Tap Water and Sleep: A Couple Interesting Factoids

Two things our bodies need to function: Water and Sleep

Here are some interesting things I've come across that, while I'm glad I did, totally freaked me out as.  First, about tap water.  A friend of mine who is an RN in California sent me an email a while back in response to my earlier blog on drinking water.  Check out what she had to say:

"Your post about drinking water reminded me of my luxurious tour of the San Francisco water sewage treatment facility. Very interesting. I learned more about the sources of water collection: street run-off, water from mills and industries, etc. As I learned how the water is collected and 'purified,' I realized just how many chemicals we might be drinking in our water from car oil to paint thinner. And it doesn't stop at our drinking water. The 'solid waste' is put in vat so to speak, where anaerobic bacteria eat the bacteria that can harm us. Once it's through this process, it is converted into fertilizer to be spread on our commercial crops, and sold in nurseries.

"Although many people (including the tour guides of the treatment plant) think this is very efficient and resourceful, I'm really concerned about this practice. As I was thinking of all the chemicals and toxins that are in this solid waste, I asked the marine-biologist who was one of the guides of our tour, if she was concerned at all about what chemicals might be dumped on our soils, and into our food. She really didn't have a response. So, when you buy commercial veggies and fruits, keep in mind that fertilizers such as solid waste are most likely used to grow those foods. Bacteria may not be an issue, but detergents and soaps, bleach, gasoline and oil that drip from cars, recreational and prescribed drugs that are excreted, caffeine that is excreted, cigarette butts that litter our streets (are are filled with hundreds of chemicals), not to mention who knows what other chemicals that are dumped by households and industries, are all going into our commercial food (not sure of the percentage, but my understanding at this tour was that most commercial food growers use this to fertilize), and into our recycled water. Lovely isn't it? I've read a couple of studies that have tested for drugs that are in our recycled water, but I'd like to look for studies that test for a broader range of chemicals in our water and fertilizers."

Whew eee!  If you needed a wake-up call or an excuse to examine the water you drink on a daily basis, there you go!

The second topic of this post: Sleep

How often do you wash and/or replace your pillow?  I read a recent study relating some pretty disturbing information about bugs, feces, dead skin, among other nastiness that hang our in pillows despite the nice, clean, fabric softener-smelling pillow cases we put on them.  You can read the whole story here.

I recently got a new pillow from IKEA that is specifically designed for side sleepers, like myself.  It has been awesome and it was only $9.99 in-store, online it is 14.99 (I don't get any kickbacks from IKEA; I wish!).  The better sleep I've gotten since has been well worth the already-reasonable price.

Another pillow that is endorsed by tons of people, including hotels in Laughlin, NV that stock only that pillow in their hotels is My Pillow.  I haven't gotten one yet but I intend to--they take a whole assessment of your body/sleep habit (side, back, etc.) and totally guarantee their pillow.  In fact, the people that visit the Laughlin hotel are the most frequent customers of My Pillow, the company says, as they experience great sleep when they visit the hotels and want it still when they get back home

So there you have it; a couple factoids that will definitely aid you on your quest for health!

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Food for Thought: Drinking Water and High Fructose Corn Syrup

Here are some of the latest things I have come across--not a recipe, but definitely a direct ingredient in them!
Drinking Water: 
Have you ever wondered where all the prescriptions go once they are peed out, go down the drain, and head to the treatment facility?  Do they REALLY get filtered out completely?  What would be the ramifications of drinking recycled/treated water that still had everyone's prescriptions in it?  I don't have all the answers to this, but incidence of infertility around me has me thinking that something "might be in the water".... Is it possible that we are being potentially poisoned by degrees as we ingest a multitude of chemicals?  Could the fact that our body is made up of such a huge percentage of water be resulting in increased cancer rates?  What is REALLY in our drinking water.  Long story short:  I buy and drink distilled water.  To ensure that I get all my vitamins and minerals, I take a multivitamin and eat a balanced diet.  The end.  Somehow I sleep better at night knowing that I am not POTENTIALLY drinking medications that haven't made it out of the water supply.

Optimum Health: Back to the Family Farm of a Hundred Years Ago:
For optimum health we should all go back about a hundred years to the family farm--majors foods weren't controlled by huge conglomerates; chemicals weren't used; food was perishible (instead of having chemicals in them that gave them a shelf life longer than our life span); and best of all, food was in the raw--no antibiotics, no hormones.  It isn't a wonder then with the addition of all these things, including GMO foods, that we have an increase in infertility, cancers, obesity, and generally a sense of "I just don't feel so great."  I have decided to eliminate these things in my diet as much as possible.  Specifically being eliminated at the moment in my life is HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP.  It is in everything, and some claim that it messes with the nerve pathways in the body....great.  My challenge to you is to go through your fridge, cupboards, and anywhere else you store your food and look on every lable for the presence of HFCS.  When those items run out, I challenge you to find an alternative that has good, old fashioned sugar or cane juice in it instead of the HFCS.  Your body will thank you, and as long as you regularly brush your teeth, you shouldn't be concerned it will ruin your teeth.  Frankly, I think HFCS is sweeter and more damaging than sugar could ever be.

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