Is Your Drinking Water Holding You Back?
How to eliminate toxins, supercharge your body's detox pathways, and unlock your Golden Glow.
“Water is life, and clean water means health.” - Audrey Hepburn
With summer heating up, you’re likely reaching for more water.
But is the water you’re drinking actually hydrating you or what if it’s holding you back?
Think about those mornings you feel foggy or those afternoons when your energy mysteriously crashes. We often blame diet, stress, or poor sleep.
What if the cause is the water you're diligently consuming to stay healthy?
Unfortunately, drinking water from dubious sources can make you feel this way by adding toxins to your body versus flushing them out as you intended.
Our tap water has become a repository for chemicals our bodies weren't meant to process—from the neurotoxins fluoride and chlorine, heavy metals, and agricultural runoff. Yet what is the most damaging is that these contaminants aren't just passing through your system – many don’t leave! Benjamin Franklin’s famous saying goes, “guests, like fish, begin to smell after 3 days,” here the guests are these toxins but they permanently move in! These unwelcome toxins reside and accumulate in your tissues and wreak havoc. By disrupting your hormones and messing with your nervous system, toxins from water create a cascade of vexing and lasting health struggles that conventional medicine rarely connects to your water source.
But never fear: Nourishing Lab is here! I won’t introduce problems without providing solutions! Let's explore what's really in your water and how to transform this daily necessity into a powerful tool for health.
Two major offenders:
Atrazine: A potent toxic herbicide which harms human and animal health, banned in the EU, is allowed to flow from our taps! It’s application on crops causes runoff and soil leaching which infiltrates our water systems. In this week's blog, we'll uncover its alarming effects, including:
Hormone disruption: It specifically lowers androgen levels (like testosterone) and interferes with steroid synthesis, crucial for everything from stress management to reproductive health.
Reproductive health impacts: Causes lowered fertility in males and females.
Cognitive health concerns: Potentially impacting brain function.
Dopamine levels: Disrupting your "feel-good" neurotransmitter.
Gut health imbalances: Altering your crucial gut microbiome causing issues.
Compromising the immune system: Making you vulnerable to many illnesses.
The Infamous Frog Study
One of the most eye-opening studies* about atrazine involved frogs—and let me tell you, it’s not just a frog problem. Researchers found that exposure caused serious developmental issues in these amphibians, like plummeting androgen levels (goodbye, testosterone!) and even physical changes to their reproductive organs. Imagine the ripple effects on wildlife populations! And while you’re obviously not a frog, this study is a big red flag for humans. It raised pressing questions about what atrazine can do to human reproduction and development.**
If it can disrupt the hormonal systems of frogs so profoundly, what’s it quietly doing to us?
This isn’t just about pond life—it’s a wake-up call for all of us.
The other offender may surprise you since we all grew up thinking this was a health essential:
Fluoride: Many believe it's preventive for dental caries, but the science reveals a more concerning picture. Beyond its unexpected industrial origins (it certainly wasn't created for health benefits), fluoride has been found to accumulate in the pineal gland. This can significantly impact your hormone production and disrupt crucial sleep quality. Even more alarming is the documented connection between fluoride exposure and lowered IQ, particularly in developing children.*** What's more, fluoride isn't just in your drinking water; it lurks in hidden sources like common medications (e.g., certain antidepressants like fluoxetine, some antibiotics like ciprofloxacin, and cholesterol-lowering drugs like atorvastatin) and foods (like black tea, processed foods made with fluoridated water, and some seafood).
But I won’t leave you with problems without offering solutions!
You can prevent further exposure by filtering your home drinking water and using a water bottle when you go out. It will also save you money on buying bottled water. And I delve into detox modalities as well.
So, what can you drink?
My preferred option is distilled water. Distillation offers exceptional purity by boiling and condensing water, effectively leaving nearly all contaminants behind. However, it's crucial to understand that distilled water is devoid of minerals, so you must diligently add back essential minerals (through mineral drops or a mineral-rich diet) to ensure proper hydration and avoid nutrient imbalances, especially with long-term use. I typically add in BodyBio E-Lyte Concentrate of Pure Electrolytes.
For those seeking filtration, it's crucial to choose wisely. Many popular options simply aren't enough. For example, Brita systems, while convenient and improving taste, are primarily designed to reduce chlorine and some metals. They do not filter out a comprehensive range of harmful contaminants like fluoride, pharmaceuticals, microplastics, or many agricultural chemicals. They're a step up from unfiltered tap water for taste, but not a robust solution for effective purification.
For a truly transformative approach to your daily hydration, I prefer systems like the AquaTru water filter. This is a countertop reverse osmosis system that provides multi-stage filtration, effectively removing up to 99% of contaminants. Unlike basic pitcher filters, AquaTru utilizes a four-stage reverse osmosis technology, miniaturizing the same purification process used by major bottled water brands. This means it's highly effective at removing fluoride, lead, chromium-6, nitrates, PFAS "forever chemicals," and many other persistent contaminants. It's an investment, but it offers a peace of mind knowing you're drinking truly purified water, without the need for plumbing installation. Think of this a way of paying for preventative health!
Supercharge Your Body's Detox Power
Beyond minimizing new exposures through pure water, empowering your body's natural detoxification pathways is key to clearing out accumulated toxins. Think of your liver and gut as your body's primary filtration and waste removal systems—supporting them is paramount.
To give these vital organs a helping hand:
Nourish with Antioxidants: Incorporate foods rich in potent antioxidants like Vitamin C (found in citrus, berries, bell peppers) and Vitamin E (in nuts, seeds, leafy greens). These compounds help neutralize harmful free radicals generated during detoxification.
Photo by Jonathan Mast on Unsplash Key Detox Nutrients: Ensure adequate intake of elements like selenium (from Brazil nuts, tuna, sunflower seeds) and glutathione, often called the "master antioxidant," which your body can produce or get from sulfur-rich foods like broccoli, garlic, and onions.
Embrace Sweating: Sweating is a fantastic way to excrete toxins directly through your skin. Regular exercise that gets your heart rate up, or relaxing sessions in a sauna, can significantly enhance this process.
Utilize Binders: Binders are incredible allies that help trap toxins in your digestive tract and carry them safely out of the body, preventing reabsorption. Cellcore’s HM-ET Binder is a binder that works by absorbing these chemicals in the gut. Chlorella, such as Biopure Chlorella Pyrenoidosa a nutrient-dense green algae, is another natural option that can bind to heavy metals and other toxins, aiding in their removal. In addition, chlorella is a complete food rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals, including magnesium, potassium, Vitamins A, C, D, E, and K, and the full complement of B vitamins.
External Support Practices: Epsom salt baths (rich in magnesium) can help draw out toxins, while dry brushing stimulates lymphatic flow, and castor oil packs applied to the liver area are popular methods for promoting liver and gut health.
Photo by Maddi Bazzocco on Unsplash
Transforming your water from a potential source of harm to a powerful healing tool can have profound effects on your overall well-being. When your body isn't constantly battling a chemical cocktail from your drinking water, it can dedicate more energy to vital functions like detoxification, hormone balance, and cellular repair. Well-filtered or properly remineralized distilled water can contribute to clearer thinking, more stable energy levels, improved digestion, a stronger immune system, and significantly lower the risk for infections.
For example, Giardia is one of the most common parasites that can infect us when we drink contaminated water.**** While it is usually not present in our treated water systems, there are regular Giardia outbreaks across the country from unexpected contamination. Choosing purified water helps shield you from these and other waterborne pathogens. It's about giving your body the cleanest fuel possible, allowing it to function at its peak and unlock its natural healing capabilities.
Come see me for a 15 minute free consultation to see if you should test for some of these toxins in your system. I can also give you the optimal amount of water you should drink per day to stay hydrated and start from a position of strength in your health.
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References:
Hayes TB, Khoury V, Narayan A, Nazir M, Park A, Brown T, Adame L, Chan E, Buchholz D, Stueve T, Gallipeau S. Atrazine induces complete feminization and chemical castration in male African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Mar 9;107(10):4612-7. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0909519107. Epub 2010 Mar 1. PMID: 20194757; PMCID: PMC2842049.
Guimarães-Ervilha LO, Assis MQ, Bento IPDS, Lopes IDS, Iasbik-Lima T, Carvalho RPR, Machado-Neves M. Exploring the endocrine-disrupting potential of atrazine for male reproduction: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Reprod Biol. 2025 Mar;25(1):100989. doi: 10.1016/j.repbio.2024.100989. Epub 2024 Dec 20. PMID: 39708576.
Grandjean P. Developmental fluoride neurotoxicity: an updated review. Environ Health. 2019 Dec 19;18(1):110. doi: 10.1186/s12940-019-0551-x. PMID: 31856837; PMCID: PMC6923889.
LeChevallier MW, Prosser T, Stevens M. Opportunistic Pathogens in Drinking Water Distribution Systems-A Review. Microorganisms. 2024 Apr 30;12(5):916. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms12050916. PMID: 38792751; PMCID: PMC11124194.