2008 March 24 | Healthy Living

Why I Don’t Use Plastic Water Bottles

Smart people use metal water bottles and you should too! Just kidding, but read this article for my view on how you can help your health and the health of the planet by making the switch from plastic to metal.

I went on a hike this past weekend and was asked the same question I received in an email a few weeks ago. The discussion on the hike was whether it was “safe” to drink water out of a plastic bottle. This came up because of the Sigg bottles I use for my water. The Sigg bottles are aluminum, but with a safe, water based epoxy coating that has been tested to not leach at all. I also use the slightly heavier stainless steel water bottles. I believe either of these are a better choice than plastic.

In the discussion of why I choose the metal bottles, I referred to my article indicating that we do need to be concerned about the effects long term exposure to chemicals in plastic may have on our health. What I was asked was, why I should worry about using plastic water bottles when I am unavoidably exposed to plastic from many other sources. One person on the hike even pointed out that many of the pipes that bring the tap water to my house are lined with plastic. While all that is true, I use non-plastic bottles simply because that is one exposure I can control. This is the same reason I do not cook in Teflon coated pans. In addition, by using a metal bottle, I feel I am making a small contribution to the reduction in overall use of petroleum based plastics. Your mileage may vary, make your own decision, but……

I feel strongly we should take a common sense, simple approach to our health. Control what we can without great inconvenience, and don’t lose sleep over the rest that we can’t control. If you take this approach to both your diet and your lifestyle, you may be surprised at all the positive changes you can make. If you figure that because you can’t control everything, there is no point in making healthy changes, then guess what…. the changes will be slow and difficult in coming.

So, try a stainless steel or Sigg water bottle. Not only do you avoid the immediate exposure to the chemicals from a cheap plastic bottle, you get a virtually indestructible water bottle that you can use over and over again.

And a big thank you to the people who purchased products from Amazon last month using either text or image links like the three for the bottles above or by using this link for anything else you might buy from Amazon. The price of your purchases are exactly the same for you, and Amazon pays me a tiny commission. Over the course of a year, if I am fortunate, I can earn back the cost of hosting and maintaining this site. It really is a painless contribution by you to help spread the “healthy living” message and I appreciate it very much!