Let's face it. If you are a water connoisseur like me, you are probably very particular about the taste of your drinking water. Not only do we connoisseurs prefer water over other beverages like soda, tea or coffee, we seem to have our own internal drinking water filters that allow us to detect subtle difference in taste between different water sources.



My family and friends (non-connoisseurs) think I'm nuts. "Water has a taste?" they ask while looking at me as if I've lost my mind. And I look right back at them with an equally incredulous expression and reply, "Of course! You mean you can't taste it?"

It seems my internal drinking water filter has always been set on "high." As passionate as I've been all my life about my beverage of choice, it's always been because I love the taste so much. I was never aware, until recently, of all the numerous health benefits AND dangers that come from drinking water.

With the big push toward health consciousness and staving off the effects of environmental pollution over the last couple of decades, people have become more aware of what they take into their bodies. Not only are we concerned about the air we breathe and the food we eat, we worry about what's in our water.

Gone are the days when we confidently turned on our kitchen faucets, trusting that our local municipal water treatment facility was providing us with safe, potable water. Their use of the conventional technologies of adding chlorine and other chemicals to our water is supposed to help filter what we drink from the tap. And while they do the job, there are some striking drawbacks.

Chlorine has been the first choice as a water disinfectant because it is relatively cheap and readily available. However, while chlorine is effective at removing impurities, it also removes Vitamin E and other indispensable fatty acids. It also strips the oils from your skin, leaving it dry and susceptible to premature aging.

With reports from consumer organizations, such as the Ralph Nader Research Institute citing that, "U.S. drinking water contains more than 2,100 toxic chemicals that can cause cancer," it's easy to understand the increase in mass consumption of bottled water.

Unfortunately, the public has been sold a false sense of safety when it comes to bottled water. A pretty picture of a sparkling stream, with its implied promise of mountain spring purity, is belied by the fact that bottled water isn't any purer than tap water. The FDA has acknowledged this subtle deception by stating that,"...companies that market bottled water as being safer than tap water are defrauding the American public."

But Americans are becoming smarter about acquiring clean, healthy drinking water. More and more consumers are educating themselves about drinking water filters which can be cheap, simple to install and easy to change and maintain.

These consumers are also taking the time to research and compare the benefits and drawbacks of various filters. For example, there are those filtration systems, such as the widely-used reverse osmosis systems, that deliver clean, great tasting water. Unfortunately, along with the contaminants, its also filters out the beneficial mineral properties essential to our good health.

Drinking water filters are the most convenient and inexpensive way to filter and purify water for safe consumption. The filter paper or cartridge that makes up the main part of the drinking water filter is designed to remove dirt, impurities and the bad smell.

It should be pointed out that no water purification method is 100% reliable and certain. That being said, however, some systems are better than others.

When researching the best system for you and your family, look for a system that uses multi-stage filtration. This helps guard against chlorine, lead and VOCs (volatile organic chemicals).

Becoming an educated consumer will go a long way toward providing for the health and well-being of your family. Especially when you find the best product you can get.

So my fellow water connoisseurs...now that you know that there's more to drinking water than just the taste, do yourself a favor and really make the most of your water-drinking experience.

Take some time to compare drinking water filters. You will find, like I did, that there are plenty of mediocre products, some really good ones, and a small handful that blow the rest out of the water. (Sorry...I couldn't resist.)