FDA Plastics: Ensuring Your Water’s Purity

FDA Plastics: Ensuring Your Water’s Purity

Water is vital to human life. That’s the conclusion reached in many studies, including one from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, which revealed that water plays a crucial role in many life-sustaining bodily functions, such as transporting nutrients to cells, removing waste, protecting joints and organs, and maintaining body temperature.

What Some People Don’t Know About Water but Probably Should

Available data shows the human body loses between 8 and 12 cups of water via breathing, sweating, urinating, and even passing bowel movements. The water loss is even more substantial when individuals exercise or engage in other forms of physical activity. Because that is the case, physicians, nutritionists, dieticians, and other healthcare providers routinely encourage individuals to drink plenty of water throughout the day.

While water is essential to the body, not all water is safe to drink. That’s especially true when it comes to tap water. That’s the conclusion reached in a study published by Environment Health News, an independent non-profit and non-partisan online news organization that reports on environmental health topics. It revealed that over 320 toxic substances have been discovered in the U.S. drinking water system since 2019.

In a separate study, the same organization found that contaminated drinking water can increase an individual’s chances of developing numerous health problems, such as gastrointestinal illnesses, nervous system and reproductive disorders, and even certain cancers. It is worth noting that several factors determine whether or not contaminants in water will lead to these and other health problems. These factors include the contamination concentration, individual susceptibility, the amount of water consumed, and the exposure duration.

What the U.S. Government Is Doing to Lower Our Exposure to Contaminated Water

For those unaware, the two government organizations that oversee and regulate drinking water safety in the U.S. include the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  And this applies to tap and bottled water.  The FDA regulates and monitors the bottled water industry, and the EPA regulates and monitors municipal tap water.  Both government agencies determine the acceptable contamination levels in water intended for human consumption.  However, the FDA also determines the type of plastic bottles manufacturers can use for bottled water intended for consumers. The same applies to plastics in water ionizer machines.

How Ionizers With Plastic Approved by the FDA Can Protect the Environment and Make Tap Water Safer to Drink

Also known as an alkaline ionizer, a water ionizer is a home appliance that increases the pH of drinking water via a process known as electrolysis. This process separates the water into an alkaline stream with a higher pH and an acidic stream with a lower pH and then filters it to remove impurities. The long and short of it is water ionizers provide individuals with great-tasting water free of potentially harmful contaminants. They also help reduce the number of plastic bottles that make their way into landfills, which benefits the environment.  From a health standpoint, consuming water filtered through a water ionizer contributes to the following:

  • A lower chance of developing cancer
  • Better cardiovascular health
  • Enhanced detoxification
  • Improved hydration
  • Lower acidity in the body
  • Stronger immune system

Not all water ionizers are created equal. Quality water ionizers generally contain FDA-approved plastic. That could be polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, or another type. These plastics are more durable than their non-FDA-approved counterparts and are far more chemically inert. All Tyent water ionizers contain FDA-approved plastic, so our customers can feel confident knowing the water filtered through their device is as good or even better than traditional bottled water. They can also feel proud that they are doing their part to reduce the amount of plastic bottles that end up in landfills each year. To learn more about our water ionizer systems and their many benefits, consider speaking with a Tyent USA associate today.

About the author

Carlisle Edwards (Sr. Writer, Water Filtration) writes our content on water filtration, reverse osmosis, and avoiding waterborne contamination. He has experience in water and food safety and conducts microbiology research. He’s WaterAudit’s resident sports fan, and loves cheering on his local LA Galaxy soccer team.