Chlorine is commonly found in our water supply and that’s for a good reason. Chlorine could easily kill nasty bacteria and other parasites. But, we should proper examine what chlorine could actually do to our health and if it’s truly safe. Chlorine is clearly a superb exterminator of bacteria. Before the days of chlorine, many thousands of people constantly lived in real fear of getting waterborne illnesses. At the time, it was quite common to lose a family member or friend to Cholera and other diseases caused parasites. It’s obvious why we began to add this seemingly miraculous substance to our drinking water. However, chlorine is not very safe. Because, chlorine is used in our pools and drinking water, it can be highly ingested. As a potent disinfectant, any chlorine level should kill most bacteria that are present in the water. However, our gut, intestines and other digestive organs contain billions of beneficial bacteria that are required for proper digestion process. The higher chlorine level in the water, the more bacteria it will kill. This could lead to many diseases including nausea, decreased absorption of nutrition and irritable bowel (IBS).
Chlorine doesn’t only kill many beneficial bacteria, it could also react chemically with many organic matter within our body. But, just like many chemical reactions, we could find numerous by-products. One of them is trihalomethanes (THMs) and it is closely related to chloroform. THMs are common causes of cancer and they are also potent toxins. Obviously, the EPA is already aware of such “by-products”, but have proper “safe” limit is yet to be enforced. Ideally, the limit should be a big fat zero, yet this may never happen in our lifetime. Many health agencies are aware, but they don’t do anything to eliminate these potential carcinogens and toxins. Not only can these harmful substances are found in great abundance in many drinking water systems, showers can produce a significant amount of vaporized THMs that can readily inhaled into our lung and directly absorbed by the blood. Studies have shown that frequent swimmers have much higher absorption rate THMs just under their skin.
This fact may make us never want to go to the swimming pool again. Like chloroform, THMs can cause reduced levels of testosterone in any individual, both male and females. The risks of consuming chlorine far outweigh the actual risks of not using it. I created There are facts that we need to be aware and there are questions we need to answer before we actually drink the water. Many people could go as far as buying filtering machine to purify all water that enters their house to eliminate large amounts of potentially toxic chlorine. But we could also choose a more viable water source for any drinking purpose. As for swimming, those who live by the ocean, should find that going to the beach will suffice. Being chronically poisoned with chlorine, some people should start to minimize their exposure to this harmful toxin whenever possible. So, we need to keep our eyes out for this kind of substance.