Most Bottled Water Contaminated With Microplastics

[lordsummerisle]

Last edited Sun Apr 22, 2018, 08:57 AM - Edit history (1)

Plastic has become an incredibly harmful convenience, now threatening environmental and human health alike, and in more ways than one. With Earth Day being tomorrow, there is no better time to analyze the impact bottled water has had on our planet. There’s the issue of bulk plastics in our landfills, where it will remain indefinitely since most plastic does not biodegrade,1 and microplastics — microscopic pieces of degraded plastic — which now choke waterways across the globe and contaminate drinking water and sea life.

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/04/21/bottled-water-microplastics-contamination.aspx?utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20180421Z1_UCM&et_cid=DM200700&et_rid=282196579

[Dr Hobbitstein]

1. Its not that we hate Mercola, its that Mercola is full of shit.

Like Natural News, it’s the InfoWars of health sites.

[lordsummerisle]

2. So what's

"full of shit" about this article?

[Dr Hobbitstein]

3. Mercolas framing of the claims differs from legit

sources. Whether Mercola is right in this instance is immaterial, as Mercola is most often incorrect, and makes outrageous claims that run counter to established science.

Mercola is NOT a legitimate source. InfoWars of health is accurate.

https://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/mercola.html

https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/9-reasons-to-completely-ignore-joseph-mercola-and-natural-news/

[lordsummerisle]

4. "Whether Mercola is right in this instance is immaterial"

No, it answers the question I asked. The article looks to me to be adequately footnoted. Whatever else Mercola has written that you disapprove of, this one seems to be at least reasonably believable and verifiable.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

5. Mercola pushes the vaccines cause autism angle. Right there is enough to discount EVERYTHING.

Mercola was legally told to stop making medical claims about untested products. Mercola lies 99.9% of the time.

If you want to believe him, then don't let me stop you. But stating that rational-thinking humans are "Mercola-haters" because they recognize bullshit for what it is is disingenuous at best and looking for a fight at worst.

[lordsummerisle]

6. So how is this article "bullshit"? n/t

[Dr Hobbitstein]

7. Well, as I said, the framing.

Plastic particles were not found in "MOST BOTTLED WATER". Plastic particles were found in 93% of the 250 bottles tested, which only included a handful of brands/bottlers in many different countries.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43388870

Currently, there is no evidence that ingesting very small pieces of plastic (microplastics) can cause harm, but understanding the potential implications is an active area of science.

Here are the brands tested.

Aquafina
Dasani
Evian
Nestle Pure Life
San Pellegrino
Aqua (Indonesia)
Bisleri (India)
Epura (Mexico)
Gerolsteiner (Germany)
Minalba (Brazil)
Wahaha (China)

[lordsummerisle]

8. OK, fair enough

that's all I asked for.
So should I delete my post?

[Dr Hobbitstein]

9. That's your call, not mine.

My opinion, don't post questionable sources. If you see something concerning, look for corroboration in legit publications. If it's real, it'll be there. And a lot of times, it'll be a better written/researched article as well.

[lordsummerisle]

10. There's been a lot written about microplastic contamination

But DU is a political message board, it's not a peer-reviewed science platform and I doubt that most posters do much research before posting.
Obviously people should do their own followup research.