What's safe for us to drink?

sok2005

Fear of aspartame when you drink diet drinks with artificial sweeteners.
Fear of sugars when you drink non diet drinks.
Fear of fluoride and chlorine in our tap water.
Fear of tooth decay in natural fruit juices.

What are we supposed to turn to as our safe bet for hydration? Or are all the big companies and scaremongers playing on peoples fear and confusion and a little of everything is safe?

howamidifferent

Breastmilk FTW!

Akrasia

I only drink my own urine
First thing in the morning, it'll cure what ails ya

(and it's sterile you know)

Muise...

Fear is a very bad drink.

canadianwoman

sok2005 wrote: »

Fear of aspartame when you drink diet drinks with artificial sweeteners.
Fear of sugars when you drink non diet drinks.
Fear of fluoride and chlorine in our tap water.
Fear of tooth decay in natural fruit juices.

What are we supposed to turn to as our safe bet for hydration? Or are all the big companies and scaremongers playing on peoples fear and confusion and a little of everything is safe?

Whiskey.

kneemos

I stand naked in front of the mirror and drink it in.

Dravokivich

sok2005 wrote: »

scaremongers

This is a lot of it.

mawk

Don't forget that deionized water will kill you too.

Can't even clear out the impurities without a disaster!

Akrasia

Akrasia wrote: »

I only drink my own urine
First thing in the morning, it'll cure what ails ya

(and it's sterile you know)

unless you have a urine infection.....:eek::eek::eek:

MadYaker

Bar aspartame, which is debatable, none of the things you listed are actually dangerous so I don't see the point of your OP

gobnaitolunacy

Beer.

kneemos

Holy water is safe surly?

Spunge

Aspartame isnt dangerous in the quantities that is contained in diet sodas.

Come at me hoscientists

Akrasia

kneemos wrote: »

Holy water is safe surly?

Actually, holy water is lethal

Old farmers don't tend to wash their hands before dunking them in the font and studies have shown there are more pathogens in the local holy water font than the average portaloo after glastenbury

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/study-holy-water-harmful-health/story?id=20257722

Savoir.Faire

Large mup o tae.

kneemos

How about rainwater?

Renegade Mechanic

Jesus this ls isnt Somalia! Tap water is fine. Unless your in America. Then Its filled with pubes and tampon pieces...
Dammit I cant find the link!

Caliden

Everything in moderation. We have an advanced digestive system and shouldn't limit ourselves to one food group/type.

kneemos

Renegade Mechanic wrote: »

Jesus this ls isnt Somalia! Tap water is fine. Unless your in America. Then Its filled with pubes and tampon pieces...
Dammit I cant find the link!

Compared to bottled water our tap water here looks very much like Somalia.

Robbo

sok2005 wrote: »

Fear of aspartame when you drink diet drinks with artificial sweeteners.
Fear of sugars when you drink non diet drinks.
Fear of fluoride and chlorine in our tap water.
Fear of tooth decay in natural fruit juices.

What are we supposed to turn to as our safe bet for hydration? Or are all the big companies and scaremongers playing on peoples fear and confusion and a little of everything is safe?

Drink Brawndo. It's got what plants crave. It's got electrolytes.

The Thirst Mutilator.

anncoates

Boiled piss.

sbsquarepants

kneemos wrote: »

Compared to bottled water our tap water here looks very much like Somalia.

I thought our tap water was usually much cleaner than bottled water?

kneemos

sbsquarepants wrote: »

I thought our tap water was usually much cleaner than bottled water?

Doesn't look it.

Meangadh

kneemos wrote: »

Compared to bottled water our tap water here looks very much like Somalia.

Ah Jaysus where do you live? I've rarely been anywhere in Ireland where the water wasn't drinkable.

I prefer the water in places that have their own well (less chlorine so it tastes nicer and is often colder too) but even town supplies for the most part are fine (apart from the outbreak in Galway in '07).

Best water in the country must be in my parents' place- their own well, loads of lime in it but that just makes it taste nicer and makes delicious tea. Nom.

joseph brand

kneemos wrote: »

Compared to bottled water our tap water here looks very much like Somalia.

Can confirm. Just poured a glass of tap water. Looks exactly like Somalia. I can even see some of the cities and towns. Only thing is, it doesn't taste as dry as Somalia.

Osborne

Meangadh wrote: »

Ah Jaysus where do you live? I've rarely been anywhere in Ireland where the water wasn't drinkable.

Come to Galway. A dose of Cryptosporidium is a wonderful experience.

Meangadh

Osborne wrote: »

Come to Galway. A dose of Cryptosporidium is a wonderful experience.

Is it still a problem there? That's going on a long time if it is. That's six years ago.

kneemos

Meangadh wrote: »

Ah Jaysus where do you live? I've rarely been anywhere in Ireland where the water wasn't drinkable.

I prefer the water in places that have their own well (less chlorine so it tastes nicer and is often colder too) but even town supplies for the most part are fine (apart from the outbreak in Galway in '07).

Best water in the country must be in my parents' place- their own well, loads of lime in it but that just makes it taste nicer and makes delicious tea. Nom.

Probably won't kill ya but it has a brownish colour and floaty bits if you look closely and a chemical smell to it sometimes.

Osborne

Meangadh wrote: »

Is it still a problem there? That's going on a long time if it is. That's six years ago.

It isn't really. I will never drink tap water again because of it though. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. It was horrendous.

For Forks Sake

joseph brand wrote: »

Can confirm. Just poured a glass of tap water. Looks exactly like Somalia. I can even see some of the cities and towns. Only thing is, it doesn't taste as dry as Somalia.

If you put the glass down for 2 minutes, a pirate will have made off with it...

Meangadh

Osborne wrote: »

It isn't really. I will never drink tap water again because of it though. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. It was horrendous.

That's understandable in fairness- like if you eat something that makes you sick, it's hard to ever face eating it again.

Luckily have never had an issue with water in any place I've lived around the country.

Itwasntme.

anncoates wrote: »

Boiled piss.

Haha, I came on to post exactly this and found you had beaten me to it. *Shakes fist*

Muise...

Itwasntme. wrote: »

Haha, I came on to post exactly this and found you had beaten me to it. *Shakes fist*

don't worry - it's recyclable.

jimgoose

Creamy porter, biy. :cool:

Capt'n Midnight

howamidifferent wrote: »

Breastmilk FTW!

From the Daily Mail list of things that give you cancer
https://www.facebook.com/TheDailyMailListOfThingsThatGiveYouCancer/info


BABIES http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-157683/Birth-size-link-breast-cancer.html
BABY BOTTLES http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1038697/EU-rejects-ban-baby-bottles-linked-early-puberty-breast-cancer-miscarriage-infertility.html
BREAST FEEDING http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-178756/Whos-risk-breast-cancer.html
PREGNANCY http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-82458/Breast-cancer-risk-career-women.html
SEX http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-191219/Did-sex-cancer.html

http://www.nrdc.org/breastmilk/chem9.asp

Dioxins and furans are among the most hazardous chemicals known - extremely tiny doses have been shown to cause negative health effects. These chemicals are listed by several governmental agencies as known causes of cancer in humans. Indeed, studies have linked dioxins and furans to many types of cancer, as well as to reproductive problems, abnormalities in fetal development, immune alterations, and disruption of hormones. [2] Because dioxins and furans are attracted to fat and are resistant to metabolism, they are notorious for accumulating in the animals humans eat, and by that route accumulating in humans. Within the human body, the highest levels of these chemicals are in fat and breast milk.

I can't find the link , but I think it was about dioxins , anyway the punchline was that in some parts of the US it would have been illegal to sell milk in cartons that had the toxic levels of breastmilk

WilyCoyote

Gin. It flushes the kidneys out and irrigates the tear ducts

FireBreather

I gets its the same "everything in some way gives you Cancer",

once your aware your good, other than that its just hysteria

Kev_2012

I've drank literally 3-4 bottles of diluted robinsons no added sugar everyday since I was a kid and I am perfectly healthy and never sick of anything. I'm 26 now. I think aspartame is fairly safe tbh.

sok2005

Kev_2012 wrote: »

I've drank literally 3-4 bottles of diluted robinsons no added sugar everyday since I was a kid and I am perfectly healthy and never sick of anything. I'm 26 now. I think aspartame is fairly safe tbh.

3-4 bottles of anything a day is definitely not a good idea! 26 is very young in relation to the building up of toxins in your system, take it handy with the dilute......:)

ScumLord

sok2005 wrote: »

Fear of aspartame when you drink diet drinks with artificial sweeteners.
Fear of sugars when you drink non diet drinks.
Fear of fluoride and chlorine in our tap water.
Fear of tooth decay in natural fruit juices.

All those things are safe to drink as long as you're not drinking them non stop all day long.

The bottom line is no matter what you avoid you may well end up getting cancer and no matter how healthy you are you will grow old and die.

I don't see why people are so taken up with turning into a old person. Live hard, die young, leave a beautiful/mangled corpse.

howamidifferent

howamidifferent wrote: »

Breastmilk FTW!

Are you lactose intolerant?

Temptamperu

Water? never drink the stuff. Fish poop in it.

sheesh

get youself one of these bad boys

http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/hydration/PA101.html


job done

Jimoslimos

sok2005 wrote: »

Fear of aspartame when you drink diet drinks with artificial sweeteners.

Aspartame is perfectly safe unless you have a rare genetic disorder called Phenylketonuria (PKU) and cannot metabolise it - that's who the warnings are for, not the general public.

Treora

ScumLord wrote: »

All those things are safe to drink as long as you're not drinking them non stop all day long.
"Fear of fluoride and chlorine in our tap water."

So you are saying don't drink water! Fluoride in water has no clincial benefit. Chorine does, but is only there because our infrastructure and water management is under-resourced. Would it not be better to remove some of the cost, the tens of millions spent on water fluoridation, and spend it on jobs repairing our terrible hidden water infrastructure!

Hoop66

Jimoslimos wrote: »

Aspartame is perfectly safe unless you have a rare genetic disorder called Phenylketonuria (PKU) and cannot metabolise it - that's who the warnings are for, not the general public.

It's not the aspartame you cannot metabolise it's the Phenylaniline, a product of the breakdown of aspartame (my daughter has PKU).

My issue with aspartame, apart from not giving it to my daughter, is that it tastes like shite.

I had something sweetened with stevia the other day and it was quite nice. Would somebody like to tell me that it's going to give me cancer?

sok2005

It's almost impossible to get chewing gum without Aspartame in it too, really annoying.

Savoir.Faire

Scotch - preferably a single malt. I take mine with a cube of ice, but even that is considered the act of a boorish philistine by whisky aficionados. I'll drink Irish if I have to, but would rather not.

danniemcq

Treora wrote: »

So you are saying don't drink water! Fluoride in water has no clincial benefit. Chorine does, but is only there because our infrastructure and water management is under-resourced. Would it not be better to remove some of the cost, the tens of millions spent on water fluoridation, and spend it on jobs repairing our terrible hidden water infrastructure!

gotta pull you up on this one:

Links from here http://debunkatron.com/


Fluoride Conspiracy (Anti-Fluoridation): A Communist plot. ...no wait, a Capitalist plot. All chemicals have a toxicity level, even water, and are dangerous when overdosed, and fluoride is no exception. Fluoride occurs naturally in many water supplies; in the USA, if the level is too high, it's reduced (Federal EPA limit); and if too low, it's increased (locally decided). Fluoridation is a long-proven cost-effective public health application.

• CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention): Recommendations for Using Fluoride to Prevent and Control Dental Caries in the United States
• Neurologica Blog (Dr. Steven Novella): Anti-Fluoride Propaganda as News
• Quackwatch: Fluoridation: Don't Let the Poisonmongers Scare You
• The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe (SGU): Podcast #052 @05:00 (precious bodily fluids)
• The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe (SGU): Podcast #368 @20:02 (NYS press release claim of lower IQ, Grand Rapids study showed 50% decrease in tooth decay, 50 years of research show that fluoridation is safe and cost effective above and beyond brushing with fluoride toothpaste, Harvard review of previous research of potential toxicity of natural occurrances of fluoride, high exposure group 5-10ppm vs low exposure .5-1ppm, low fluoride group with higher IQ had the same exposure as the recommendation for fluoridation in the public water supply)
• Skeptoid (Brian Dunning): Episode #58: All About Fluoridation
• Wikipedia: Water fluoridation 1
• Wikipedia: Water fluoridation controversy 1

with regards no benefits

One such test was conducted in the neighboring cities of Newburgh and Kingston, New York. First, the children in both cities were examined by dentists and physicians; then fluoride was added to Newburgh's water supply. After ten years, the children of Newburgh had 58% fewer decayed teeth than those of nonfluoridated Kingston. The greatest benefits were obtained by children who had drunk the fluoridated water since birth. Other studies showed that teeth made stronger by fluoride during childhood would remain permanently resistant to decay. As the evidence supporting fluoridation accrued, thousands of communities acted to obtain its benefits.

from here http://www.quackwatch.com/03HealthPromotion/fluoride.html

With regards the dropping of IQ points:

skeptics guide to the universe wrote:

Conclusion

There are many weaknesses to the epidemiological studies reviewed in the recent article – high heterogeneity, poor controlling for other variables, no indication of blinding of IQ assessments, and many others. But even taken at face value they do not indicate any association of between lower IQ and the fluoride levels added to drinking water in the US. In fact, those levels of fluoride were used as the controls in these studies showing higher IQ. (There was a lot of variance of the effect size, but the net effect size on IQ in the meta-analysis was -0.45 IQ points).

This fact has not stopped anti-fluoridation groups from exploiting the review for their own propaganda purposes. Otherwise respectable news outlets are unwittingly collaborating in this anti-scientific propaganda campaign by lazily reprinting these press releases in their news sections – without any editorial filter.

heck even cracked.com get in on the IQ thing

http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/fluoride-lowers-your-iq-b.s.-headline-week/

I also don't like quoting from this site as i can't always find sources but

Fluoridation Facts

• Nearly every large city in the U.S. fluoridates its water supply.
• All water sources naturally contain fluoride, but most do not contain enough to maintain adequate dental health.
• Based on 65 years of scientific research, fluoridation is regarded by experts as one of the most effective public health achievements in the last 100 years.
• Studies show up to a 40 percent reduction in cavities following community water fluoridation.2
• Fluoride effectively helps control and heal early signs of tooth decay.
• Teeth benefit from fluoride when they are exposed to a tiny yet regular supply of fluoride (1 part per million fluoride in water).3
• Cavities affect 50 percent of first graders and 80 percent of 17 year-olds.4
• Every $1 invested in community water fluoridation yields approximately $38 savings in dental treatment costs.5

but after some digging i do find the facts

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4841a1.htm

Achievements in Public Health, 1900-1999: Fluoridation of Drinking Water to Prevent Dental Caries

Fluoridation of community drinking water is a major factor responsible for the decline in dental caries (tooth decay) during the second half of the 20th century. The history of water fluoridation is a classic example of clinical observation leading to epidemiologic investigation and community-based public health intervention. Although other fluoride-containing products are available, water fluoridation remains the most equitable and cost-effective method of delivering fluoride to all members of most communities, regardless of age, educational attainment, or income level.

and last but not least

http://www.ada.org/sections/advocacy/pdfs/fluoridation_statement_ten_authorities.pdf

So please where is the downside? you say "Fluoride in water has no clincial benefit"? I think evidence begs to differ.

Unless of course there is a massive conspiracy by "big fluoride" that somehow has been covered up by multiple governments in multiple countries involving multiple health agencies, multiple scientists and lasted for decades.

stevenmu

Hoop66 wrote: »

I had something sweetened with stevia the other day and it was quite nice. Would somebody like to tell me that it's going to give me cancer?

It won't give you cancer, but it can be easily mistaken for ricin.

Hoop66

stevenmu wrote: »

It won't give you cancer, but it can be easily mistaken for ricin.

I'd be more worried if it was the other way round!