What's In Your Water?

My Dad is a huge fan of NYC tap water. Every time he sees any of us drinking soda, we know to brace ourselves for a lecture. Nothing we say fazes him and his lectures of knowledge and experience.

"Dad, I don't even have soda in my house on a regular basis."
"Dad, this is not soda, it's a flavored seltzer."
"Dad, this is at least DIET soda."
"OK, Dad, this is just a plain seltzer!"

According to Dear Dad, everything is bad to drink except:

COFFEE... with milk it's OK (not half and half , certainly no cream! And not just whole milk, it's gotta be skim!)... with some type of sugar substitute. (Somehow, Mr I'm-So-Concerned-About-Healthy-Eating has nothing to say about sugar substitutes when it comes to his coffee. I forget which colored one he uses but according to him, there's a difference. Coffee is also good for preventing Alzheimers. Just NO SUGAR ADDED! He always adds in, "Do you know how many grams of sugar a can of soda contains?? How many of those little restaurant packets of sugar that is?"  Actually, yeah I do, but I'll let you tell me again.

TEA... green tea's the best  but other teas are fine. Just not AS good. And it's gotta be the tea with the loose leaves. Somehow bagged ones are not as good.

MILK... See above comment about whole milk vs skim milk. If he sees my kids drinking milk, he checks the fridge.
"You know, there's no reason to drink whole milk. There's all this extra fat and it's so unhealthy!".  
"Dad, we're doing 1%.  Skim milk tastes gross."
Dad shakes his head.

JUICE... According to Dad... "Ah Yah! All that sugar in the juice. Why not just eat the fruit! You get fiber that way too!!"

WATER... NYC tap water is THE ABSOLUTE BEST!! If he sees us drinking from a water bottle, he'll sigh and shake his head as if we were the town idiots. Why BUY water that comes from an ambiguous source when NYC tap water is the cleanest, best tasting and most of all.... FREE!!  While we do drink tap water at home, we don't refill water bottles and the empty plastic Poland Springs you see on our kitchen  counters are the bottles that we buy when we're outside.We bring the empty bottles home to be recycled. According to Dad, he takes those home because he's afraid our idea of recycling is just putting it to the curb every other Tuesday as part of regular trash recycling.  Dad-recycling means getting cash back.
"Dad, we DO do recycling into machines when we go to the supermarket".  
"No, I know you guys, you are too busy to do it and will just throw it outside out of convenience so I will take it home and get the five cents back myself! You guys are too busy working and earning money and no time to save five cents!"
This discussion never goes anywhere. Hahaha! Asian kids will laugh at this cause you all know this conversation will always go on to mention how we have it so easy these days and how ungrateful we are for the hard work of the parents. Right? Am I right?

So my newest article for Weekly Biz newspaper is on the benefits of fluoride in our tap water. Enjoy the reading!

What’s In Your Water?

Summer is almost here and when I’m thirsty, there’s nothing I like to drink more than fresh, cold water straight from the faucet. Most patients I ask tell me that they drink bottled water or filtered water.  Why, I ask them. NYC tap water is wonderful! When I travel I’m always curious about the taste of different local tap waters.  When I visit my relatives in Toronto, the water tastes fine but I have to hold my nose to drink it. It does not smell good. All of my relatives in California have their water delivered to their house. The water in California does not taste good and it does not smell good. I’m sure it’s fine to drink but no one does. My sister’s town in New Jersey uses well water. She uses it to cook and clean but doesn’t drink it. She even buys bottled water for her two precious doggies. She says the well water upsets their stomachs!

Between now and July, water suppliers across the US have to send their yearly report on water quality. These reports which tell us the quality of our water and what’s in it may be mailed to our homes, in local newspapers or even online on the computer.  I received my report last week.

As a neighbor, I always check to see how clean my local water is and what the government has found in it. It’s always fine. As a dentist, however, I check for one thing… FLUORIDE!

Fluoride is a mineral that occurs naturally in all water sources, including oceans, lakes and rivers. Research shows that fluoride helps prevent cavities in children and adults by making teeth stronger to the acid attacks that cause cavities. Fluoride is nature’s cavity fighter, helping repair the early stages of cavities even before the decay can be seen. Over 70% of the population is currently receiving the benefits of fluoride through their drinking water. While teeth are forming under the gums, the fluoride taken in largely from drinking water and other beverages strengthens tooth enamel making it stronger and more resistant to cavities. After teeth erupt, fluoride helps repair (remineralize) weakened tooth enamel and reverse early cavities.

Studies show that with the addition of fluoride to water to a recommended level for preventing tooth decay, at least 25 percent of tooth decay in children and adults can be prevented. In fact, public water fluoridation is noted as the single most effective public health measure to prevent tooth decay.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has proclaimed community water fluoridation as “one of 10 great public health achievements.”

If you or your family drinks filtered or bottled water, you may be missing out on those benefits. That’s because many bottled waters do not contain fluoride. If you want to know if the bottled water you drink contains fluoride, be sure to check the label. Also, if you use a home water filter and bottle your own water, you may be removing the fluoride from your tap water.  Check your filter and check your bottled water labels. Find out…. What’s in YOUR water?