Could Tap Water Contribute to Prostate Cancer?

A recent study published in the British Medical Journal has found a potential link between drinking tap water and prostate cancer deaths. The researchers looked at the percentage of women using oral contraceptives, IUDs, condoms, and vaginal barrier contraceptives in 87 different countries. Then they compared the incidence and deaths from prostate cancer in those same countries.

Unlike any of the other forms of contraceptives, they found the highest rates of prostate cancer in those countries with the highest use of oral contraceptives. 

So far this doesn’t prove a direct connection between the two, but based on earlier studies, it’s not much of a stretch. The estrogen in birth control pills passes in the urine into the sewage systems and eventually ends up in the drinking water supply. 

We’ve already seen where high levels of estrogen in surface water have resulted in widespread changes in the sexual development (feminization, sterilization, and sexual deformities) of fish and frogs. Reptiles, in particular, seem to be the “canary in the coal mine” when it comes to water pollution. Even the smallest concentrations of hormones or other water pollutants can have an immediate and dramatic effect on their reproduction and overall health.

Estrogenic compounds found in drinking water may be contributing to both the incidence and mortality of prostate cancer. We know it is resulting in earlier puberty in girls and most likely a drop in fertility in men. I believe many of the pesticides that were developed to kill insects by specifically destroying their nervous system, are contributing to the unexplained increase in so many neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and Lou Gehrig’s disease.  

If you are on a private, uncontaminated well (that you’ve tested) then there’s little doubt your tap water comes from a public water system and is contaminated. Bet on it.  As sophisticated as our water processing plants are, they still  don’t have the capability of testing for each and every potential herbicide, pesticide, toxic compound, metal, radioactive particle, or drug that reaches the water source. 

Besides air, water is the only thing we take in on a consistent, every day basis. It needs to be clean and pure. If the municipal water is your only choice, then I recommend distilling the water with pre- and post-carbon filtration. 

Now it's your turn: How do you make sure your water is clean and pure?

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