Health Alert: Is Bottled Water Safe to Drink?
The process of disinfecting water to prevent illnesses such as cholera and typhoid can leave behind disinfection byproducts (DBPs) when disinfectants react with organic matter. Some DBPs have been associated in research with long-term health risks, including cancer and reproductive complications. Testing of samples from ten popular bottled water brands revealed detectable DBPs in all samples but at levels well below current safety limits and generally lower than those typically found in tap water—especially in bottled water sourced from springs. Overall, the findings suggest bottled water is likely comparable in safety to tap water. However, experts note that municipal tap water is tested frequently—often multiple times per day—while bottled water products are monitored less consistently.
Water Research, March 2026
Diet: Eat More Whole Foods!
In a recent clinical trial, University of Bristol researchers observed that participants instructed to eat a diet that contains only unprocessed whole foods reduced their daily caloric intake by 330 calories, even though the total weight of food consumer per day increased more than 50%.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, December 2025
Exercise: Pilates May Be a Good Exercise Choice for Chronic Low Back Pain Management.
Patients receiving treatment for chronic low back pain are often advised to perform core-strengthening exercises as part of the rehabilitation process. A recent study involving 21 middle-aged women with chronic low back pain found that Pilates provided similar functional improvements compared with traditional core-strengthening programs. The findings suggest Pilates is a viable exercise option for addressing functional deficits associated with chronic low back pain.
Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology, November 2025
Chiropractic: Musculoskeletal Disorder Burden Will Continue to Rise Another Decade.
Disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) are a measure of total health burden that combines years lived with disability and years of life lost to premature death from a specific disease or condition. Using data from the Global Burden of Disease study, researchers report that DALYs attributable to musculoskeletal disorders—including neck and back pain—have increased by roughly 95% since 1990 and are projected to rise another 30% by 2035.
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, November 2025
Mental Attitude: Why the Brain Drifts After a Bad Night’s Sleep.
During sleep, waves of cerebrospinal fluid move through the brain to help clear metabolic waste. A recent study suggests similar activity can occur during waking hours following insufficient sleep, which may lead to slowed reaction times, missed signals, and changes in heart rate, breathing, and pupil size that can interfere with the ability to maintain attention.
Nature Neuroscience, January 2026
Wellness/Prevention: Sleeping Posture May Elevate Risk for Glaucoma Complications.
A recent experiment involving 144 patients with glaucoma found that certain sleeping positions that elevate or flex the neck may compress the jugular vein and impair drainage of aqueous humor from the eye. This can lead to higher intraocular pressure, a key risk factor for optic nerve damage and vision loss. The findings suggest that sleep positioning strategies that reduce neck flexion may benefit some individuals with glaucoma.
British Journal of Ophthalmology, January 2026
