Staying hydrated is important, but not every bottle of water is safe for drinking. It may sound weird, but just like meat, dairy and many other items you pick up at the grocery store, bottled water has an expiration date.
Let that sink in a moment.
Luckily, unlike those berries that tend to go bad quick, you have a long time to drink your bottled water. In fact, the expiration date on the bottle has nothing to do with the water itself.
Bet you never thought of that one, right?
There’s a good reason for the expiration label: it turns out that the plastics used for both retail bottles and water cooler jugs can become toxic over time.
According to Amy Leigh Mercee, a holistic health expert and author, “[These plastics] will leach into the liquid the bottle once expired or especially when exposed to heat, including sunlight, and hot cars or storage trucks.”
Hint: That probably means it’s time to get rid of the graveyard of half-filled water bottles in your backseat.
Mercee added, “The toxicity contained in the plastic material enters the water. It is disruptive to the endocrine system, causing reproductive symptoms, various cancers, [and] neurological problems, and damaging the immune system.”
She continued, saying that bottled water companies typically use a two-year expiration date, which is the industry standard. However, it is important to keep in mind that the longer a bottle has been in circulation, the more likely the chance it has been exposed to heat.
“Even a brand new plastic bottle that sat in a hot delivery truck for hours or more can already have adverse and toxic compounds present in the water even when first delivered to the grocery store,” Mercee cautioned.
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At the end of the day, it’s best to store bottled water in a cool, dark place far from household chemicals or other potential contaminants. Not only will your water last longer and taste better but it will also be safer.
…and that’s the whole point of bottled water.
