You may associate the words “all natural” with a healthy advantage when it comes to food, but when it comes to water, some people are taking it to the extreme.
A new health trend hitting the nation called “raw water” describes water that hasn’t been treated at a utility and is sold in glass bottles for a significant cost. Essentially, companies are getting groundwater, river water or water from other bodies — liquid that could be grabbed by anyone living near a source of water — and selling it as a naturally probiotic product. Start-ups claim the chemical treatment of water kills bacteria, including healthy bacteria. By avoiding this process, the raw water contains only what nature intended.
But an article from The Los Angeles Times says it all in the headline: Raw water is the gross new health trend that could kill you. Besides hurting your wallet — the newspaper said a nearly three-gallon jug sells for $37 — the raw water movement might be hurting your body. Though it’s proclaimed to be raw and may appear crystal clear, the harm is in what you’re not able to see. The untreated water could include bacteria, viruses or parasites.
According to the World Health Organization, contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to the transmission of diseases like cholera, diarrhea, typhoid and polio, among others. It’s estimated that about 502,000 diarrheal deaths each year are caused by contaminated drinking water.
While many people rely on wells on their property for drinking water and use filters that capture most of the contaminants, experts say there are many reasons to let this raw water fad fade away.