Everyone does it, but this is why you shouldn’t!

A plastic bottle of water or soda seems like the perfect reusable object. Fill it with water and you’re good to go! It’s a perfect solution and healthy as well, because you’re hydrating. Right? Well, the hydration part is definitely true, but the healthy part isn’t. Reusing plastic bottles can actually be really bad for your health.

Stop reusing disposable bottles!

Plastic bottle

Plastic bottles you buy in the supermarket aren’t made to be refilled time and time again. Many plastic bottles are made from plastic containing a chemical called Bisphenol A (BPA). This can be harmful to your body as it influences your hormones. Dr Marilyn Glenville warned Good Housekeeping that the chemicals found in some plastic bottles “can affect ovulation, and increase our risk of hormonally driven problems like PCOS, endometriosis and breast cancer, among other things.”

Bacteria

There’s another worrying aspect of reusing bottles, namely the amount of bacteria you can find on a single bottle. Researchers tested bottles that had been used by an athlete for a week and what they found is pretty gross! The bottle that contained the most bacteria actually had more bacteria on it than the average toilet seat… Yikes! These researchers also found out that 60 percent of the germs they found on the bottles could make people ill.

Solution

So, what should you be doing? Of course, you still want to be able to take a bottle of water with you. Well, firstly, you shouldn’t reuse disposable bottles – just chuck them out after a single use. The environmentally friendly and healthiest thing to do is to invest in a refillable bottle. Do make sure it doesn’t contain any BPA, though! You could also choose to buy a glass or stainless steel bottle.

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