How to Choose a Water Purifier: Water, Water Everywhere...But Not a Drop to Drink

You're thirsty after working in the sun on a hot Saturday afternoon. You head to the kitchen and pour yourself a cool glass of water and gulp it back greedily. The immediate effect is to cool you down, quench your thirst, and re-hydrate your body.

But did you give any thought to what it's doing to your body? It's true that doctors suggest we drink 8 glasses of water a day, but if you don't drink the right kind of water,it can have a harmful effect on you!

Wait a minute, you say: "The right kind of water???" How many kinds of water are there?

The answer is: several! Water is not just a colorless liquid that quenches our parched tongues. Water is a necessary part of life and not just for keeping us hydrated. Most people don't know that water contains other properties that allow you to live a healthy life:

1.Your water is supposed to deliver essential nutrients and minerals needed to live. For example, calcium, magnesium, potassium and trace elements -- which doctors recommend we take in -- can be found in some drinking waters, but not all. Are you spending an arm and a leg on supplements to ensure you're getting these minerals when instead you can get them simply and cheaply by drinking the right kind of water?

2. Your water should help balance out the acidic state of your body. Simply put, our bodies' tissues produce waste that is acid in nature. When these acid wastes accumulate --because of pollutants, modern diet and stress -- our tissues slowly deteriorate. Chronic diseases such as cancer,arthritis, diabetes and osteoporosis are associated with this acid condition. Water should help balance out our acidic state by being alkaline.

3. Like a natural stream, your water should have antioxidant properties. Oxidization hastens cell breakdown, while foods with antioxidant properties prevent it. You don't need anyone to tell you that you want a body that generates cells, not destroys them!

4. Your water should be free of contaminants. Many people are shocked to learn that there can be over 2000 contaminants in an ordinary glass of tap water.

So aside from quenching your thirst, water should also be full of minerals, be alkaline, and be antioxidant. But did you know that most water is exactly the opposite? And did you know that waters from many water purifier systems failthese basic requirements?

It's true. People buy water purification systems thinking that they will successfully filter out the "bad stuff" and keep the "good stuff" in water. Unfortunately, many systems, even the expensive ones, either do an inadequate job of filtering out the "bad stuff" or they filter out everything-- both good and bad. In fact, there are filtration systems for which people pay top dollar, that doctors recommend you don't drink from on a long term basis -- because they can make your body even more acidic!

But before you completely swear off water, know this: it's not all bad news. There are excellent purification systems that do a good job of creating healthy, alkaline water with as much antioxidant property as a glass of orange juice!

Protect the health of your family. Before believing the advertising claims of any system, and before spending a fortune on bottled water, really compare the choices in home purification systems. Find out:

1. How do the health benefits of each system compare? (contamination, acidity, antioxidant,minerals)

2. What's the taste like? If you don't love the taste, you won't drink enough water.

3. How much will it cost me?