As we approach next week’s conversation: Water Wars - Bottled vs. Tap, I’m blogging about how we choose our water. All week I’m examining the various factors that go into that choice. I’m focusing on the 5 biggies: Environmental, Taste, Convenience, Long Term Health, and Cost.

First up…Environmental Carbon Footprint.

Let’s start on the outside…i.e. the bottle. Most water bottles are made from PET (polyethylene terephthalate). It is easily identifiable from the #1 symbol on the bottom of the container. The two major environmental issues with this plastic is energy used in production (carbon footprint) and recycling/waste.
Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s shed a tear for bottled water. Increasingly, it has come under attack from a number of groups. The criticisms range from environmental impact (Fiji water is the poster child for high carbon footprints) to cost to health concerns.

I’d like to pose this truth…Water is a CHOICE. When drinking water, we’re faced with a myriad of factors to balance (Environmental, Convenience, Cost, Health Concerns, Taste) when making our choice.

Over the next week, I’ll be posting about each of this factors and how it pertains to water. Up first, environmental!

In the meantime, enjoy the gullibility of the American foodie:

Many of you know I took part in a 12 week study on the effect of Omega-3s on inflammation. It was an interesting experience which you can read about here.

The study runners are looking for a few more participants in order to complete the study. If you’re interested, read on:

The Stanford Prevention Research Center is currently in the final stages of recruiting research study participants for two ongoing studies funded by the National Institutes of Health to examine the possible health benefits of dietary antioxidants and omega-3 fats. We hope to close recruitment by the end of September 2008. A brochure with more details is attached to this e-mail.

For more information about our studies, visit our web-site: http://nutrition.stanford.edu , or call Antonella Dewell, study coordinator, at 650-736-8577.

To quickly go to our on-line surveys to determine your eligibility, please click on the following links:

For the Antioxidant study: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=324193360481
For the Omega-3 study: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=793233362741