Is bottled water really better than tap?

[영어도우미]

Is bottled water really better than tap?

 

                 

 

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Bottled water is not necessarily healthier or safer than tap water, Tampa, Florida-based sports nutritionist Cynthia Sass told the American College of Sports Medicine 11th annual Health & Fitness Summit in Dallas. Twenty-five percent of all bottled water is actually repackaged tap water, according to Sass.

"Bottled water doesn't deserve the nutritional halo that most people give it for being pure," she says. "If you're not an exclusive bottled water drinker, you may find it worthwhile to check into filtering your tap water to save money."

In a recent Gallop survey, most consumers said they drink bottled water because they perceive it to be purer than tap water. Taste and convenience are also factors.

Because bottled water is considered a food, it is regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration. Tap water is regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Both types of water are subject to testing for contaminates.

But Sass points out that an estimated 60 to 70 percent of all bottled water in the U.S. is packaged and sold within the same state, which exempts it from FDA regulation. And 1 in 5 states do not regulate that bottled water.

Moreover, tests on 1,000 bottles of 103 different brands of bottled water found man-made chemicals, bacteria and arsenic in 22 percent of the bottles.

Tap water is also not immune to contamination problems. While most cities meet the standards for tap water, some tap water in the 19 U.S. cities tested was found to contain arsenic, lead, and pesticides, Sass told the conference.

While most healthy adults can tolerate exposure to trace amounts of these contaminates, some people, such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, individuals who are HIV positive or recovering from a transplant or major surgery, pregnant women, children, and the elderly, are more vulnerable.

For these individuals, Sass favors bottled water treated with reverse osmosis, distilled water or city tap water with a filtering system certified by the National Sanitation Foundation.

As for the fitness water craze, skip it, Sass says, noting that fitness and specialty waters with not give an athlete an advantage or edge. In fact, vitamin-fortified waters may pose a risk for over-supplementation.

"Think of your one-a-day vitamin," says Sass. "Some of these waters are multi-vitamins in a bottle, so read the label and compare with the rest of your daily intake, including food," she advises.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070405/hl_nm/bottled_water_dc

 

 

 

 

VOCABULARY LIST :

tap (noun) -  a device that controls the flow of liquid, especially water, from a pipe; also called faucet

tap water (noun ) - the water which comes out of the taps in a building, which are usually connected to the main supply of the local water system

contamination (noun) - the presence of unwanted or dangerous substances

immune  (adjective)
1. protected against a particular disease by particular substances in the blood
2. not affected or upset by a particular type of behaviour or emotion
3  not able to be punished or damaged by something

chemotherapy (noun) - the treatment of diseases using chemicals

status symbol (noun) - any thing which people want to have because they think other people will admire them if they have it

dehydrated (adjective) - suffering from excessive loss of water from the body

 

DISCUSSION POINTS :

1. What kind of water do you drink?

2. Is tap water in your country recommended to be drunk by the government? Is drinking tap water common in Korea? 

3. Are Koreans conscious about the type of water they drink?

4. Why do you think some people prefer to drink bottled water? Is it because they think it is safer and healthier or is it because drinking bottled water has become a status symbol?

5. Expensive bottled or mineral waters are being sold at the market today which promise to provide more vitamins and minerals than ordinary tap water. Do you think these products are for real? 

6. Do you have a favorite brand of bottled water?

7. What is the most expensive bottled water you have tried?