Travel tips: How to ensure on traveling to drink safe and clean water and foods

Travel Tips

Our tap waters and foods contains a lot of pesticides, herbicides, micro organism, parasites, metals, other chemicals and even radioactive molecules.

Contamination in water is common: we need clean drinking water

The microbial contamination in water and also foods is related to different causes like pesticides used in the agriculture, chemical by-products from the industry like hydrocarbon and radioactivity and other “cleaning” chemicals to eliminate all germs and micro organism as chlorine.

While in the Western countries as North America and Europe the people have already an awareness about our commination problem and solutions as filtrations are where to safe and drink clean waters, in other countries like Asia, South America or Africa the potential danger of contaminations is quite higher.

Especially bacteria and microorganisms can cause intestinal infections like salmonella, shigella and giardia. Also a big concern in foods is the transportation of infectious hepatitis from bacteria.

1. Filtration for backpacking and camping. If you plan to cook on your own while traveling, a mobile small camper filter might be the best solution. Depending on the quality and filter, it can still filter most pesticides, metals and bacteria. There are even some with a small pump, so you can use it outdoor in rivers and lakes.
2. If you not sure where the water comes from and if its filtered use water bottles or canister. The plastic bags are also not healthy, especially when the stay to long in the sun, but still better then pesticides and bad micro organism. If you want to be 100% sure, then even in the drinking water might be still a potential of bacteria and germs, use carbonized water. They cannot survive in high carbon dioxide levels.
3. Boil the tab water. While boiling the water will eliminate any microorganism in the water. Boil it for 1 minute to kill all parasites and bacteria. Boil 10-20 minutes (depending on the altitude) to eliminate all potential viruses.
4. Always wash your food with warm clear water before you prepare it for your meal.
   

   We have to choose the sources of our water

5. If you want to eliminate simple and fast all bacteria and microorganism, a chemical treatment with chlorine or iodine tablets might be the right. But consider that side effects or reactions could be experienced and it tastes a bit chemical.
6. Ask where the tab water or spring water comes from. There are some regions where the tab water comes from the spring water (that doesn’t mean that there is no contamination available. Its might be just less than elsewhere). But also fresh spring waters from the source in the mountains can contain heavy metals, which are really unhealthy for our bodies. At least a special filter should be used before you drink it.

Wherever you go, wherever you travel: be always aware and ask if you don’t know where your drinks and foods come from. It can safe your body’s health and protect you from bad disease on your journey.