Anti Fluoride campaigner and Journalist Adrienne Murphy, discovers an alternative solution to removing fluoride from her families’ drinking water.

Adrienne Murphy with her two boys Fiach and Caoimh

As a health-conscious person, I’ve never felt great about drinking Irish tap water. I knew that contaminants were the reason for the water’s bad taste and smell. It was an effort encouraging my children to drink tap water, and my dog frequently turned his nose up at it, preferring to drink rainwater instead.

When I began my journalistic investigation into water fluoridation for Hot Press magazine in February 2013, I became seriously concerned about the safety of  tap water. A year later, my investigation is still going strong, and is a crucial plank in the current Irish campaign to end the 50-year mandatory practice of dumping hyrdrofluorosilicic acid (‘fluoride’) into the public water supply. The notion that we must be force-feed an uncontrollable dose of fluoride via our taps ‘because it’s a safe and effective way to prevent dental decay’ is ethically unacceptable, and has been scientifically debunked. It is now known that fluoride acts on the teeth topically, as opposed to systemically – hence there is no need to expose every tissue in the body to fluoride through the tap water. There is also an ever-increasing amount of scientific research linking fluoride in our water to serious adverse health effects.

The Hot Press fluoride investigation is the most extensive of its kind ever to be undertaken internationally. Having researched and written more than 25 articles on this subject, I can say with absolute certainty that consuming fluoridated water is detrimental to health, and in many cases, it is downright dangerous. Responsible doctors are now warning that pregnant women and infants should not be exposed to any fluoride through tap water.  Other high-risk groups are people with thyroid dysfunction and kidney disease.

Of course fluoride is not the only contaminant in Irish tap water. Chlorine, lead, heavy metals, dangerous bacteria and a host of other nasties are also present.

We’re each made of at least 75 per cent water. Drinking plenty of water is one of the healthiest things you can do for your body, your mind and your overall well-being. But it’s only healthy if the water you’re consuming is healthy. And Irish tap-water is a far cry from healthy.

Alarmed by my research into our water quality, I quickly moved to reduce my family’s exposure to fluoride and the other contaminants in tap water. I started buying large quantities of bottled water to use for drinking and cooking. I felt a huge relief to be off tap water, and began to see improvements in my children’s health and my own. But it’s a hard job lugging around that much bottled water, plus it’s time-consuming and environmentally-unfriendly dealing with all that plastic. Also, when I unexpectedly ran out of bottled water, I’d be loathe to even brush my teeth in the tap water, since I know that fluoride is a neurotoxin and an endocrine-disruptor.

After a couple of months on bottled water, I threw in the towel and started looking for an under-the-sink Reverse Osmosis (RO) filter. Counter-top filters do remove some contaminants, but they don’t take out fluoride. The company I chose to supply and install my RO filter was EWT. EWT was Irish Business of the Year in 2011; it has the highest number of certified water quality association employees; it is currently supplying filters to the HSE and Leister House; and it has the advantage of being 12 years in business.

The RO filter was fitted under my sink no problem, and I found the EWT guys who installed it very pleasant to deal with. It’s a relief to be able to wash my salad leaves, and even rinse out the kids’ flasks, in the pure water coming from the  EWT G5 RO tap at my kitchen sink. The water tastes much, much better, and I feel so much happier steaming and boiling our food in it. Another advantage is that my kids are now drinking a lot more water, simply because they like the taste.

Drinking plenty of clean pure water is fundamental to good health. And installing an RO filter into your kitchen at home is one of the most positive steps you can take towards good health for you and for your family. It’s an investment worth making.
If you are concerned about any of the information in this article or would like more information of EWT’s G5 RO system call 1850 39 28 37 or visit www.ewtwater.ie