It’s a trend microbiologists say you should definitely avoid.
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To the uninitiated, the phrase “raw water” might seem redundant. What is water if not the most plain and elemental substance? As of late, though, the term has come to refer specifically to unfiltered, untreated H2O, mostly from springs—which raw water proponents claim is awash with unique health benefits. So much so that some even started bottling and selling the stuff a few years back (and for no small price at that). Buoyed in part by a groundswell of opposition to government health practices, the push for raw water is bubbling to the surface yet again. But let us be clear: You don’t want to ride this wave.
“PartoftheappealisbasedonthefallacythatifMotherNaturemadeitthenitmustbegoodforyou,”WilliamJ.Sullivan,PhD,ShowalterprofessorintheDepartmentofMicrobiology&ImmunologyattheIndianaUniversitySchoolofMedicine,tellsSELF.Butofcourseharmfulthingslikearsenic,poisonivy,radioactivity,andearthquakesarealsonaturemade,hesays.Andevenwhenitcomestoresourcesthatshouldtheoreticallybesafe,likeaflowingstream,there’sthesimplereali
