The new year brought forth many resolutions, trends, and diets. The most concerning of which is the ‘raw water diet’, otherwise known as the ‘raw water movement’. The movement originated from health-conscious people looking to get rid of all processed toxins they put into their bodies. The movement has caused a ruckus among national media outlets including: The Washington Post, CNBC and The New York Times.

However, the ‘raw water’ movement may do much more harm than good, depending on how you define the term “raw water”.

When defining ‘raw water’, if you are referring to a lake, pond, stream, or river, it can be very harmful to drink. When referring to “raw water” as spring water, or water that is naturally flowing from Earth’s surface, it may not be as harmful as one would think.

“It [spring water] is a component of the hydrosphere, or the combined mass of water found under the earth’s surface and pushed to the top, forming a spring”, says CEO of Hanish Water, Chris Hanish. The Whole30 Diet is a prime example of the health-conscious looking to improve their health by eliminating toxins from entering their body, much like the ‘raw water’ movement suggests.

The Whole30 diet focuses on all-natural eating, rather than processed sugars. But, that’s not what we’re here to discuss.

Enter the ‘raw water’ movement.

What is it? The idea is that you drink water from a natural, crystal clear spring. While finding water to drink in nature may seem natural, it certainly is not healthy for your body. The ‘raw water’ movement works by selling health-conscious individuals with the idea that drinking water straight from the spring is all-natural and contains many health benefits.

The essence of using nature to create clean, safe drink water is where Hanish Water founded their business strategy. “The belief that 99% of the water we drink on a daily basis is either inadequately treated, or laced with man-made substances, or treated to the point of creating "dead water", is spot on,” says Chris, “as a forty plus year veteran in the global water treatment industry, I have believed this premise for years, which is a very unpopular premise within the global water treatment industry”.

As for the many health-related benefits that the ‘raw water’ movement claims, we argue the opposite. You see, unfiltered water contains many harmful contaminants including chlorine, fecal matter, heavy metals and more. When drinking unfiltered water, all of these harmful contaminants enter your body and cause no good. can harm you.

It is important to note that some of the most harmful things, such as bacteria and virus, come from what we cannot see. Henry Frank, Director Filtration Solutions at Hanish Water says, “In the case of water, it is important to note that what you can’t see can indeed hurt you. For example, virus - in human waste - resides in a septic tank and then spreads into the drainfield. Once in the drainfield, this virus can spread quickly via groundwater and eventually make it into a home’s well which supplies the homeowner’s drinking water.”

Think about some of the most dangerous viruses us humans face. Can you see cancer spreading?

Untreated, or raw water, can easily contain health threats such as: bacteria, virus, parasites, giardia, heavy metals, and so on. Hanish Water has made it their goal to treat for all of these harmful contaminants and leave you with nothing but clean drinking water.

What many people don’t know is that “most sources of drinking water have a balanced pH level that the body requires. These balanced pH levels of 7-8 are necessary in drinking water in order to maintain proper health,” says Henry. “All Hanish Water systems incorporate technologies that do not impact the necessary pH levels that the body needs”.