Chlorine in Shower Water
Hidden Dangers of Your Morning Shower
U.S. News & World Report - July 29, 1991
"Is Your Water Safe - The Dangerous State of Your Water"
Chlorine: Added to all municipal water supplies, this disinfectant hardens arteries, destroys proteins in the body, irritates skin and sinus conditions, and aggravates asthma, allergies, and respiratory problems.
Chloroform: This powerful by product of chlorination causes excessive free radical formation (accelerated aging!), normal cells to mutate, and cholesterol to oxidize. It is a known carcinogen!
DCA (Dichloro acetic acid): This chlorine byproduct alters cholesterol metabolism and has been shown to cause liver cancer in lab animals.
MX (another chlorinated acid): Another byproduct of chlorination, MX is known to cause genetic mutations that can lead to cancer growth and has been found in all chlorinated water for which it was tested.
Proven cause of bladder and rectal cancer: Research has proven that chlorinated water is the direct cause of 9% of all bladder cancers and 15% of all rectal cancers in the US.
Dear Reader,
You would not knowingly bathe in toxins every morning ... or set out to ravage your lungs and sinuses, irritate your allergies, aggravate your skin, or ... perhaps most horrifying of all...
- Willingly increase your risk of cancer... would you? -
Of course not. But the fact is, the chlorine in your shower water is a powerful toxin --- deadly to bacteria and fungi, and poison for your body.
You absorb more chlorine in a 10-minute shower than by drinking 8 glasses of the same water!
Tests show that your skin, the largest organ of your body, can absorb more chlorine as a result of a 10 minute shower than if you drank 8 glasses of the same water. How can that be?
A warm shower opens up your pores, causing your skin to act like a sponge. As a result, you not only inhale the chlorine vapors, you also absorb them through your skin, directly into your blood-stream -- at a rate that's up to six times higher than drinking the water.
In terms of cumulative damage to your health, showering in chlorinated water is one of the most dangerous risks you take every day. In the short term, chlorinated shower water irritates your eyes, your sinuses, your throat, your skin, and your lungs. Long term risks include excessive free radical formation (which makes you age faster), higher vulnerability to genetic mutation and cancer development, difficulty metabolizing cholesterol and hardened arteries.
Showering in chlorine-treated water is a serious risk --- but it's also one of the very few risks you can erase immediately. And it is up to you to protect yourself.
100 years of cancer in the making
For almost 100 years, chlorine has been added to disinfect our municipal water supply. The level of chlorine in your area depends on the quality of your water supply, but even if there's no noticeable taste or smell, the chlorine is present, as are the byproducts of chlorination, which include some of the most potent carcinogens known.
There is also evidence that chlorine destroys protein in your body. As I am sure you are already aware, this disinfectant / bleach makes your hair and scalp dry, worsens dandruff and ruins tinted or chemically treated hair. But what you may not know is that if you suffer from any of the following, chlorinated water makes your condition worse.
sinus conditions
allergies
skin rashes
emphysema
But that is just for starters.
More hazards of chlorinated water:
When chlorine reacts with the organic matter already present in water (humus, the organic material formed from plant decay), toxic byproducts are formed. Chloroform, for example, causes cells to mutate and cholesterol to oxidize. Once used as an anesthetic, chloroform was banned by the FDA in 1976 when it was discovered to cause cancer.
"Even if there is no noticeable taste or smell, the chlorine is present, as are the byproducts of chlorination, which include some of the most potent carcinogens known."
Another byproduct, MX. is considered the "single largest contributor" to the mutagenic potential (the ability of a substance to cause genetic mutations) of our municipal water supply, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. MX has shown up in every chlorinated water source for which it has been tested. DCA, another mutagen, alters cholesterol metabolism and has shown to cause liver cancer in lab animals.
The evidence is clear. The risks are tremendous. The advice is simple: Stop chlorinating your body!
>>> Chlorine shower filters
>>> Removing chlorine from bath water
The statements enclosed herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The products mentioned on this site are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Information and statements made are for education purposes and are not intended to replace the advice of your family doctor.
© IonLife INC 2005
