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Does tap water treated with chloramines interfere with digestion?
I see from my city's web site that they do treat our tap water with chloramine. I assume this means monochloramine, for now. A friend has told me that drinking this can disrupt my body's fauna, the bacterial organisms in the gut that aid in digestion. I should be taking some probiotics, according to bodyecology.com. The wikipedia article on this doesn't resolve the question at all. Obviously the answer depends on complicated things like what happens to the water & organisms in the stomach, and what is the concentration of chloramine used to treat the water.
Kindly point me to good sources on this.
That's great, answerer #1. How did you happen to arrive at that conclusion? How do I know you aren't just a paid spokesman for a water purification company wanting to scam the govt.? It's logical to me that an additive intended to kill bacteria could end up killing the wrong ones. So what's the explanation? And please support with sources.
P.S. The main question is whether it interferes with the fauna in the gut. There's a wikipedia article on this but it doesn't say anything about what toxins can do to them. I understand the effect on infectious organisms in the water supply is different from the effect in the gut due to the differing amounts of organisms vs. the amount of water, so that's the basic reason. But how do they test that? Try it out on a city and see if they start running to their doctors?
4 Answers
- 9 years agoFavorite Answer
You can read more about the issue at chloramine.org. My six-year-old son and I had horrible stomach cramps from drinking our chloraminated tap water. You may not get cramps, but the water is more acidic and astringent (chloramine is stronger and cheaper than chlorine and that's one reason water companies are using it). Some people get horrible acid reflux that only goes away after they stop drinking their tap water. They drink the water again by accident or on purpose, and the symptoms come back. Dr. Michael Plewa, who has done research for the EPA, said that chloramine makes hundreds more toxic disinfection byproducts than chlorine. The EPA has known this for awhile, but they take their good sweet time about protecting us. If I were you, I'd drink bottled spring water. The brand doesn't matter. Spring water always comes from a spring source, not a municipality (you won't know if that city's water company uses chlorine or chloramine). Protect yourself as much as possible because the EPA isn't doing its job. Google Dr. Plewa.
- 9 years ago
If you are having digestive problems, I also would suggest you stop using tap water--completely--to see if there is any effect. That includes drinking, cooking & washing fruit and vegetables. Both my husband & I have had effects from chloraminated water--gas, bloating, and even more serious stuff. When we use non-chloraminated water, (I don't even brush my teeth using our water) the symptoms disappear. I can't tell you about the chemistry or the biology, but I can speak from personal experience. Chloramine can also cause terrible skin rashes; please see www.chloramine.org for more information.
- CherylLv 45 years ago
Wardley's Chlor Out works just fine. Plus, bettas can live in almost any water.
- Anonymous9 years ago
NO!!!!!!!
Your friend is ignorant & gullible & paranoid.
