Could the water you drink be causing you to gain weight or preventing you from losing weight?

I realize that on the surface this sounds ridiculous but please continue reading… We’ve all heard how important it is to drink more water and stay hydrated, but is all water equally healthy? No, definitely not!  And, I’ve never liked drinking water from a plastic bottle due to the potential of chemicals leaching out into the water.  Mineral water in glass bottles is what I grew up drinking.  Purified drinking water sold at stores is not a healthy choice in my opinion as its purity is questionable where the lack of minerals make it acidic, And, it is definitely not conducive to good health.  What about tap water?  Isn’t that tightly controlled and likely better than most bottled water that you can buy at the grocery store?  Well, it depends. Most municipal water districts add fluoride to the water “to support dental health”.

Studies don’t show any correlation of ingested fluoride and improved dental health. Fluoride when prescribed by your dentist is in contact with your teeth for a prescribed amount of time and then rinsed out; but, never intentionally ingested.
So what happens when it is ingested? Studies support that drinking fluoridated water could impair your thyroid function and cause hypothyroidism which leads to weight gain, low energy, poor memory, concentration difficulties and impaired cognitive function.  Another unwanted chemical in your drinking water is chlorine.  Chlorine is added to kill bacteria such as in a swimming pool.  Studies support that regularly ingesting large amounts of chlorinated water may negatively impact beneficial gut bacteria which can reduce nutrient absorption and impair your weight loss goal. Wow, that does not sound good at all. So what do I recommend? Drink spring water if you can. Check if your water district adds fluoride.  If so, seek filtration systems or a simple certified filtration pitcher.  Finally, have your water tested to make sure the filtration approach you have taken provides clean, fluoride/chlorine/ lead free alkaline water. My preferred way to carry and drink water is in stainless containers. Also, consider the quality of your water when cooking or giving water to your pets.

Cheers!