The next time you’re feeling parched and reach for a cool glass of water, imagine how much more refreshed you’d feel if it were teeming with giardia. What could better enhance your hydration experience than topping it off with countless microscopic diarrhea-causing organisms?
For those of you who feel that “infection risk” is a quality you miss in the water you get from the tap but don’t have the time to drink directly from a contaminated stream, finally there is a product for you! Introducing the latest health craze: “raw water.”
Of course, raw water—unfiltered, untreated water bottled directly from springs and streams—isn’t really a “new” invention. The New York Times recently reported on start-ups from Oregon to Maine marketing raw water to consumers wary of the chemicals in tap water who instead prefer water that is “live.” Drinking this water supposedly confers healthful benefits thanks to its “probiotics.”