Toxic Truth About Water: Live Pure with Tips on Water Purity, Filtration, Reverse Osmosis, and More!

3. Heavy Metals, Pharmaceuticals, and Pesticides—Oh My!

• Dr. Ina Nozek, Dr. Glenn Nozek • Season 1 • Episode 3

Share episode

Ever wonder what else is lurking in your water besides chlorine and chloramines? In this revealing episode of The Toxic Truth About Water, Drs. Glenn and Aynan Nozick explore heavy metals like arsenic and lead, the surprising ways pharmaceuticals enter our taps, and how pesticides seep into everyday supply. You’ll learn why municipal treatments fall short, and the shocking toll these contaminants take on our bodies, pets, and environment. Brace yourself—knowing the problem is the first step toward real solutions.

What You’ll Learn

  • Heavy Metal Hazards: Arsenic, lead, and copper—why they’re so common and the havoc they wreak.
  • Pharmaceutical Residues: How medications end up in our water, from hospitals to home excretions.
  • Pesticides & Herbicides: Why perfectly manicured lawns might be poisoning our groundwater.
  • Who’s Most Vulnerable: Children, pregnant women, the elderly, and even our beloved pets.

Key Takeaways

  1. Municipal Gaps: Treatment plants don’t filter out heavy metals or pharmaceuticals—awareness is your best defense.
  2. Hidden Threats: Everyday exposure builds up over time, causing endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity, and even cancer.
  3. Global Impact: This isn’t just about us—wildlife and ecosystems also suffer from these chemical intrusions.

Resources & Links

Stay Connected

  • Subscribe & Follow: Never miss an episode! Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
  • Leave a Review: Enjoyed this conversation? A five-star review helps us reach more people who need to hear the truth about water quality.
  • Share With a Friend: Spread the word—clean water is a universal concern, and together, we can make more informed choices.

Check out our website today!

Glenn:

Welcome to the Toxic Truth About Water. We're Drs. Glenn and Aynan Nozick, and in this podcast we're uncovering the hidden dangers lurking in your water and how those contaminants impact your health.

Ina:

After decades of exploring natural health, We've learned the importance of clean, safe water, and we're here to share that knowledge with you. From the effects of toxins and contaminants to the solutions that you need, we've got the inside scoop. So let's dive in.

Glenn:

Maybe before we dive in, we should talk about something we were discussing earlier. So for all you listeners, you notice that we're really upbeat, positive people. We'd like to have fun, talk about mind blowing positive things. And we realized that. While important we're talking about Toxins and things that you know are negative and it's kind

Ina:

of dark, we like to bring the light So we want you guys to understand that although this subject matter is dry and dark and Not very exciting. It's not very interesting Entertaining, we do feel it's important. So we're going to, just get through the various episodes. There will be a lot of late at the end of this podcast tunnel.

Glenn:

Absolutely. Our goal here, of course, is to provide solutions. So before we can do that, we need to get you. to become more aware of what the problems are. And as you remember last episode, we talked about chlorine, chloramines, and disinfectants that are placed into our municipal water systems,

Ina:

and we want to go along the journey a little bit with talking about other Chemical contaminants. So on today's episode, we're going to dive a little bit deeper into heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, herbicides, pesticides. We're going to focus in on that now. You'll notice in our episode today. We're not going to touch on PFAS or forever chemicals, which is currently a big topic a really important topic our Next episode we're going to dedicate To PFAS and forever chemicals, but today we're going to talk about some of those other chemical contaminants that we really need to be aware of. So let's talk about heavy metal. Yeah,

Glenn:

I think it's going to blow your mind if you knew this was in your water, I don't think you'd be comfortable drinking it. Or bathing in it, or brushing

Ina:

your teeth in it yeah.

Glenn:

So what are we talking about when we say the word heavy metals? Most people have heard of it, some people are unaware of what exactly that is. They are in fact mineral metals that exist both in nature, they're used for various things, they're put into, pesticides and things as well. So they are things like arsenic. Lead, mercury, cadmium.

Ina:

Yep. And these are heavy metals that can also, aside from being toxic chemicals, they're also considered neurotoxins. So in and of themselves, they are wreaking havoc on our health. And as Glenn said, some of these are found naturally, like in nature, but the abundance of what's. Being in our water supply, treating water is not designed to take these toxic harmful chemicals out. Same for pharmaceuticals, they're in there and that's not taking them out. So it's something that we want to be fully aware of. And depending on where you live, In the country, because we're really focused here in the US, there will be higher levels of some versus others, depending on where you are, based on the industry around you, whether you're near mines or factories or things like that, exactly, or farmland, all of that's going to come into new

Glenn:

development, all these things introduce these heavy metals into our system.

Ina:

Yep. So also, copper, right? Copper is another source of neurotoxicity. And, we know that there's copper piping, which to a point could be healthier than other types of. Piping obviously lead pipes not used anymore for obvious reasons, because that is a very toxic, heavy metal.

Glenn:

Depending on the state of your water, that's where the toxicity comes in. So some of these in very minute amounts, no big deal they will not affect your health. The problem is, and Ina just mentioned, some people will use, for instance, copper piping, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but depending on the state of the water that's actually running through the pipes, that is what determines whether you're going to get excess copper leaching out of that pipe

Ina:

Exactly. People

Glenn:

are so unaware.

Ina:

Yeah. So let's just talk about what these heavy metals do. So there's a lot of connection to even small amounts causing damage to our brain. In terms of fluoride, for example. Even slightly increased fluoride exposure could be toxic to the brain, particularly the pineal gland. And that shows that we're just talking about fluoride. Now we know toothpaste is fluoridated. Much of the water in our country is fluoridated water. And fluoride is banned in Europe. Why is it banned? Because they were never able to really scientifically prove that. The health benefits to our teeth to our bones. So it was banned. So we know that it is toxic to the brain, creating a lot of health issues. A lot of these heavy metals cause various cancer of the bladder, lungs, liver, kidneys, other organs. We see a lot of skin problems that are connected to toxicity from heavy metals, cardiovascular and respiratory disease, a lot of neurological issues. They're often known as endocrine disruptors, right? So they're messing with our Ability to. Be fertile hormonal imbalances that are so much now prevalent in epidemic.

Glenn:

They're so common,

Ina:

Estrogen cancers, breast cancer, prostate cancer these various cancers, but also, thyroid imbalance and issues with endometriosis and just, there's so many things and, sometimes it's hard to go back and pinpoint, Oh, it's from. This toxin in your water, of course, we know that, but we are slowly being poisoned and all of these things are contributing.

Glenn:

And chances are it isn't just one particular one. It's the accumulation of all these different toxins coming from different areas, some of them heavy metals, some of them other things that add up to be just a horrible situation.

Ina:

And, let's just talk about, the pesticides and the herbicides, right? So we all want to have these beautiful lawns certainly farms, vegetable farms, grain, it's all, there's so much,

Glenn:

Here in Florida, there's this massive, development going on. On both coasts, everybody wants to live near the water.

Ina:

I think it's really the entire state.

Glenn:

The state. The state has among the most coastline of any state. And for that reason, it's very desirable. And the people moving in want beautiful lawns.

Ina:

These big communities and everyone is having, their lawns treated with chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, that is containing all of these harmful chemicals. Contaminants that are in our groundwater, and it's getting in when we're drinking the water, cooking with the water, bathing in the water, and again, all of this is poisoning us, and it's really creating a lot of health issues that we're seeing. I want to really talk just a little bit about arsenic in and of itself because where we live here in Bradenton, and by the way, guys, we mentioned this to you before, but if you look at the environmental working group and you can actually put in your specific zip code to get a little snapshot of what your water is contaminated with, the latest information they have on the site, I believe is three years old. And it's only getting worse. This isn't getting cleaned up. It's still going

Glenn:

to give you a really good picture, a

Ina:

snapshot of what Like, a rough idea of minimally what it's looking and interestingly enough, here in Bradenton, we have 260 times The health guideline for arsenic. What that means, there are legal limits and what the environmental group, they look at health guidelines like what they believe to be the limit where if it's more than that, you're crossing the line, you're really asking for issues, for problems. So we here have 260 times the health guideline now. Interestingly enough, when we started to really dive into arsenic in other areas in the country, it turns out Florida's not even on the top of the list. Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, California, Michigan, Minnesota, those have the highest rates. And when we look specifically at Phoenix, regarding arsenic, 1266 times The health guidelines. That is not okay. Think about developing children.

Glenn:

It's not the legal limit, it's the health guidelines.

Ina:

It doesn't matter. This should not be in our water.

Glenn:

Exactly.

Ina:

And we're drinking it, we're cooking with it, we're bathing in it, we're absorbing it, we're poisoning ourselves, and again, we always go back to taking a look at the health crisis that we're looking at. We're dealing with all of the premature aging, all of the neurological issues, early onset dimension, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and MS and ALS and all of these things that are Really affecting, again, neurotoxicity, but everything else, too, and it's disturbing. So let's talk about pharmaceuticals, because that's another thing. And, guys, water treatment is not designed to take the pharmaceuticals out. It's not designed to take these heavy metals out. We think we're being protected, and as we talked about last episode, We're not. It's the good and the bad, right?

Glenn:

They're simply not talking about it, and that's why we are. Honestly, I feel like it's unbelievable that we're left in the dark, so to speak. And you're just told that your water's okay.

Ina:

Yeah, it's safe to drink. And most people don't question it. And again, as we always say, we're not trying to freak you out. We're not trying to create doom and gloom. It's just the awareness, right? You just want to know. We have to be in the know, and then what we do with the information, that's up to us. So when we talk about pharmaceuticals in our water, you think about how are these pharmaceuticals getting in our water? Obviously, people do pour their prescriptions down the drain. They throw it into the garbage. It's disposed, waste disposal from hospitals, right? They have massive amounts of various pharmaceuticals. But it also gets in the water from excretion. When we are taking medication and we urinate. We excrete a lot of those pharmaceutical residues, and so that is in our water supply.

Glenn:

And people need to get that. We're not here to gross you out, but you really need to get that. Virtually almost all municipal water is recycled. Wastewater it is that's how it works. It doesn't mean it can't be cleaned to the point where it is pristine be at the municipal level, but it can be done I just want to like so the reason i'm saying that is not to scare you, But for you to be aware that's how bad it is

Ina:

And so the other thing that we really want to think about with because it's very pervasive, so it's not just affecting us, but the pharmaceuticals in the water are severely affecting wildlife and harming the entire ecosystem, right? So what are they finding in water? Opioids and all kinds of other painkillers.

Glenn:

Makes sense. The most common drugs on the market right now are opioids and painkillers.

Ina:

Yep. So that's abundant in our water supply, right? It's not like you drink some water and your pain goes away. But it's these small trace amounts of all of these things, right? estrogen and other hormones, whether someone's taking birth control pills or whatever, again, that's getting in there. In fact, that's one of the predominant, pharmaceuticals that they're finding. Antibiotics, for sure. And there's been such an increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria, and this is part of the reason. The CDC, estimate that annually, there's at least 2 million illnesses and 23, 000 deaths in the U. S. that are caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria. So part of it is overuse, but the other part is we're getting it in our water. We're getting it in our food, certainly, eating, meat and dairy and so forth. But it is in the water. And then certainly also antidepressants.

Glenn:

And regardless of whether it's opioids, antidepressants, antibiotics, it is in the water. It's leading to endocrine disruption. This is huge, because so many people don't know why they don't feel right, and so many aspects of your body are run by your hormones. They're the messengers in your body. And so when that is disrupted, the message is going to your various organs and glands are disrupted. So you're bound to have it show up, it's like little increments and then all of a sudden you have a significant

Ina:

And let's just face it too, who are the most susceptible? Certainly elderly people, right? Anyone with a compromised immune system. So people who have autoimmune disorders people who are not well to begin with are more susceptible. Certainly growing fetuses and young babies, children, pregnant women

Glenn:

have to be careful.

Ina:

Absolutely. And then, again, We're not going to forget our fur babies, right? Dogs and cats are pets. Wildlife in general, but we're all in this together, right? It's really affecting every single one of us.

Glenn:

funny, like here where we live, we recently heard about an animal issue, like with local pets, there's a ton of dogs where we live. Everybody has a dog. It's great.

Ina:

A lot of dogs are dying young. But all of a sudden there's this

Glenn:

noticeable illness

Ina:

Early onset kidney disease and certain cancers that are killing dogs early, like young animals. Something's up, whether it's what they're spraying the lawns with, what's in the water, whatever it is. Again, a lot of times it's hard to pinpoint. But we know for a fact we're being slowly poisoned. We know that we need to know what's in the water so that we know how we can protect ourselves.

Glenn:

Absolutely. The bottom line is that our municipal waters simply do not treat to this level. And that's our message. You need to know that is not getting handled at your municipal level.

Ina:

And also for those who have well water. These contaminants, these heavy metals, it's runoff, it's still going in, so they're not going to have the disinfectants in the well water, but they're going to have all of these other things that we're talking about, and like I said before, next episode we're really going to dive into the PFAS, the forever chemicals, and we're going to talk about what they are, and how pervasive they are, and what an impact they are having negatively on our health. through our drinking water. So stay tuned for that.

Glenn:

Well, thanks everybody again for listening to this episode, the toxic truth about water, make sure to hit follow and subscribe wherever you're listening to podcasts and so you never miss an episode.

Ina:

Yep, so that one simple step, just following or subscribing will make sure that you never are left in the dark when we share new information. So until next time, remember, like I said, we're all in this together. So keep questioning, keep learning, stay healthy, and stay informed. Much love to you guys. Till next time.

Podcasts we love

Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.