Bottled Water Leeches 24,000 Chemicals into Your Body, Study Finds

By Elizabeth Renter | Natural Society | November 30, 2013

Several companies have stopped using BPA in plastic production due to consumer outrage, but just because a plastic container says it is “BPA Free” doesn’t mean it’s free of potentially harmful chemicals. 

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

As a matter of fact, recent research out of Germany indicates there are more than 24,000 of such chemicals in any given bottle of water—with some of them causing serious hormone-disrupting effects.

According to the story from Goethe University Frankfort, the researchers tested 18 different bottled water products in an effort to look for endocrine disrupting chemicals, or EDCs. They found far more than expected, identifying 24,520 different chemicals in their testing. After isolating the chemicals and determining their impact on the body, the researchers narrowed down those with anti-estrogenic properties to one: DEHF or di(2-ethylhexyl) fumarate. This finding was of major concern.
Out of the 18 different bottled water products, 13 had “significant” anti-estrogenic activity, and 16 out of 18 inhibited the body’s androgen receptors by 90%. In other words, the bottled water was largely wrecking havoc on the human body.
Video: Dangers of Tap Water and How to Protect Yourself
In addition to DEHF, however, the researchers determined there is some yet-unidentified EDCs at work. Something else is causing anti-androgenic effects.

“We confirmed the identity and biological activity of DEHF and additional isomers of dioctyl fumarate and maleate using authentic standards,” the researchers reported in the online journal PLOS One. “Since DEHF is anti-estrogenic but not anti-androgenic we conclude that additional, yet unidentified EDCs must contribute to the antagonistic effect of bottled water.”

THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED ON NATURAL SOCIETY