which is healthier? bottled water or tap water?!

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Neither. The healthiest water, is the one that goes through a filter, like britta.

We are told that tap water has things in that we won't get in bottled water, but bottled water often has things in, like exceptionally high levels of nitrates, that are very unhealthy. Then there are filters, which we are told will remove all of these nasties, but filters very quickly build up bacteria. Jug filters are bad for this and house filters are even worse.

If you live in a country where the tap water is safe to drink, then it is cheaper, easier and no worse for you, in fact, proably safer, than bottled or filtered water.

Many people wonder whether bottled water is healthier than tap water. Most people assume it is, perhaps after watching misleading commercials or viewing labels that depict pristine H2O flowing outdoors. The truth is bottled H2O isn't necessarily healthier than tap. In fact, about a quarter of bottled waters are really just tap H2O in disguise. According to the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC), sometimes this glorified municipal H2O receives additional treatment prior to bottling, but sometimes it does not.

Often, proponents of bottled H2O cite the fact that the FDA regulates the industry, giving that as a reason to believe it is healthier. It's true that the FDA does provide regulation, but whether you will benefit from it depends on where the H2O you buy comes from. The FDA only gets involved with regulating bottled water that is shipped and sold across state lines. If you live in New Jersey, for example, and you buy bottled water that was shipped in from California, the FDA was involved. If your H2O was packaged and sold in New Jersey, however, you're out of luck. Since it was packaged and sold in the same state, it can escape FDA regulation.

One of the major problems with bottles of H2O is the lack of disclosure. In the United States, municipal water suppliers are required to disclose information about contaminants in the H2O supply. In fact, consumers can examine their public water utility's H2O test results each year. This provides a level of transparency that allows consumers to make their own decisions regarding whether or not it's healthier to drink. Bottled water suppliers are not required to disclose their test results. As such, consumers often have no idea what they're getting.

According to the Environmental Working Group, water that is sold in bottles often contains contaminants that belie its pure, healthier image. In fact, laboratory testing revealed that nearly a dozen popular brands were chock full of contaminants. Together, these brands contained more than 35 chemical contaminants. Nearly half of these brands were also contaminated with bacteria.

Bottled water is much more expensive than tap water. On average, a gallon of bottled H2O may cost $1.00 to $1.50, with fancy brands carrying higher price tags. Tap water often costs less than a penny per gallon. If H2O in a bottle isn't healthier than tap, why spend so much more to buy it? Sure, $1.00 may not seem like a lot of money, but over the course of a year, it can really add up. For many, a better solution is to buy a good filter and use it to make tap water safer. This gives the consumer more control over its safety and allows him to keep more of his hard-earned money in his own pocket.

Larry Fletcher is an avid proponent of water purification and a passionate researcher on its health benefits. To get the facts on how to choose the best water purification system, visit http://www.pure-and-safe-water.com now.

EzineArticles

Put it this way. . . "most" bottled water is healthier (and tastes better) than "most" tap water.
But ...deciding which would be healthier also depends on the composition and treatment of the individual tap water being compared and its source, and the same for the individual brand of bottled water.

Most bottled waters have been filtered and purified (however, which processes and how many procceses were used can vary) and haven't had chlorine added to them; they often have a recipe of minerals added back to them that most people would consider "good tasting."
Most tap waters (except from one's own wells) haven't usually been purified in as many or as good ways, and have had chlorine added to them; they often have whichever minerals/etc, and in whatever strengths, they originally came with.

Also, some tap waters may come from artesian wells or may have a lot of sulphur compounds, etc....making them quite different in taste for sure. Some tap waters have been "softened" because of their many minerals and contain a lot of "salt." Etc., etc.

You have opened up a can of worms with this Q...............tap water is still full of all kinds of nasty things that bottled water equipment will filter out (you are bound to get answers to the contrary )

former bottled water delivery/sales person

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