It’s the time when people reflect back on the past year that passed and set their focus on the year ahead. That means about half of all Americans (45% according to most statistics out there) will be setting New Year’s resolutions, most of which have something to do with what we consume. What if I told you that there was one specific thing you could focus on that would not only impact resolutions, but could possibly turn out to be one of the most important things you do in your daily routine? Well, there is, and it is very simple. Drink more water! So let’s resolve to drink more water and get ourselves away from sodas and all sugary drinks. Then we can check off the other major resolutions like improving our well-being, weight and overall health as well.
FILTERS AVAILABLE AT THE CO-OP
The key to drinking more water is quality and availability. No one likes to drink water that smells like pool water and tastes terrible. You are also not going to drink water if all you have available is soda or other sugary beverages. The best investment one can make for your health and water-drinking habits is to buy a water filter and reusable water bottle. The Co-op has expanded its water filter offerings over the past year to include more options. There are countertop filters, pitcher filters and even shower filters, all of which are made by New Wave Enviro. The company is family-owned and started in 1993 to create environmentally friendly products that center around quality water.
The pitcher filters are an affordable option that allows portability. We carry three different options, all of which are BPA-free, dishwasher-safe and WQA (Water Quality Association)- certified. We carry the Twist Filter Pitcher, the Eco Filter Pitcher and the Alkaline Filter Pitcher, which all use the same filter. The Twist and Eco vary in capacity but have the same carbon-based filter that removes most of the chlorine, copper, cadmium and mercury, while improving overall taste. The Alkaline pitchers uses the same filter but also raise the pH of the water to 8.5-9.5 by adding the perfect balance of naturally ionized magnesium, potassium, calcium and sodium.
New Wave also offers “enhanced” replacement filters that fit all the pitchers. The Anti-Arsenic filter can remove arsenic as well as the other pollutants filtered by the standard model. There is also the Ultra which is “backcountry rated” as it can filter out 99.99% of naturally occurring bacteria and cysts found in surfacewater.
My personal favorite filter that the Co-op offers is the countertop 10 Stage Water Filter by New Wave Enviro. I have personally used this system for about six years and will attest to its greatness. It is certainly an investment but well worth it. The system attaches to your faucet and diverts tap water through the 10 stage filter and out of the system’s faucet. They also make an under-the-counter attachment to save counter space and give a cleaner look. That you’d have to purchase online as an extra.
The filter lasts about a year, but that depends on your use. It is rated for a three-to-four person household for one year and filters out most of the chlorine, trihalomethanes, organic arsenic and mercury, lead, PBCs, giardia, cryptosporidium, floating solids, asbestos, pesticides and herbicides. Pretty solid stuff. If you do not have a water softener, you will still have hard water with the filter so make sure to clean it out with vinegar once a year.
WATER CONTAINERS
Now all you need is a good reusable water container. The Co-op sells Klean Kanteen and Life Factory bottles, as well as some larger New Wave Enviro containers. I personally have a well-dented Klean Kanteen bottle that I’ve had for about seven-to-eight years. The average American uses about 167 “disposable” plastic water bottles a year. That means that if I followed that trend, I would have saved about 1,336 bottles from using my Klean Kanteen. And I always have clean, fresh water to drink.
People who explicitly make specific resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t. Broad resolutions or goals are difficult to follow as they usually focus on large shifts in many aspects of our lifestyle. If we focus on one aspect of our lives that can effect change on many loftier goals like losing weight, being healthier or even improving our mental health, that one aspect can make an impact on all of the goals. More bang for your buck, so to speak. I choose to focus on increasing my water intake and eliminating the beverages containing sugar. I sure hope you join me!
