Water

Why do we want to filter our water in the first place?

Matt Lovell

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Matt!Lovell!–!Elite!Sports!Nutritionist!www.SportsNutritionVlog.com! "#$%!&!

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Contents!!

Aims!of!this!report!..................................................................................................................................!3!

Why!do!we!want!to!filter!our!water!in!the!first!place?!..........................................................................!4!

So!how!can!you!improve!the!quality!of!your!drinking!water?!................................................................!6!

Removal!of!estrogens,!pharmaceutical!drugs!and!other!toxic!chemicals!............................................!10!

Reverse!Osmosis!Alkalising!Filtration!...................................................................................................!12!

Matt’s!Recommendation!......................................................................................................................!13!

Anti!Oxidant!Water!...............................................................................................................................!14!

Matt!Lovell!............................................................................................................................................!16!

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Matt!Lovell!–!Elite!Sports!Nutritionist!www.SportsNutritionVlog.com! "#$%!'!

Aims!of!this!report In this document I want to answer some of the common questions about water filtration technologies and provide background information on the technology used in some of the common types of water filters available on the market. Water Filtration systems are not cheap and once you’ve purchased one it should last a lifetime so it makes sense to do some research before purchasing a system. I’m providing access to my research in the hope that you can benefit and save a bit of time. If you’ve got any further questions or you’re unsure of anything then please don’t hesitate to ask me. Matt

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Matt!Lovell!–!Elite!Sports!Nutritionist!www.SportsNutritionVlog.com! "#$%!(!

Why!do!we!want!to!filter!our!water!in!the!first!place?!

There are a number of answers to that question.

Our drinking water supplies are contaminated with an ever growing list of man made chemicals, pesticides, synthetic drugs and bacteria that find their way into our domestic water supplies.

Living in the 21st century, we are exposed to more dangerous chemicals than ever before and the buildup of these chemicals is having longer term effects on our health, we have higher rates of Cancer, Infertility and the MALE SPERM COUNT is falling at a rate of knots.

Water is one of the main substances that we consume, it is the area where we are likely to get the greatest exposure from harmful contaminants, so it makes sense to remove those contaminants from your drinking water.

In the UK the water companies do a pretty good job at providing water that has been treated to prevent living organisms (bacteria mainly) and other water born viruses from our water supplies.

The water is clean but still CONTAMINATED.

Water is recycled at water treatment plants, in built up areas some of this water will be from sewerage farms.

Chlorine/Aluminium sulphate are added to neutralise organic threats in the water, but this also goes against what was initially trying to be achieved - providing healthy drinking water because while the bacterial threat is neutralised, another is added in the form of Chlorine.

Chlorine, heavy metals and hormone mimicking substances are very commonly found in our water supply and the build up of these pollutants over time can lead to sub optimal performance, illness and disease.

Chlorine is used to disinfect the water. Basically it’s a diluted version of bleach. When water actually leaves the water treatment plant and goes on its way to our taps, through miles and miles of pipes. Cholrination is used in order to make sure there is no live bacteria and spores and other nasties that can get into our water.

Another contaminant that we often see are pesticides and herbicides from agriculture. These agricultural pesticides run off the land and into the water system and then end up coming back into our drinking water.

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Matt!Lovell!–!Elite!Sports!Nutritionist!www.SportsNutritionVlog.com! "#$%!)!

You might if you live in an older house have lead piping. If so you could actually have lead in your water system. And that can be potentially hazardous particularly if you have children or if you are pregnant.

Another area that is becoming increasingly concerning is estrogen and estrogen mimicking compounds in the water (xenoestrogens). It’s postulated that estrogen is getting into the water supply via contamination from urine from women who are on the contraceptive pill. Xenoestrogens also come from plastics and oil based products.

MAN BOOBS

We are also seeing fish turning all female in some rivers, even polar bears are being found that are infertile! Excess estrogen is also implicated pretty much in a 20th or late 21st century phenomenon of man boobs or gynecomastia. As well as the

estrogen driven cancers breast and prostate.

Another contaminant that from time to time crops up in our water supply is Cryptosporidium.

Cryptosporidium is a pretty nasty protozoan that forms cysts, these cysts can be resistant to chlorine every now and then in the UK there will be an outbreak and an areas drinking water will be infected. Sometimes it could be just one animal that dies and gets into the water treatment plant.

If you are a young person or if your immune system is compromised, a cryptosporidium infection could prove to be fatal.

Sometimes you will see in different parts of the country there would actually be alerts where you are instructed to boil your water. This is due to cryptosporidium infection.

The problem that we come up with as a society is that most of the water that ends up in our houses is used for washing, cleaning, flushing toilets, dishwashers and only a relatively small amount is designated for drinking. If you were developing a system from scratch it might make more sense to provide lower quality water that is safe for our domestic purposes and have filtration at the end point just before consumption. That’s unlikely to ever happen in the UK.

The water companies do a pretty good job all in all and we have got to be quite happy with the standard of our water compared to if we were living in a third world country. So we mustn’t be too harsh on them we don’t have to boil all our drinking water or walk miles to collect it.

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Matt!Lovell!–!Elite!Sports!Nutritionist!www.SportsNutritionVlog.com! "#$%!*!

So!how!can!you!improve!the!quality!of!your!drinking!water?!

BOTTLED WATER

Some people choose bottled water or even use bottled water for their cooking at home. Bottled water is becoming a little bit of an environmental no-no. It’s a bit like using plastic carrier bags or Patio heaters.

It’s not great to use bottled water because of the environmental impact of it because of the bottles that end up in LAND FILL.

You’ve also got no real idea of how long the water has been stored and increasingly people are concerned about some of the plastic contaminants actually leeching from the plastic bottles getting into your system. Some of these plastic contaminants are estrogen mimicking and there is a move away from eating or drinking anything that has been stored in plastic.

If you go to any posh area you’ll see a lot of the kids have SIGG metal drinking bottles not plastic ones!

Using bottled water can be quite expensive, I don’t know anyone who actually uses bottled water to cook their vegetables and pasta with.

A filtration system of some type can often work out cheaper in the long run. You might have to pay a little bit more upfront to actually purchase the system but once that is paid for the change of the filter on a yearly basis will soon end up proving to be more cost effective than purchasing bottled water.

FILTER JUGS

Now most people are familiar with the jug type filter. You have probably seen a Brita filter jug or had one yourself. You fill up the jug and water filters through the cartridge and you have to put it in your fridge replace your cartridge after thirty days or so.

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Matt!Lovell!–!Elite!Sports!Nutritionist!www.SportsNutritionVlog.com! "#$%!+!

Now these filters are quite good at removing chlorine and some of the bad taste that you might get with water. But apart from that they don’t really do much else.

It’s better than nothing but it’s not really going to be protecting you from the more potential nasty pesticides and estrogen mimicking contaminants and bugs that you might get in your drinking supply.

Carbon BLOCK FILTRATION

Another technology that is commonly used is carbon block filtration. Basically the process relies on compressed charcoal the contamination gets absorbed by the charcoal and you get purified water out through the other end.

These filters are often stored below the sink and you have an extra tap on your sink.

With a good carbon filter the charcoal is compressed so tightly that it can give protection against bacteria and cyryptosporidium cysts, good quality carbon filters are also effective at removing chlorine and some pesticides, however they are not at all efficient at protecting against estrogen like compounds.

With any product there can be quite a variance in the quality of the technology that’s used and this variance is more marked with

carbon type filters, with some suppliers obviously scrimping on the quality.

Ultra Violet Light

Some filtration units incorporate ultra violet lights. UV light is used to actually kill bacteria and other micro-organisms. In the U.K. it’s probably not so much of an issue to go to this level as our water supply has generally had all microbes killed by the chlorine in our water.

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Matt!Lovell!–!Elite!Sports!Nutritionist!www.SportsNutritionVlog.com! "#$%!,!

In developing countries where the quality of the water delivered to your tap is not of such a high standard then having a UV filter would be a recommended additional safety mechanism.

REVERSE OSMOSIS

Provides the greatest levels of protection against the widest range of contaminants

Reverse osmosis is not a new technology, it’s used in nature by sea birds that take in salt water and pass it through a membrane and extract the pure water. In the 1950’s the technology was developed for the US Navy and now the technology is used in many arid countries on industrial scales and on nearly all sea going vessels.

With Reverse Osmosis water is ‘forced’ through an incredibly small membrane (0.0006 micron) which allows water to pass through, but not dissolved contaminants, the pores are that small.

This diagram clearly demonstrates how effective Reverse Osmosis can be.

In normal osmosis (you may remember your science experiments from school), water can pass both ways through the membrane.

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Matt!Lovell!–!Elite!Sports!Nutritionist!www.SportsNutritionVlog.com! "#$%!-!

With Reverse Osmosis the water pushed in one direction only.

Reverse osmosis filtration systems often use a number of different stages. Often they use up to seven to eight stages. Many of them will actually incorporate the carbon block technology as well. A bit like a pre–filter, which means you get very high levels of purification.

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Matt!Lovell!–!Elite!Sports!Nutritionist!www.SportsNutritionVlog.com! "#$%!./!

Removal!of!estrogens,!pharmaceutical!drugs!and!other!toxic!chemicals Reverse Osmosis filtration units are better equipped to remove unwanted chemicals than any other filtration technology available. This is why I recommend their usage to the International Rugby Players that I work with.

As I’ve highlighted earlier there is increasing and overwhelming evidence of many toxic chemicals entering our water system and in order to promote optimal health and sporting excellence it’s vital that we protect ourselves from these chemicals. One study in the US recently found the anti-depressant drug Prozac in drinking water supplies.

Because the process of Reverse Osmosis is so exacting, forcing the water molecules through such a small pore size, it takes time for the water to be filtered through the membrane and for the contaminants to be removed. So that the user can receive the water at will a storage tank is used so that water can be provided by turning on the tap.

Mineral Content of Water

One perceived draw back of Reverse Osmosis water that is often used by carbon block manufacturers is that Reverse Osmosis water is low in minerals. There is some truth in this statement, the reason for this is that because the filtration levels are high so some of the minerals are actually removed.

It’s not a big issue at all because the mineral content of water is relatively low you’ve probably NEVER HEARD anyone say

drink more water and stop taking your vitamin and mineral tablets!

Also it’s important to note that the minerals dissolved in water are in-organic, i.e. they are not readily absorbed by the body.

So don’t think that by drinking lots of bottled mineral water will give you high doses of minerals, a balanced diet with veg and fruit intake is where the minerals that your body can absorb come from.

It’s far better to have pure clean water with small amounts of trace minerals removed.

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Matt!Lovell!–!Elite!Sports!Nutritionist!www.SportsNutritionVlog.com! "#$%!..!

pH or Acidity level of Water

Another factor to bear in mind before you choose a Reverse Osmosis Filter is that the water that is produced is slightly acidic, depending where you live in the UK this will vary. You’re probably aware that a pH value of 7 is neutral (below 7 is acidic and above 7 is alkali)

pH is calculated on a logarithmic scale so a liquid with a pH of 6 is 10 times more acidic than neutral and a pH5 would be 100 times, pH4 1000 times etc.

To give you some context;

Coca Cola has a pH3 so that makes it 10,000 times more acidic than neutral water.

This diagram shows the pH levels of some typical substances you will come into contact with;

The pH of water from a Reverse Osmosis system is usually in the range of 5.2 -6.4 again this depends which part of the country that you live in. If you are eating a good diet then this should not be a concern for you at all, in my view you’ll be better off having purified water that is free of all chemical contaminants and a slightly increased pH level than neutral water with the contaminants.

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Matt!Lovell!–!Elite!Sports!Nutritionist!www.SportsNutritionVlog.com! "#$%!.&!

Reverse!Osmosis!Alkalising!Filtration!

Having said that the general western diet tends to provide an internal acid environment and there are a host of potential health benefits of alkalisation. An acidic body can encourage the development of many diseases. Cancer cells have been found to favour an acidic environment.

I am a proponent of optimal health so I would encourage you to read more about alkalisation and look to alkalise your water.

An Alkalising Reverse Osmosis Water filter will provide water at pH levels of 7.5 -8.5 so as well as protecting yourself from the contaminants in your water you can get a double whammy effect by drinking alkalising water.

There are number of foods and products that you can eat that will also help alkalise your body and I recommend you do this to improve optimal health.

When you look at the PRAL most of the foods that you are going to eat would be causing an acidic effect and by bringing your body into a more alkaline situation you are going to experience a number of different health benefits.

Those health benefits can sometimes be seen short term and on a more longer term basis can help protect against conditions like osteoporosis. One of the major causes of osteoporosis is due to your body being too acidic.

If your body is acid, it has to re-balance itself and it does this by leeching minerals from your bones in particular calcium and magnesium, this is not something that you will readily notice until you have a bone scan.

So by ensuring your body is more alkaline you could be protecting yourself from the longer term risks of osteoporosis.

Prices of Reverse Osmosis Filters

There are quite large price differentials between Reverse Osmosis units. As popularity has increased over recent years units from the Far East have been imported. The quality of some of these units are poor, the filters only last 6 months, and worse still some of the filter pod holders have cracked open flooding kitchens.

So I recommend you try and identify where the units have been sourced from and how often they require changing as the cost of running your system might be more expensive over time with more frequent changes.

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Matt!Lovell!–!Elite!Sports!Nutritionist!www.SportsNutritionVlog.com! "#$%!.'!

Matt’s!Recommendation!

To summarise so far. if you are going to opt to filter your water at home or in the office. I recommend a Reverse Osmosis Filter with alkalising chamber, if that is too expensive then opt for a straight Reverse Osmosis Filter and eat lots of green veg and have a ‘greens’ supplement as well.

Advancements in drinking water technology

I wish I could have put this section at the front of this document as I find this area most exciting area and it is having a big effect on optimal health and improved sporting performance.

Imagine drinking water that has an anti-oxidant effect and that can rehydrate you more quickly, penetrating the cells of your body more efficiently as well as alkalising it for you.

Sounds like Utopia, ‘Can the water go out and make a tackle for me too?

Not quite but it’s getting there ;0)

These amazing benefits are done by water ionisation and changing the structure of the water. Like all substances water has energy associated with it and for thousands of years different cultures have recognised this.

There are certain areas of the world that have reputations for the healing properties of their water, we’ve got at least one famous on in the UK ... Bath.

In a lot of instances the characteristics of the water are actually different and it has a lot do with how and what the water has flowed through and over as this alters the ‘charge’ on the water.

With our drinking water, each H2O molecule usually joins together to form a group of 15 H20 molecules.

When water is subjected to an electrical charge, it is ionized then this group of 15 molecules is broken down and the H20 molecules form a group of 5 molecules.

Having these smaller bundles of water molecules enables the water to penetrate your cells faster, hydrating, nourishing your cells and removing toxins more effectively. Also lots of vitamins and minerals are water soluble it increases the rate that these are able to get into your cells.

This is really exciting and many sporting teams and athletes have a water ionizer at their training ground and home because of these additional benefits

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Matt!Lovell!–!Elite!Sports!Nutritionist!www.SportsNutritionVlog.com! "#$%!.(!

Anti!Oxidant!Water!

Now when I first heard this I did not believe it. Water can’t contain antioxidants unless you add them in but what happens is by charging the water you make it behave in a way which can limit a free radical’s ability to do harm to the cells.

Ionized water has got very high levels of negatively charged water molecules. As you know antioxidants help protect us or protect ourselves from free radicals (positively charged) and those free radicals cause cellular damage which can then lead into all sorts of other health ailments. The ionised water by donating a negatively charged electron to the free radical the free radical is ‘quenched’ and has no ability to disrupt normal cell function. So the water works in much the same way as an anti-oxidant would do.

The water will only hold the charge for so long before it disperses. SO you can’t bottle this up, it has to be ionized and drunk quickly afterwards.

Our bodies naturally produce small amounts of free radicals, but due to diet/stress/environment and exercise we are increasing these levels, where they cause harm to healthy cells. One free radical can damage hundreds of healthy cells as once a cell dies it triggers other cells around it to die.

Alkaline ionised water contains powerful anti-oxidants which destroy harmful free radicals

Damages resulting from Free Radicals

If you are a sports person, protecting yourself from free radicals is going to make a big difference to your recovery levels. So you are going to be able to train harder and restore yourself back to levels of fitness a lot quicker by drinking water that has been ionized. You are still going to need to ensure that you eat plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit but the extra anti-oxidants you will get from water are going to play their part.

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Matt!Lovell!–!Elite!Sports!Nutritionist!www.SportsNutritionVlog.com! "#$%!.)!

Some of the additional added benefits of ionised water are.

! Alkalises the body ! De-toxify - removes toxins ! Powerful anti- oxidant ! Hydrates up to 6x that of tap water ! Anti-ageing ! Weight loss ! Speed circulation ! Boost metabolism ! Lower blood pressure ! Allergy relief ! Constipation relief ! Absorption of minerals ! Provides the body with additional oxygen ! Cooked foods taste better

This technology is being used by many sports teams including Chelsea and Leicester Tigers Rugby.

Chelsea

Leicester Tigers Rugby

As I’ve said before when investing in a product like this it’s important to look around at all the different options and technology that is used. Often cheaper products can be vastly inferior and when your health and sporting performance are concerned it’s important to get the best.

This is part of the service that the athletes that I work with expect and it’s what I deliver, you can find details of the products that I recommend here.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this report please give me any feedback or ask me any questions.

If you’ve got any questions about this report please ask me by posting a comment here.

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Matt!Lovell!–!Elite!Sports!Nutritionist!www.SportsNutritionVlog.com! "#$%!.*!

Matt!Lovell!

Matt began his interest in sports at an early age starting Karate at 12. These interests led to a life-time obsession with all things training, nutritional and health related.

After gaining his instructors qualification in Karate, he went onto coach fitness at his local amateur boxing club.

After completing a degree in Political Philosophy at Bristol, Matt couldn’t keep away from the health and fitness arena and qualified as a personal trainer; eventually running his own company in the City. This led to developing his other passion: nutrition. Matt undertook a further three years of study at the Institute of Optimum Nutrition.

He went on to spend time on Harley Street, specializing in elite sports, female hormonal health and body composition management.

The contacts he made through this work led to a spell, working as nutritionist with Millwall football club during which time they made the play-off for the Premiership and also qualified for the FA cup final.

In 2002 Matt started working with the England Rugby Team and was part of Clive Woodward’s team that lifted the World Cup in 2003. He continues in the same role working with the England team and was a member of the team who against all the odds reached the final of the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Matt is the Sports Nutritionist for London Wasps, London Irish, Saracens and Leicester Rugby Clubs.

Matt currently runs his own elite performance based company. This is aimed at elite athletes and corporations and includes all levels of health related performance. He has written the popular Fat Loss Program ‘Four Week Fat Loss’ and ‘Regenerate’ a muscle building anabolic program.