Hey beautiful! So you’re looking for the best water filters, eh?
I saw someone on Facebook ask about water filters, alkaline and spring water, and I wanted to share my thoughts, because I know it’s a lot to consider!
Here are my thoughts on the best water filters (and which one I use) as a Holistic Nutritionist <3
Reverse Osmosis + Remineralizing Cartridge:
I like reverse osmosis systems with a remineralizing cartridge as a super-clean option, the draw-back to these ones is that a lot of water is wasted/sent down the drain, and my heart doesn’t love that for the world. I do know some people use this drain-off water to water plants, but if it’s what the RO system is filtering out, you may not want to constantly water fruits and veggies you’re growing with what was filtered out of the water.
Berkey Filter:
The latest kind of filter I’ve seen and read about is the Berkey system, which is a counter-top with some pretty cool studies on what it filters out. You can find out some more information on them here, and I would expect I’ll probably get one of these in the future for drinking water. The drawback is that it’s big and sits on your counter, and that you have to refill it.
Charcoal Block Filter:
I currently use a charcoal block filter that hooks up to my tap, and I like it because it was easy to set up, I can move with it, and I purchased one with a really tiny micron rating. Mine is .3 and I was really happy with that (at the time I purchased it, I hadn’t heard about Berkey, and Santevia filters (about the same size as Berkey) and I don’t know at this moment how they compare) were too big. You can do some research on what’s in your water (your municipality should have some info), and figure out based on that what micron size is best for you (meaning what it’ll be able to block).
Brita Filter:
Brita filters only filter out what you taste, and they haven’t to my knowledge at the time of writing this post, shared actual studies showing the amounts of anything their filters are able to take out of tap water. So, their incredibly vague FAQ and Water Contamination pages seem to suggest they lessen a few things, without giving you any information on how much is taken out of the water using their filters. So it’s always worth actually spending the money and getting a good filter (which it sounds like you know from your glorious comments so far 
🙂 ).
Kangen/Alkaline Water:
As far as Kangen and other alkaline water systems, I’m not completely sold on having every glass of water you drink be alkaline. I’m not sure how many areas of the world would have had access to alkaline water, so I’d want to research that if I were looking deeper into them as an option.
I might see this as a better option for people who eat really poorly, but again, then you’re not fixing the actual problem, you’re just masking it when humans were meant to get their amazing minerals from great food choices (hi there plenty of organic produce!). So, this one has a lot of back and forth for me in terms of how I feel about it.
I’d like to see about areas of the world whose water is or was highly alkaline, just to see if there are longer-term studies/information on humans using it. The other light concern I have, which is why I’d want population studies, is that drinking alkaline water all the time, as your sole source of water means that you’re constantly plunking alkaline minerals into your stomach, which is supposed to be highly acidic as one of your first lines of defense against disease.
For short-term use, or healing, or a way to speed up healing, the alkaline water may be useful, but over time I do wonder if your digestion would start to be shot a little bit because of all the things that are supposed to happen when you eat (from the acidity in your stomach).
I know some people will probably say that stomach acid is so acidic you couldn’t possibly dilute it, but you are throwing minerals into it, and over time the body always adapts, so I’d wonder if us adapting by this would be helpful or harmful.
Distilled Water:
Distilled water is arguably the cleanest, but I know any of the people that are rah-rah alkaline water will hate the fact that you’ll be throwing in water without minerals to your body.
Remineralizing it would be helpful, and there are lots of sticks made of crushed rocks to help you achieve that. Though for some people who eat too much sodium, distilled water (and bottled only ever in glass – you don’t want the lack of minerals to pull from a plastic bottle!), could be helpful to help pull some of that out of the body. But, globally, then I start to think about the electricity needed to make this happen every day, with enough of it to drink on the daily. And, in terms of nature, while rain does this, rain water would have typically pooled in springs and rivers where there are minerals present from the rocks, algae and aquatic life, and then we probably would have drunk that water.
Spring Water:
Spring water is something I’d use, but again, I make sure my diet is loaded with minerals of it’s own, and the inconvenience of picking up big bottles of water and hauling them back every week feels a little daunting to me.
Extra Note for Thyroid Issues:
Second-lastly, when I work with clients with thyroid issues (either hyper or hypo), I always want them drinking water that has no fluoride or chlorine, since both of those compete with iodine for absorption and use by the thyroid gland (which can send some pretty wonky signals out). Making sure they’re eating some sea veggies to ensure they’re getting enough iodine, plus reducing as much of those two chemicals as possible through a good filter and possibly wheatgrass added to that water for the initial healing part, is super-important. So sometimes my recommendations for water will be different based on the person.
Shower + Bath Filters:
Lastly, you can absorb chemicals from water just as much from your shower or bath as you can from your drinking water, which I found staggering, so I use a Santevia water filter on my shower and a bath ball filter that the tap runs through when I’m running a bath.
Lastly, Gratitude!
I love traveling, and my first trip was to India. I lived in an orphanage for two months, in a tiny village.
Yes, you could spend your life frustrated that our governments should filter our water so its best for our health, but take a moment to realize how many kids, teens and adults are dying worldwide right now because of a lack of water that’s safe to drink. Take a moment to consider the fact that even with fluoride and chlorine, you can go to your tap right now, and it will run water that is safe enough to drink in this moment. Think about how many people would LOVE that option, happily taking the chlorine and fluoride.
And that’s not to make you feel bad, that’s to fill you with SO much love that you’re in a place right now, where you get to drink the top, healthiest water in the world, because it’s clean and safe what comes out of your tap, and you have the possibility of even improving that with a filter that’s right for you.
Just amazing.
Choose a filter that’s best for you. Because health is YOUR responsibility.
Sending love to you as you pro and con the best water filters, and find what is best for you!
XO,
Nathalie
Holistic Nutritionist for High Energy
Glow Nutritional Consulting
