Thorny Tap Water, and Beneficial Pine Pollen
Nutrient-rich pine
pollen
Municipal
tap water is about the worst thing you can drink. Most of us know that, yet many
still turn on the tap when they’re thirsty. Watering indoor plants with tap
water is also damaging, as is watering your outdoor food gardens with it. And very
importantly, giving it to your companion animals is very risky.
Those
plastic bottles of Poland Spring and other waters available at the grocery are no
better. Water is a natural solvent: it leaches toxins from the plastic in which
it’s stored. And the more time it lives in its plastic container, the more
toxins it absorbs. Bad stuff.
Without
getting too deeply here into the dangerous materials and chemicals contained in
tap and bottled water (Google it for the disturbing information), I’ll just say
that both are a big no-no, and should be avoided.
I’m
not going to preach on about something that your intelligent mind already
knows: tap water has been excessively ‘treated’ before it gets to you, with,
but not exclusively, chlorine to kill bacteria;
aluminum sulfate to coagulate organic particles, and lime to adjust the ph. The
EDA allows a certain amount of chemicals, pollutants, and organisms in
municipal tap water, and the bar is quite low.
Often, the EDA water has been tainted with a certain chemical
that made it into the system as it’s outsourced, and cannot be removed. That’s
when you’ll see the ‘boil alert’ announcement on your local news. But if you
didn’t watch the local news that day, guess what – you just drank it, bathed in
it, cooked with it, and gave it to your animals. And the laws of the land
protect the EDA from answering to that.
In
Canton, Connecticut, about 30 minutes from our house by car, there is a natural
spring that flows 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And it’s free. All one need do
is go there with a glass container, and fill it up.
As far
as I know, the water there is not tested, so if you’re really into making sure
your water is as pure as it can be, invest in TDS and Ph meters. Both are
totally affordable (and after all, we’re talking about your water here). Always
store your spring water in glass jugs, preferably cork sealed. There’s no point
in collecting fresh, spring water and then keeping it in plastic.
On another note, the Himalayan pine pollen I ordered from
Nyishar in Great Britain is on its way (http://nyishar.com/#!/Wild-Himalayan-Pine-Pollen-Powder-100g/p/53601366). If it lives up to its promises, I’ll try the much more
potent tincture next.
At £32, the pine pollen
powder isn’t cheap (that’s about $46 American currency), so if I really dig
this pollen, I’ll add a pine pollen expedition to my to-do list for autumn
2016. That’s in addition to the winter chaga expedition, which, incidentally,
has piqued the interest of a colleague of mine. I have a partner in crime!
ཞི་བདེ
Peace on Earth
