Breast Cancer Choices Detox Strategies

Scrutinizing the evidence for breast
cancer procedures and treatments

Detox Strategies - Water

Key Subtraction

Strateg

: 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.

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

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.