About 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered with water. On average, water also makes up about 60 percent of our bodies. However, it’s the water that’s not on the surface of the Earth, but below it that affects our bodies and that we should concern ourselves with most of all. Second only to the air we breathe, water is a vital source of life without which we simply can’t survive. We bathe in it, cook with it, are rained on by it, and consume it on a daily basis; perhaps we don’t realize how much we take it for granted, especially clean water. Do you know what’s in the water you absorb every day? We, as a people, tend to not make proactive changes until either we are forced to, or circumstances beyond our control push us to the “no other alternative” state of consciousness.

Back in the early 1990s, when everyone jumped on the bottled-water train, most of us had not heard of BPA, PET, HDPE (or LDPE), PVC or number 7 (a polycarbonate). Nor did we overly concern ourselves with what our water was packaged and sold in as long as we were drinking it. After all, many of us believed that it must be better than tap water.

According to a 2008 report from the National Toxicity Program, data showed the possible health risks from chemicals found in plastic bottles of all sorts—with BPAs or not. And it turns out some companies were bottling straight from the tap, with a lack of regulation. That issue was not brought to the forefront until many years later when more conscious consumption became more widespread.

Consider our public water supply or well source. You can request a report from your town water department about what is in your city/town water. If you have a well as a means of your water source, take heed. Whatever you put on your lawn or in your soil, or has seeped to your property from other sources—such as runoff from neighboring property or from flood events—can eventually go into your well. If you use pesticides or chemicals for weed control, you will have those toxins in your body, which can cause or contribute to a slew of illnesses, disorders or diseases. Countless domestic dogs and cats have sickened or perished because they ate grass or licked their paws after repeatedly playing in grass tainted with pesticides and other contaminants.

When is the last time you had your water tested? It may cost between $45 and $300 for a full analysis depending on your location and how thoroughly you’d like it to be analyzed—a small price to pay considering the knowledge you will gain. There are numerous contaminants that can be found in well water, including aluminum, arsenic (a carcinogen), barium (causes a variety of cardiac effects), lead (delays normal physical and mental development in babies and young children) and mercury (causes nervous system disorders). Pesticides can contribute to thyroid, reproductive, gastrointestinal, liver and kidney damage and are linked with numerous kinds of cancers. A water purification system, though pricey, can aid in combating inorganic contaminants. Since there are numerous systems designed to do different things, it is a good idea to ask others who have had them installed already about their experiences.

We like our showcase lawns, but do we like them enough to die for? The old slogan, “We are what we eat,” is antiquated and inadequate to address the underlying issue. The food we grow to consume needs water to nourish that growth. “We are what the soil and the plants eat and drink,” seems more appropriate. It’s time to turn the tide and increase the health of our water to better our health.

Marcia Kendall, MA, is a certified naturalist, supervisory enumerator for USDA/NASS, private holistic consultant and proprietor of Kendall Lite Media. She produces a radio show each Sunday entitled “Sunday Soulstice Radio” on Danbury’s WXCI (91.7 FM). Connect at KendallLiteMedia.com or Sunday Soulstice Radio on Facebook.