Is bottled water purer than tap water?
It depends. Two government entities regulate water: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for bottled, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for piped tap water supplied by public sources. The EPA requires that all public suppliers provide customers with annual water quality reports, but that doesn’t mean tap water is always pure. A 2005 survey conducted by the Environmental Working Group found 260 contaminants in tap water from 42 different states. Bottled water quality varies by brand. Whether buying water is worth it may depend on where you live, lifestyle needs (bottled water is portable), and taste. To learn more about bottled water and tap water rules, contact the FDA (www.fda.gov) or a regional EPA office (www.epa.gov). Is oxygenated water for real? According to Susan Bowerman, a registered dietitian and assistant director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of California, Los Angeles, increasing water’s oxygen content is just not possible. “Wa
