"Your kidney stones must have been drunk because of drinking tap water for a long time, and you really have to drink less tap water in the future!" Just now, the neighbor was bitterly persuading Aunt Wang to drink less tap water that she boiled herself.
Half a year ago, Aunt Wang was diagnosed with kidney stones, and she was often tormented by kidney stones. Seeing Aunt Wang's painful appearance, the neighbors thought it was related to her long-term boiling of water to drink.
"You're better off drinking bottled water, which is much better than tap water. You see, I usually drink bottled water, and my health is very good, and there is no problem at all. ”
After listening to the neighbor's words, Aunt Wang felt that it made sense. There has been controversy and discussion about which is healthier, bottled water or boiled tap water.
Some people feel that the purification process of tap water is not thorough, and tap water may contain some pollutants, which is not as safe as bottled water; There are also people who believe that bottled water does not necessarily contain essential minerals and is not as healthy as plain water.
Will drinking boiled tap water affect my health for a long time?
Because tap water in the process of transportation, may encounter problems such as aging water pipe network, unreasonable water quality disinfection methods and water sources containing various bacteria or microorganisms, so it is often necessary to sterilize, so tap water is generally chlorinated and disinfected, some people think that tap water is chlorinated, and drinking this boiled tap water for a long time will affect health and even cause cancer.
As everyone knows, the WHO has long stipulated that the residual chlorine in tap water should be < 5mg/L, while the mainland's requirements are more stringent, <4mg/L, and in the actual testing process, this value is lower, generally less than 1mg/L.
More importantly, the presence of residual chlorine does not necessarily mean that it is carcinogenic, because chlorine is a group 3 carcinogen, which means that there is no clear evidence that it is carcinogenic. And in the process of boiling water, as raw water turns into boiling water, the remaining chlorine is also removed.
Seeing this, some people may ask, what about the scale in the kettle? Scale is actually tap water containing calcium ions and magnesium ions, after heating and boiling to form calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate and other insoluble substances in water, these substances adhere to the inner wall of the kettle, which is the scale we see.
Since the main component of limescale is carbonate substances, most of these substances will be decomposed after entering the human body, even if the remaining small part cannot be decomposed, they will be excreted with feces and will not pose a threat to health.
In addition, from the perspective of cost performance, residents generally use water for two or three yuan per cubic meter, and a bottle of mineral water of several hundred milliliters costs two or three yuan.
Is there any health risk to the human body when drinking bottled water for a long time?
Now many people have installed water dispensers, the popularity of bottled water is getting higher and higher, many people feel that bottled water tastes better, and there are no impurities, compared with tap water is definitely more clean and hygienic, more conducive to human health. Is this really the case?
First of all, it must be clear that bottled water itself will certainly not cause harm to the human body, the key is the quality and source. If bottled water comes from regular manufacturers and channels, and has undergone strict quality testing and treatment, it will not be too harmful to drink it for a long time.
However, once the source of bottled water cannot be guaranteed, the quality will definitely not be guaranteed, and there will be some harm to long-term drinking.
Bottled water of poor quality is generally difficult to trace the water source, and the water quality cannot be guaranteed. There are often similar reports on the news, some bottled water sellers or small manufacturers, for the sake of profits, even directly use the filled tap water to pass off as bottled water, and drink the tap water as regular bottled water for a long time, the consequences can be imagined.
In addition, bottled water of poor quality may contain various harmful substances, such as heavy metals, bacteria and viruses. Long-term intake can cause damage to various systems of the body and may even cause various diseases. I once saw a news that a young couple was too lazy to boil boiled water to drink, and wanted to save some money, so they drank unqualified bottled water produced by a small workshop for a long time, which was 4 years, and the long-term heavy metals and germs exceeded the standard, and finally both were diagnosed with liver cancer.
In addition, even if the quality of bottled water is qualified, the hygiene of the water dispenser also needs to be paid attention to. The location where the bucket is connected to the storage area can easily contain ash, and when the bucket is snapped up, dust and bacteria on it can escape into the water. If you touch the cold water temporary storage area with your hands and find that it feels slippery, this is actually the bacteria multiplying, and this slippery layer is the bacterial film produced by microbial reproduction, so the water dispenser is not cleaned in place, which is a big safety hazard for drinking bottled water.
Even if the quality of the bottled water is guaranteed and the water dispenser is hygienic and clean enough, there is still a problem at hand, which is microplastics.
In 2024, a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) showed that there are about 240,000 detectable microplastics per liter of bottle/barrel of water on average.
A study in mice in Nanomaterials showed that microplastic particles can cross the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain in just 2 hours after being ingested, increasing the risk of inflammation, neurological disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
To sum up, drinking bottled water for a long time is really not worth advocating.
Drink less of these 3 types of water!
(1) Very hot water
This refers to water above 65°C, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer has warned that long-term consumption of hot drinks above 65°C can increase the risk of esophageal cancer.
Under normal circumstances, the esophageal mucosa tolerates a temperature of 40-50 °C, and drinking hot drinks above 65 °C can easily lead to damage and ulceration of the esophageal mucosa, and long-term repeated high temperature stimulation will lead to long-term damage to the mucosa, which in turn induces esophageal cancer.
(2) Boiled water for a long time
If the boiling water is left for a long time, there is a chance that the nitrogenous content will be continuously decomposed into nitrite. Especially those boiled water that has been left for a long time, or even many days, will inevitably have bacterial contamination, coupled with the accelerated decomposition of nitrogen-containing organic matter, the formation of nitrite will naturally be more. When ingesting such water, nitrite and hemoglobin combine and affect the oxygen-carrying function of the blood.
(3) Water in the water dispenser for more than 7 days
Because of the multiple inlets and outlets, it is generally difficult for water dispensers to be thoroughly disinfected, especially as the water in the water dispenser slowly decreases, and the water dispenser may breed bacteria. Therefore, it is best to clean the water dispenser once every 1-2 months, and it is best not to drink water for more than 7 days.