoon per liter of water. The water should not taste salty. Then you use too much salt.
References:
- https://www.rivm.nl/publicaties/pfas-in-nederlands-drinkwater-vergeleken-met-nieuwe-europese-drinkwaterrichtlijn
- https://www.rivm.nl/sites/default/files/2023-10/Factsheet-volksziekten-en-leefomgeving.pdf
- https://www.rivm.nl/bibliotheek/rapporten/2020-0179.pdf
- https://www.uva.nl/content/nieuws/nieuwsberichten/2023/02/pfas-in-drinkwater.html?cb
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8949383/
