In this article, you learn:
- Clean and quality water is key to pro athlete performance
- The toxins found in most tap water sources
- The best filtered water brands
As athletes, you are well aware that consistent hydration is essential. It’s vital for your performance. That’s why making sure your water is pure and contaminant-free is also vitally important?
In order to ensure that your water benefits your body in a way that promotes your athletic goals and objectives and health, you need to make sure it’s free of toxins and pollutants.
What's up with my water?
While some of you may have heard that filtered water is healthier, you may not realize to what extent and why! Most tap water contains unsafe levels of toxins and pollutants, including heavy metals, bacteria, viruses (yes, viruses), pharmaceuticals, pesticides, petroleum, fluoride, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and more. Our good friends at Clearly Filtered wrote about the different sources of water contamination common today, along with resources to get information about your own tap water. But for those of you short on time, here’s a quick summary…
Tap water is dirty
The tap water you drink essentially comes from two sources—surface water (water from lakes, rivers, and streams) and groundwater (water from underground aquifers accessed through drilling wells). Both of these sources pose different opportunities for contamination before or after passing through water treatment. Things like agriculture, wastewater, and industry run-off pollute water with harsh chemicals (many of which don’t have established legal limits so there is no way to know if the amount in our water is even safe to begin with). Additionally, there are thousands of new contaminants being monitored by the EPA that aren’t regulated yet, so the water treatment facilities may not make efforts to control them.
In short, you can’t always rely on the fact that your water passes through a water treatment facility to know that it’s contaminant-free and best for your health and performance.
Filtration is key
In order to protect your health and performance, you must take action at home. Filtration is key to your body’s success. If the thought of rigging up your home with an entire filtration system is overwhelming or the costs are too expensive, a perfect first step would be focusing solely on your drinking water. Choosing a filter for the water you consume will reduce the chemical load on your body to optimize your performance in training and your overall health.
SportFuel® Approved Brands
Our two favorite reliable water filtration companies are Berkey Filters and Clearly Filtered. We love them so much we use them in our own homes!
Berkey Filters wants to help you treat water and your body with the respect it deserves. Offering free standing gravity water purification systems and water bottles, Berkey makes filtering water easy and effective (their systems can even purify raw, untreated freshwater).
Clearly Filtered is on a mission to empower people with the tools to take control of their water so that they can live healthier lives. WIth filtered pitchers, water bottles, under the sink and refrigerator filters, the company removes the worry from your water source.
