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

6. Bottled Water Exposed: Myths, Dangers & Better Alternatives

• Dr. Ina Nozek, Dr. Glenn Nozek • Season 1 • Episode 6

Share episode

Is bottled water the convenient, safe alternative we’ve all been led to believe? In this episode of The Toxic Truth About Water, Drs. Glenn and Ina dive into the hidden contaminants, environmental toll, and misleading marketing behind plastic water bottles. From PFAS to microplastics, learn why your go-to thirst-quencher might be doing more harm than good—and discover healthier, more sustainable ways to stay hydrated.

What You’ll Learn

  • Hidden Contaminants: The surprising chemicals (including heavy metals and microplastics) often lurking in bottled water.
  • Environmental Impact: How skyrocketing plastic production is harming marine life and creating massive pollution challenges.
  • Myth-Busting: Common misconceptions about purity, regulation, and the “spring water” label.
  • Better Solutions: Simple, cost-effective ways to ditch single-use plastic and protect both your health and the planet.

Key Takeaways

  1. Bottled ≠ Safer: Many brands are just treated municipal water, often containing PFAS, microplastics, and other toxins.
  2. False Sense of Security: Higher cost and “fancy” packaging doesn’t guarantee purity or strict regulation.
  3. Environmental Crisis: Over 400 million metric tons of plastic are produced yearly—threatening oceans, wildlife, and ultimately, human health.
  4. Reusable for the Win: Switch to glass or stainless steel bottles, paired with quality filtration at home, to save money and reduce waste.

Resources & Links

Subscribe & Review:
If this episode opened your eyes to the reality of bottled water, be sure to follow The Toxic Truth About Water on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. We appreciate a quick review—it helps us spread the word on how to live healthier and protect our planet!

Check out our website today!

Glenn:

Welcome to the Toxic Truth About Water. We're Drs. Glenn and Ina, 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 all of you. From the effects of toxins and contaminants to the solutions that you need, let's dive in.

Glenn:

Yeah, let's do it.

Ina:

We're diving in today. And today we're going to be talking about water bottles. I wonder how many of our listeners have, or continue to use some on a daily basis for your families, for yourselves.

Glenn:

I think I dare say most

Ina:

a lot

Glenn:

of people

Ina:

Yeah,

Glenn:

an overwhelming amount of people are like that's their lifestyle

Ina:

and you guys, you know for when our kids were small. I remember we had that ceramic base with those five stand and we would do the five gallon bottles that were

Glenn:

So we did that for

Ina:

We had the hot and cold version of that and then we were doing that and Buying cases of bottled water and with three kids and as they were growing up remember Storing the plastic bottles in the garage and I like the ones with the sport bottles That was the only way that I was comfortably able to drink enough water Like it was almost like there was something I liked about that sport bottle top, but you didn't like this I thought

Glenn:

they were too big, I didn't want to drink that much water I wanted

Ina:

like, oh we got a hydrate so I wanted the big sport bottles. We ended up buying

Glenn:

both.

Ina:

And we bought the little tiny ones because, the kids would waste. They'd take a sip of water and then there'd be like half

Glenn:

Bottles everywhere.

Ina:

bottles in their room, in our car, in the back of the car, whatever.

Glenn:

had no idea. The history before you purchased it, and you probably ignored the history after you purchased it, because where were you storing it? In most cases, it was in a place that didn't do it any good. there's no safe place to store them anyway,

Ina:

right? And Glenn said, like how, was it traveling on trucks going from hot to cold? Like how long was it, shipped and stored and all of that had an impact, right? Now, again, we're going to uncover and talk about all that. So we're guilty of not knowing. Before we get into this, I just want everyone to really understand that we don't come from a place of judgment. because we've been there, we've made plenty of mistakes, we continue to make plenty of mistakes. We're learning, we're all, I always say, we're all a work in progress. We're trying to do the best we can. And one of the main reasons that we're even bringing this information to you is because we do feel that it's so important. Absolutely. For, your health, for the environment. We do not do that anymore. Many people, we've been talking about all of the various groups of contaminants that are found in our water, right? So we've been, each episode going through each one. And we're going to start moving into solutions. And what's really interesting is a lot of people feel that bottled water, plastic water is a good solution. And we're going to pretty much bust some myths today.

Glenn:

myth busters.

Ina:

Myth buster. Okay. Not good for our health. We'll talk about why. Not good for the environment. We'll talk about why. And not good for our wallet, which is probably the least. of the issues, we're already paying for our water in our homes and now we're outsourcing water We're paying for bottled water, which is actually really expensive when you break it down we don't think of it that way But a lot of families will spend upwards of 100 a month on bottled water We all have different amounts that we're using and different amounts of family members and who drinks more water than other people. So we're going to talk about all the reasons why not a good idea and some, better options.

Glenn:

So let's talk about where it started. And I find this kind of fascinating because it started pretty much in the 90s, right? It is when water bottles got popular and they got popular partially because they were seen as the healthy alternative. It was when people started actually caring about water and the quality of water. And the thing was, we were led to believe that was actually like controlled, regulated. Purist quality water that we were getting in those things and we were taught to believe that the water going into our like soda products that were being sold and things like that was always like the purest water

Ina:

it was based on health consciousness for sure. It was based on convenience. A lot of people were now starting to really understand the importance of hydration and there was a lot of heavy marketing by brands like Nestle and Avion, who started to create this trend of, yeah, that's healthy. Buy bottled water in plastic bottles.

Glenn:

I don't got the source.

Ina:

Yeah. And the truth is it was initially glass bottles, right? So definitely better, but glass is heavy and it wasn't convenient.

Glenn:

cost effective for the companies.

Ina:

So that. Became what it has become. Unbelievable. And so it really all of those things really help to solidify the rise in water consumption, especially in plastic water bottles.

Glenn:

And then, of course, now we're left with, an environmental impact from this.

Ina:

So yeah, but first let's talk about the hidden contaminants. So there's a lot of hidden contaminants. in bottled water. So remember, we've been talking about PFAS, forever chemicals, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, biologicals they're finding an enormous amount of chemicals that have been identified in bottled water. And I say they because there's various agencies that test this and there's a lot of information. We've heard upwards of 25, 000 chemicals have been identified in bottled water. So let's just say an enormous amount. I like that rather than A specific number because you're going to get controversy in terms of this agency says this and that says that. So just know it's a lot.

Glenn:

And again, what is it that we're actually finding that's horrible? The main thing that has really become the permeating factor here. I think is the PFAS situation because there can be, and we'll talk about the other things in the water as well as we go on, but just that alone, which seems to be showing up everywhere.

Ina:

Yeah.

Glenn:

We talked about it in our municipal water. here we're talking about bottled water.

Ina:

And what's really interesting is some studies are suggesting that. Up to 93 percent of bottled water may have detectable levels of these PFAS, these forever chemicals. The exact percentage is going to vary depending on the source and the testing methods that are used. But again, It's in there. So we're thinking it's a reliable source and we're finding all of these different contaminants, particularly PFAS, but other things as well. There were a couple of recalls, just to put this into perspective, just fairly recently.

Glenn:

say, this isn't even old information. That's important for you to understand. So we're not going back, like 15 years ago and talking about stuff like that. This is like as recent as May. You know of this past May 2024. Yeah, the FDA recalled. 1. 9 million bottles of Fiji, right?

Ina:

little more expensive

Glenn:

good

Ina:

cool square.

Glenn:

artesian water.

Ina:

Yeah,

Glenn:

Right

Ina:

Manganese, as you guys probably know, is an important mineral that we need for our body. But in excessive amounts, which is what was found in this bottled water, it causes neurological problems. It can have a negative effect on brain function. It's not okay. It's not safe to have high levels of manganese, and that's what was found. There was, like Glenn said, 1. 9 million bottles. And then in July, the year before in 23 Zephyr Hills, which is a very popular brand in our part of Florida and probably throughout Florida.

Glenn:

their 100 percent natural spring water.

Ina:

so that was recalled due to bromate levels that exceeded the FDA standard of quality. So more than 300, 000 cases We're recalled now. Bromate, by the way, is from treating water. It's a disinfectant that's used to treat the water. So what is in this bottled water? We're thinking we're getting these natural springs that are clean and fresh and wonderful and healthy and safe.

Glenn:

it's municipal water from somewhere.

Ina:

times, that's what it is.

Glenn:

bromate I yeah, then it was treated somewhere along the line.

Ina:

So now you're paying to put it in a bottle when you could just drink it out of your tap. The other very important topic here is the microplastics. studies have shown bottled water contains an average of around 325 microplastic particles per liter.

Glenn:

A liter?

Ina:

And the World Health Organization reviewed some of the world's most popular bottled water brands and found that more than 90 percent showed signs of microplastic contamination. I would bet that every human being on the planet

Glenn:

It has

Ina:

microplastics, nanoplastics. It is becoming a huge problem. These are endocrine disruptors. Microplastics are causing all kinds of health issues. It's not okay. And this is slowly poisoning us. So you want to have the awareness now. Not only is this all affecting our health, but what is it doing to the environment?

Glenn:

Exactly. And I jumped the gun before by shooting to the environment. But now we're there. You're right. it is grossly affecting our environment. We're having major disposal issues with plastic. I don't have to tell you, everybody knows it. It's been brought up. We have countries like Puerto Rico that have trouble with it. We have one in the Pacific ocean floating that can be seen by planes. It's a bad scene.

Ina:

Yeah. So the ocean plastic problem is the accumulation of plastic in the ocean, which obviously harms marine life and it completely affects. the ecosystem. The entire food chain is affected. Humans produce, get this guys, over 400 million metric tons of plastic each year. That's more than the weight of all human beings on earth. So just think about that. What are they doing to dispose of this correctly?

Glenn:

back in the water basically is what, it's like we try, we can't even want to take it out of the water.

Ina:

Over 8 million metric tons of plastic enter the oceans every year, and it's estimated that 100, 000 marine animals die annually just from plastic entanglement or ingestion. I actually think it's probably way more than that. But even if it's just that's a huge number. And by the year 2050,

Glenn:

This is a stat we've used many times.

Ina:

There will be more plastic in the ocean by 2050, which is 25 years from now,

Glenn:

just 25 years,

Ina:

If you think about our Children, our grandchildren, ourselves, God willing, we will be still here at that point. But there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by weight. If this current trend continues.

Glenn:

So you want to get and this is so ridiculous, right? Because plastic is so light. So for it to be that accumulation is just Insanity,

Ina:

And for me, like I don't eat meat, but I do eat fish and seafood Because it does become doom and gloom. And, we always tell you guys, we're not here to create that doom and gloom. It's really just the awareness.

Glenn:

going to say it starts with awareness. All solutions begin from awareness

Ina:

Yep, absolutely. It's really just, problem awareness. Okay, now what do we do? But let's just talk about some of the myths, right? Because

Glenn:

myth bust myths.

Ina:

we're gonna bust some myths.

Glenn:

Yeah.

Ina:

So let's go through a few.

Glenn:

First one, let's do, bottled water is cleaner than tap. And a lot of people believe that, right?

Ina:

you feel psychologically better. But the truth is that many bottled waters are just repurposed tap water with little to no additional filtration.

Glenn:

And if you're going by taste, that's not a fair assumption.

Ina:

Correct. That's right.

Glenn:

could remove things that affect the taste

Ina:

or the smell

Glenn:

or the smell.

Ina:

Yep.

Glenn:

And yet it's still laden with contaminants.

Ina:

That's right. Second myth, bottled water is free from contaminants. We've already shared that with you. It's filled with. Microplastics, heavy metals, PFAS, chemicals just from the plastic bottles in and of themselves, Nanoplastics and so forth. So we know that is absolutely a myth. Let's bust that one.

Glenn:

Plastic bottles are safe for reuse.

Ina:

Yeah. And remember, I was classic for taking my plastic sport water bottle and just filling it up with our Water from our tap that was filtered and I kept using it over and over.

Glenn:

saving the environment. You're reusing. It seems like you're doing the right thing. We get it.

Ina:

you're chemically leaching.

Glenn:

plastic is getting worse.

Ina:

Correct. And especially when it's exposed to heat or sunlight. It will release harmful substances like BPA, which is a chemical in the plastic.

Glenn:

Absolutely.

Ina:

one?

Glenn:

Bottled water is regulated more strictly than tap water. And you would think so. the truth is No. In fact, some of these companies continue to sell products. Even after recall, even after warnings that they're making false claims about the quality of their water, maybe saying it's a natural spring from the source when that source is a tap water from that municipality, wherever the border is actually being bottled.

Ina:

Yeah. tap water is more stringently regulated.

Glenn:

it's healthier,

Ina:

So keep that in mind as well.

Glenn:

And then

Ina:

lastly, another myth. Is that all bottled water is sourced from fresh springs a lot of it is simply Municipal sources or wells not pristine springs as being advertised. So it's deceptive. To a large degree, it sure is.

Glenn:

Yeah, get the latest information. Let's talk about some of the healthier alternatives real quick and as we move forward in our series, we're going to really dive into solutions, what people are doing, what we feel about some of those solutions, pro and con

Ina:

and we'll give even our own personal recommendations only for those who are just still okay, what do I do? What should I do? Obviously using a reusable bottle, whether it's stainless steel or glass, that's going to, Certainly be your best bet. Now, maybe once in a blue moon, you're at the airport. You're in a situation where you do feel that psychologically a bottle of water is better than going up to one of the

Glenn:

fountains.

Ina:

we get that. And we would do the same once in a while, but we really want to be aware of what we're doing to the environment, what we're doing to our bodies and not to keep on doing this and thinking it's okay. So having a reusable. Healthy material that the bottle is made of. So I typically will do stainless steel or glass.

Glenn:

is BPA safe plastics. But they've been shown not to break down.

Ina:

Yeah. So that, definitely better than a lot of the plastics that they're using to bottle that plastic water. Because that's where those microplastics really get in.

Glenn:

like the crunchy kind. It's like it's barely keeping the water in there, you're wondering.

Ina:

the outside is smooth, but inside within the mold is not.

Glenn:

interesting,

Ina:

And then, just filling up your cleaner material bottle, your stainless steel or glass bottle of water with filtered water, right? that's what I do. We are now so Hyper aware of bottled water where we almost, when we see people with bottled water, we wanna tell them, please don't do that. But, we're definitely respectful. And we don't want people to feel bad. We just want people to be aware.

Glenn:

Yeah. If it can come up in a legitimate, normal conversation, they're happy to be educated about it because most of the time you're not being told that. You're simply not being told.

Ina:

Yeah.

Glenn:

Media and marketing.

Ina:

That's our episode for today. Thank you so much guys for tuning in to this episode of the Toxic Truth About Water. We really hope that you're walking away with valuable information.

Glenn:

So if you found value in today's episode be sure to subscribe so you don't miss any of our upcoming episodes And as always feel free to share this podcast with your friends and family who might benefit from this information that we're sharing And until next time remember that we're all in this together guys. Keep questioning keep learning stay healthy Stay informed

Ina:

Much love to you guys. We'll see you next time. Ciao. Bye for now.

Podcasts we love

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