When it comes to getting your daily fill of water, the safest option is drinking it from a store-bought bottle, right? New research suggests that isn’t true. In fact, tap water could actually be the much safer option of the two in most areas of the world.
This is according to a commentary published in the journal BMJ Global Health. According to researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine –Qatar, bottled water in the US is often not subject to the same rigorous quality and safety checks as tap water, meaning it can carry more harmful chemicals that have leached in from the plastic bottles.
It’s estimated that between 10 and 78 per cent of bottled water samples contain contaminants, including microplastics and other substances like phthalates (chemicals used to make plastics more durable). Microplastic contamination is associated with oxidative stress, immune system dysregulation and changes in fat levels.