2024-07-16 17:11:42
(ANSA) – ROME, JULY 16 – From the risk of kidney stones, to the lack of controls, to the need for treatment devices. There are many false beliefs about tap water that die hard. On the occasion of the presentation of its first report, the National Center for Water Safety (CeNSiA) of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, wanted to debunk some of them.
One of the most widespread is that tap water must be free of any chemical substance for it to be ‘good’. “The opposite is true”, specifies the ISS. “Water contains many chemical substances that are beneficial to health; eliminating them would cause a reduction in the supply of essential elements”.
The belief that tap water causes stones is also false. “The formation of stones depends in many cases on an individual or family predisposition. Calcium is essential for our health and its intake should be reduced if a doctor prescribes it,” explains the ISS.
The belief that tap water is not safe should also be dispelled. “It is as safe for health as drinking natural mineral water because in all cases the absence of risks for consumers is guaranteed by the controls required by law.”
For this reason, it can be used by both pregnant women and small children. “Both tap water and bottled water are safe and suitable for consumption during pregnancy and breastfeeding.” Furthermore, for children “in the weaning phase, tap water can also be used to prepare formula milk, baby food, and to hydrate the child,” clarifies the ISS.
Also false is the idea that to make tap water safe, a treatment device should be installed at home and that in restaurants one should avoid asking for tap water: in fact, the law encourages this practice. (ANSA).
2024-07-16 17:11:42