Tap vs. Bottled Water: Which Has Fewer Plastic Particles?
Bottled water might be marketed as the 'cleaner' choice, but a study from The Ohio State University suggests otherwise. It's a good reason to stop reaching for bottled water - particularly when you are not at home and that feels like the only option.
Researchers compared six bottled water brands to treated tap water coming from four plants near Lake Erie. The bottled water was found to have 3x the amount of nanoplastic particles in it compared to the tap water.
These might have been added to the water from twisting the bottle cap open and closed, contamination from manufacturing, or heat the bottle might have been exposed to before it got to you.
While the full impacts of nanoparticles on human health are unclear, they have been found in almost every type of human tissue including the brain. They're thought to affect "cell stress" like other particulate pollutants do, in the form of oxidative stress and inflammation.
If you want to ingest as few of these as possible, drink water types in this order:
- Filtered water
- Tap water
- Bottled water
For filtered water, our top recommendation is British Berkefeld for their water filters and stainless steel containers, which we've used for years. They give the best combination of price, reliability (independent 3rd party testing), and zero installation hassle. While reverse osmosis can remove even smaller particles, it uses a plastic membrane and tubes; more research is needed to see if that is in of itself an issue.
Source: "What's in your water? More plastic than you realize, new study suggests", The Ohio State University College of Engineering