Prevent Cancer Using Water Filters
Every day, cases of cancer are rising in astounding and unprecedented
numbers. While medical professionals work tirelessly to find a cure for this
most deadly of diseases, the numbers of terminally ill patients continue to
climb. Although the cure for cancer continues to elude medical professionals, it
is completely within our own power to protect our families and ourselves and to
reduce our risks whenever possible.
In recent years, individuals have begun to seriously examine known carcinogens
and to protect themselves from these cancer causing agents. Sunscreen has become
an important defense against skin cancer, and its use is on the rise. The number
of smokers attempting to quit rises each day, precisely because of new
information about the carcinogenic nature of cigarettes. The increase in such
protective behaviors clearly indicates an increased interest in protecting
oneself from cancer risks.
Still, droves of people continue to use and drink unfiltered tap water, not
knowing about or not believing in the insidious nature of this substance.
Whether we like it or not, the water that emerges from our taps, however
pristine it may appear, is filled with carcinogenic compounds. A simple water
filter can now serve as a valuable safeguard against cancer.
Chlorine and Tap Water:
Untreated tap water is filled with such dangerous contaminants as nitrate,
arsenic, microorganisms, and chemicals from pesticide runoff. Once this water
reaches a municipal treatment plant, many contaminants are removed. However, one
of the most dangerous contaminants is actually added to drinking water as a part
of the treatment process.
Chlorine, added as an inexpensive and effective drinking water disinfectant, is
also a known poison to the body. It is certainly no coincidence that chlorine
gas was used with deadly effectiveness as a weapon in the First World War. This
gas was known to severely burn the lungs and other body tissues when inhaled; it
is no less powerful when ingested by mouth. Each day, as we use unfiltered tap
water, we are effectively pouring bleach into our water before we drink it.
This poisonous chemical, accompanied by its byproducts, is now known to cause at
least three types of cancers, among other serious health problems. The U.S.
Council of Environmental Quality recently released a report stating that the
risk of cancer is 93% higher among those drinking chlorinated water than among
those not drinking chlorinated water! In the following paragraphs, you can read
about the specific cancer risks of chlorinated water and learn how to protect
your family and yourself from this insidious poison.
Bladder and Rectal Cancer:
Chlorine has long been known to be a leading cause of bladder and rectal cancer.
Once in water, chlorine interacts with organic compounds to create
trihalomethanes (THMs). These THMs are particularly harmful to the body when
ingested. When taken into the body, THMs encourage the production of free
radicals. These free radicals proceed to destroy or damage vital cells in the
body. Because so much of the water we drink ends up in the bladder and/or
rectum, ingestions of THMs in drinking water is particularly damaging to these
organs. THMs cause innumerable cases of bladder and rectal cancer each year.
Bladder and rectal cancer occur when malignant cells, often created by THMs,
infect the inner tissues of the particular organ. Once they have taken hold in
the bladder or rectum, the malignant cells can isolate themselves in the
infected area or they can spread to infect other areas of the body, potentially
causing more deadly forms of cancer. Each year, 13,000 new cases of bladder
cancer are diagnosed in women while 37,000 new cases are diagnosed in men. Of
these 50,000 new cases each year, slightly more than 20% of individuals will die
from the disease. For rectal cancer, more than 40,000 new cases are diagnosed
each year and approximately 55% of those individuals diagnosed will die from the
disease.
Ironically, one of the best means of protection against these two types of
cancer is drinking plenty of fluids. However, drinking larger amounts of
contaminated water only exacerbates the risk.
Breast Cancer:
Breast cancer is the newest type of cancer to be connected to ingestion of
chlorinated water. Breast cancer affects one out of every eight women in the
United States alone, and it kills approximately _ of its victims. Recent
research has linked this deadly cancer to a buildup of chlorine compounds in the
breast tissue. In a shocking study conducted in Hartford, Connecticut,
researchers found that “women with breast cancer have 50% to 60% higher levels
of organochlorines (chlorination byproducts) in their breast tissue than women
without breast cancer.” While chlorine can make its way into our bodies in
several ways, there is no means of access more common or more frequent than the
ingestion of common, unfiltered tap water.
A Simple Solution:
One preventive solution to these three deadly cancers could not be simpler. If
chlorinated drinking water is a leading cause of cancer, then the obvious method
of reducing one’s risk of cancer is to refrain from drinking chlorinated water.
We cannot choose whether or not to drink water, but we can choose the type of
water we allow into our bodies.
Municipal water treatment plants add chlorine to water to help make it cleaner
and more pure, but once that chlorine has performed its function, there is
certainly no reason for it to continue its deadly presence in drinking water. A
simple home water filter removes chlorine and its byproducts from drinking
water, producing clean, pure drinking water that can also serve as a useful
protection against cancer. Water filters are one of the only methods of water
purification capable of removing
chlorine.
So, what can a water filter do for you? The answer is simple but extremely
valuable. A water filter can protect an individual from cancer, one of the
deadliest killers of the 20th century.
About the Author
Vanessa Lausch serves as a technical writer for the Aquasana Store,
http://www.aquasanastore.com/
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