"That's What's In My Drinking Water?!?"

Look at the picture below. I recently changed the filters cartridges in my water filter and was shocked at just how dirty they were. The 2 filters on the bottom are the old ones (my water filter uses dual filtration technology). I put the new filters above them so you can compare the two.

Just look at those old filters, the one is almost black!

Why You Want a Dual Filter System

You can see why it's best to have a dual filter system because one filter just won't cut it.

I spent weeks researching filters before making my final choice and those pitcher style and clunky plastic charcoal filters made by Britta and Pur don't even come close to removing the nasty stuff found in tap water. Things like..

• Parasites
• Lead
• Chlorine
• Human Waste (Feces)
• Industrial Waste
• Pesticides

Reverse osmosis filters weren't good either. They're expensive, and hard to install. Reverse osmosis filters also remove the good minerals like calcium from the water, and they're very wasteful. On average they waste 3 gallons of water for every 1 gallon they filter.

I also looked in to...

Water Distillers: These are extremely slow, taking hours to produce a small amount of clean water. They can't be attached to your sink. They use allot of electricity, and there's also some concern that distilled water is unhealthy because it strips the water of vital minerals

UltraViolet Water Filters: I was surprised they made these for non-industrial use, but they do. These are good for zapping any living organisms but dependability and maintenance are a big problem with this type of filter due to all the electronics involved

Water Ionizers (Alkaline Water Filters): I was curious about these because they claimed to alkalinize the water, and I'm a big fan of the Alkaline Diet. Then I saw the price. These filters were all selling for $1,000+. Maybe someday, but not today.

The water filter I decided on was the Aquasana AQ-4000 single faucet filter and the AQ-4100 shower filter.

I wasn't looking at buying a shower filter, but they give you discount when you order the faucet and shower filter from the website www.aquasan.com

On a side note since using the shower filter my skin is much softer.

They also have whole house water filters, but I live in a condo and can't tap in to the main water line, which is unfortunate because I would love to have healthy filtered water flowing from every faucet in my house.

The Water Tastes Simply Amazing

I poured myself a glass of non-filtered water from my bathroom sink just to see if I could taste the difference, and wow, talk about a night and day difference. I could smell the chlorine vapors coming off the non filtered water, and the taste was just awful.

Even bottled water tastes flat with a chemical after taste compared to the water I get using the Aquasana water filter.

I will never go back to drinking unfiltered water. Just looking at that used filter pictured above makes me wonder just how much damage people are doing to their body by drinking pollution filled tap water.

The nice thing is switching to filtered water can instantly remove that health risk from your life, and you can immediately start to reap the benefits of consuming pure drinking water.

"But I Drink Bottled Water"

Bottled water is a rip-off, at least according to ABC's venerable news show 20/20:

"20/20" took five bottles of national brands of bottled water and a sample of tap water from a drinking fountain in the middle of New York City and sent them to microbiologist Aaron Margolin of the University of New Hampshire to test for bacteria that can make you sick, like e. coli.

"There was actually no difference between the New York City tap water and the bottled waters that we evaluated," he said.

And this is from the Natural Resource Defense Council:

"In fact, about one-fourth of bottled water is actually bottled tap water, according to government and industry estimates (some estimates go as high as 40 percent). And FDA rules allow bottlers to call their product "spring water" even though it may be brought to the surface using a pumped well, and it may be treated with chemicals.

But the actual source of water is not always made clear -- some bottled water marketing is misleading, implying the water comes from pristine sources when it does not."

Evian Spelled Backwords Is Naive

So now you know bottled water is not much more then plain old tap water, so why are people paying $1, $2, or even $5 a bottle?

Good question. If I had to guess I would say it's clever marketing on the part of the billion dollar corporations selling the water - and laughing all the way to the bank as consumers shell out big bucks for city water in a fancy bottle.

If you're a bottled water drinker and you're upset that you've been paying good money for low quality water I don't blame you, but you can start saving all that money by switching to filtered water.

High Quality Water For Just Pennies a Gallon

Besides the dual filtration technology, the other reason I choose the Aquasana water filter was the low cost of ownership.

Some water filters sell you the actual unit for next to nothing then charge outrageous prices for the replacement filters, not Aquasana.

You can get the actual filter unit with a fresh set of filters, and all the attachments you'll need to hook it up to your sink (it only takes 5 minutes and no special tools) for less than $100.

The filters last approximately 6 months (or 500 gallons of filtered water) and the replacement filters cost about $50 when you order directly from the Aquasana website www.aquasana.com

So you'll be getting pristine drinking water for around $0.10 a gallon! Plus you won't have to lug those cases of bottled water home from the store, or run to the gas station every time you're thirsty.

Not only that, but...

By Saying NO To Bottled Water You'll Be Helping Save The Environment

It's bad enough the discarded plastic water bottles pollute our landscape and clog our landfills with non-biodegradable plastic, but the bottled water industry also relies heavily on oil.

Here's what the New York Times had to say about it...

"The argument centers not on water, but oil. It takes 1.5 million barrels a year just to make the plastic water bottles Americans use, according to the Earth Policy Institute in Washington, plus countless barrels to transport it from as far as Fiji and refrigerate it."

And if all this isn't a compelling enough reason for you to get a water filter I've got one more interesting tidbit that's just now starting to get the publics attention

Drugs In Your Drinking Water

Quite frankly our public drinking water stinks, not just smells bad (it's does that to) but it's filled with some really awful stuff. Things like chemicals, human waste, lead, and now they're detecting prescription drugs.

That's right, prescription drugs are finding their way into our drinking water.

An Associated Press investigation shows "a vast array of pharmaceuticals -- including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones -- have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans"

"In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas -- from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit, Michigan, to Louisville, Kentucky."

It's scary to think that you, your family, and even your pets could be getting a small dose of Viagra, Prozac, sex hormones, and nicotine every time they drink tap water, but they are.

And with drug sales booming the problems only going to get worse!

Protect Yourself By Investing In a Quality Water Filter

Why doesn't everyone own a water filter? That's a good question. I'm sure some people don't know what's really in the water they drink, either that or they don't care about drinking drugs, chemicals, bacteria, and poop.

The initial price on a quality water filter might make some people choose to go without a quality water filter, but the Aquasana (which I use and love) works out to about 10 cents a gallon.

And if you go with the Aquasana whole house filter you can end up adding value to your home. I know a whole house water filter would be a big selling point for me, and a lot of other people, when they're deciding which house to buy.

I called around and couldn't find Aquasana filters sold in stores so the main website is probably your best option if you're thinking about picking one up. Here's the Link To Their Website

I'm a coach & advocate for quick, natural solutions to health problems. My Master Cleanse Book has been enjoyed by over 56,000 readers and was recently updated with special cleanses for beauty & weight loss. However, I am not a doctor. I care about your safety and encourage you to make sure you're in good health before following the advice on this site. You can learn more about me here.

- Raylen Sterling, author, publisher