Category Archives: Food
Stop Buying Bottled Water! Here’s What to Do Instead
The average American spends about $100 on bottled water each year. Unfortunately, there’s little evidence that bottled water is safer or healthier than tap water.
First of all, many plastic bottles contain phthalates and other chemicals that affect endocrine function. Second, they leave a massive carbon footprint. On top of that, buying bottled water can be expensive in the long run.
Note that some bottled water brands use tap water. Although the tap water is treated, it may still contain bacteria and traces of heavy metals. Luckily, there are better options available.
Feeling confused? Here’s why you should stop buying bottled water and what to do instead!
Bottled Water May Not Be Safe
The safety of bottled water depends largely on the brand. These products are regulated by the FDA and must meet certain quality standards. But even so, the water may come from different sources, including local water supplies.
A recent study conducted on 47 bottled water brands has found that most of them had detectable levels of either heavy metals or PFAS.
Arsenic, lead, and other heavy metals may cause severe toxicity. These compounds have been linked to cancer, kidney damage, high blood pressure, and birth defects.
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are just as harmful. Over time, these chemicals may lead to hormonal imbalances, cancer, and liver problems. Plus, they tend to stay in the human body for years.
Plastic Bottles May Contain BPA
Another concern related to bottled water is the presence of bisphenol-A, or BPA. This synthetic compound is used in the manufacturing of plastic products and may affect human health.
BPA can leak into foods and beverages, making its way into your body. In one study, subjects who ate canned soup (which may contain this compound) every day for five days had 1,221% levels of BPA in the urine than those eating fresh soup.
Some brands are now offering BPA-free bottled water. Unfortunately, this option isn’t safer either. BPA-free bottles typically contain bisphenol-S or bisphenol-F, which have similar effects as bisphenol-A.
Note that bottled water is bad for the environment, too. Its entire life cycle contributes to pollution and global warming.
Switch to a Water Filtration System
Bottled water won’t necessarily improve your health or protect against diseases. As far as its taste goes, most consumers can’t tell the difference between bottled and tap water.
Whether you want to stay healthy, make savings, or reduce your carbon footprint, it’s worth switching to water filters. A quality water filtration system, like the ones at FilterSmart.com, will remove dirt, bacteria, chemicals, and heavy metals.
Filtered tap water will always be cheaper than bottled water. On top of that, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that you’re drinking clean water and protecting the environment.
While it’s true that a premium water filter may cost more upfront, you’ll save a fortune in the long run.
Stop Buying Bottled Water Once and for All
As you can see, buying bottled water is pretty much a waste of money. Most brands have detectable levels of chemicals and pollute the environment. Some are no better than tap water.
A whole house water filtration system offers more value for the money. It not only leads to cost savings but may also boost your health. Make the switch today—your future self will thank you!
In the meantime, check out the rest of our blog for other health tips. We’ll show you how to safely store water, how to get better sleep, and more!
Storing Water: How Long Does Water Keep in a Bottle?
Just about everything that you buy in a grocery store has an expiration date on it. From milk to meat to bread, you’re going to find expiration dates stamped on all of the items that you place into your cart.
Believe it or not, that will also go for bottled water in most instances. A lot of the companies that manufacture bottled water so that people can go about storing water include expiration dates on their products. And they do it for a bunch of good reasons.
If you’re someone who drinks bottled water on a regular basis or if you’ve gotten into the habit of storing tap water in water bottles in your home, you should be aware of what can happen to water over the course of a few months. It might make you think twice about drinking water that’s been in your home for a long period of time.
Continue reading to learn more.
Storing Water Can Make It Taste Stale
The first thing that you might notice when you take a swig of water that’s been stored for a long time is that it’ll often taste stale. While this water might not be bad for your health, it isn’t going to quench your thirst like fresh water will.
Water sometimes goes stale when carbon dioxide from the air finds its way into the water. This can make it a little bit more acidic than it would be otherwise, which leads to it developing a stale taste.
Storing water for too long could ruin it for you if this ever happens. It’s why you might want to steer clear of doing it.
It Can Also Become Contaminated by Plastic
As we just mentioned, stale water isn’t going to be too harmful to your health. It just won’t taste great.
Water that has been contaminated by plastic, on the other hand, can cause health complications. It’s why you should stay away from storing water for more than six months or so.
When you store water in plastic bottles, the plastic from these bottles can get into the water. You can then move this plastic into your body by drinking it and it can build up over time. It could potentially harm your gut health and cause respiratory issues at the same time.
This is another reason why you should try not to keep water bottles around for long stretches of time.
It Could Even Lead to Bacterial Growth
If you’re going to store water, it’s important to do it in the right way. You need to keep it sealed up tight in a cool, dark area where it won’t be exposed to any air or sunlight.
If you don’t seal water bottles up properly, bacteria might be able to get into them and wreak havoc on the water. This could obviously be very bad for your health if you then drink water with bacteria in it.
It’s one more reason you might want to think about refilling a water bottle every day and drinking from that rather than drinking from water bottles that have been sitting around for months on end. Click here to pick up a great water bottle for yourself.
Keeping Water in a Bottle for Too Long Could Be Very Bad for Your Health
You might be able to get away with storing water for more than six months without doing any harm to it. Water doesn’t technically expire like most other things.
But why risk it? You could be forced to deal with any or even all of the issues listed here when storing tap water or keeping old bottled water around. You’re better off drinking fresh water as often as you can.
Find more great health and wellness tips in the other articles on our blog.
8 Uncommon Items for Your Next Backyard Summer Party
Wherever you are in the world, you need to make sure that when the time comes, you are ready to throw the best backyard summer party ever. Make it memorable by injecting some personality into it with some unique, quirky party pieces!
Here’s a list of 8 uncommon items for throwing great summer parties!
1. Dog-Friendly Hamburger Patties
Let’s not forget that our pets need to eat too! Now you can buy pet-safe barbecue food, so your favorite fluffy friend doesn’t need to feel left out anymore!
2. Pirate Den Making Kit
Check out this arrr’some pirate den kit! Kids have always loved tearing up the sofa to create their own mini houses, and kids love new things, so why not satisfy both with a pirate den kit!
This is a great way to keep kids entertained while you set up some of the other gadgets and quirky party pieces we’ve suggested below.
3. Retro Slush Puppie Machine
A retro Slush Puppie machine will go down a treat with adults and kids alike!
When it’s too hot, and you want to cool down, there’s nothing quite like a sweet, refreshing throwback to those times you got brain freeze for the first time.
4. Rent a Waterslide and Get Wet
Yes, you can really do this!
There’s no better way to keep cool while having fun than a waterslide. Unleash your inner child and see how far you can slide. Waterslide rentals for next summer are expected to book up quickly, so it’s worth looking into to make sure you don’t miss out on the fun!
5. Novelty Aprons
Show your guests who’s cooking! Novelty aprons are a great way to make your nominated chefs stand out with pride as they toss meat over the barbecue to their heart’s content.
6. Flamingo Toss Ring Game
Ever felt like tossing a ring over a flamingo?
We don’t think a real flamingo would enjoy it, but now you can satisfy those desires with this ultimate party game. Quick set up, and great fun for everyone to enjoy!
7. Food That Doesn’t Look Like Food
Here’s one you can try and make yourself, but it might end up looking inedible either way.
If you’re a great chef, baker, or sculptor, see if you can make some delicious treats that look like something completely different. Maybe you want to create a cake that looks like a sombrero or a remote-control shaped burger?
This may be the golden ticket to Rememberville you’ve been looking for!
8. Giant Inflatable Iceberg
If you happen to own a small ocean (don’t we all), the giant inflatable iceberg will make your party stand out way more than the 10% a real iceberg stands out.
Don’t forget to purchase some lifejackets too! Otherwise, your party will end up sinking like the Titanic.
A Backyard Summer Party to Remember
Whatever it is that life throws at you, whether that’s viruses or a poor work-life balance, it’s more important to share quality time with friends and family than ever. Bring on the backyard Summer party!
Keep clicking for more top tips!
Roasted Veggie Grain Platter
Hi, David here. I’ll get to the recipe soon but first I just wanted to share a little scene from last night. Isac was watching a baking program for kids and as I was tucking him in, he thoroughly explained the whole process of making croissants to me. ”You have so much butter in croissants, dad. Like, a lot. You put it on the dough and fold it over the butter like this. And you hit it with the rolling pin like this, bam bam bam”. When it comes to numbers and letters, he can be a little clueless, but Read More
Source:: Green Kitchen Stories
Hippie Pizza + video
Two things spinned in my head when I woke up Wednesday morning. Both were related to pizza. I had fallen asleep while watching the first episode of David Chang’s new Netflix series Ugly Delicious. Pizza and authenticity was the theme but the first thought in my head was actually pie. Chang visits a pizza chef in Brooklyn that makes a case for traditional American-Italian toppings but what fascinated me more than his arguments was that he always referred to his pizzas as ”pies”. Apparently they sometimes do that in the US. Why did I not know that? I’m gonna say Read More
Source:: Green Kitchen Stories
