Emerging contaminants are contaminants in our drinking water that are new, and we don’t fully understand how they will impact our health. Some of these emerging contaminants are sex hormones which are estrogen and testosterone supplements and contraceptive pills that people are taking. These hormones end up in our drinking water when people flush unused pills down the toilet or from urine and feces that end up in our groundwater. There has been a sharp rise in the amount of sex hormones found in our drinking water and now there is now serious concern about their impact on our health.
The sex hormones found in San Francisco tap water are of particular concern. The USGS, WHO, and the EPA have all conducted research into the health effects of inadvertent sex hormone exposure, and this is what they found that sex hormones act as endocrine disruptors, which interfere with the normal functioning of our endocrine system! Our endocrine system regulates hormone production and signaling in our body. The big problem with sex hormones in our water is that they qualify as prolonged exposure. This means that our hormonal balance could get disrupted and lead to problems with our reproductive Health, development, and other processes in our body.
In women, estrogen in the water can disrupt the menstrual cycle of women who drink it. It can also lead to fertility issues and hormonal imbalances. In men, getting exposed to estrogen may interfere with their sperm production and quality.
Believe it or not, some studies have suggested a potential link between long-term exposure to sex hormones and an increased risk for certain cancers. Specifically, they found that exposure to estrogen can elevate the risk of developing breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers.
Another scary consequence of sex hormones in our drinking water is that it could affect the development of our unborn babies. And once a child is born, it may affect their growth, sexual development, and overall health. Research has linked endocrine disrupters to damage to reproductive organs and secondary sexual characteristics. They even impact the development of our brain, and that certainly can impact our behavior.
Finally, besides being a threat to us, sex hormones in our drinking water can seriously impact our environment. Those hormones can affect fish and other aquatic organisms, leading to reproductive abnormalities and population and balances, which can throw off an entire ecosystem.
The bottom line is sex hormones in our water are very bad, and San Francisco is not alone. New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and other major cities are also facing this emerging problem. In fact, the concentration of sex hormones in our drinking water is increasing all over our country. The best thing you can do is invest in a premium multi-stage water filtration system like what you find in our alkaline water ionizers.
