Bottled Water: Petri Dish for Germs: ALERT!!

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Please be aware that bottled water has no preservatives in it. That means that once you open it, and once you put your lips to the bottle, the water has become contaminated with everything in your saliva. This includes Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) , Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus salivarius, volatile sulphur compounds, lactobacilli, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and, recently indentified, Prevotella histicola. In other words, lots of nasty stuff.

So, you drink. And, you don't feel like drinking the entire bottle, so you put it in your car's cup holder, your work out bag, or on your desk for later. Well, if it is not refrigerated, it is now a perfect medium for growing all that stuff so you can swill down concentrated mouth bacteria the next time you take a sip.

You would be better off using tap water; most of it is chlorinated and will resist bacterial growth. Or, open a fresh bottle every time.

Oral bacteria is linked to everything from heart disease to oral cancer to strep throat, to spinal meningitis.

Don't drink bacteria smoothies; drink fresh water, every time. Finish the bottle soon after opening, or toss it.