New Silicon Valley 'raw water' trend could make people sick, experts warn

Make sure you regularly top up your water bottle to keep yourself hydrated
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Alexandra Richards4 January 2018

A new diet trend that has swept Silicon Valley could be deadly, experts have warned.

In San Francisco, untreated water has become a health fad with demand skyrocketing.

The extent of the craze for untreated "raw water" was exposed in an article by the New York Times.

Now, unsterilized water is reportedly selling for as much as $61 (£45) for a 2.5 gallon jug in some parts of the US, and start-ups have been quick to cash in on the phenomenon.

One popular raw water brand is Live Water which was founded by Mukhande Singh who started selling water from a spring in Oregon.

Mr Singh told the New York Times that he believes tap water is bad for our health.

“Tap water? You’re drinking toilet water with birth control drugs in them," he said.

“Chloramine, and on top of that they’re putting in fluoride. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but it’s a mind-control drug that has no benefit to our dental health,” he continued.

However, according to food safety experts drinking untreated water could have serious repercussions on our health.

Speaking to Business Insider Bill Marler, a food-safety advocate and lawyer said: “Almost everything conceivable that can make you sick can be found in water."

According to the World Health Organisation drinking contaminated water causes over half a million diarrhoeal deaths every year.

Mr Marler said that because treated water which is safe to drink has become commonplace in the western world, people don’t realise how dangerous drinking unsterilized water can be.

"It's fine til some 10-year-old girl dies a horrible death from cholera in Montecito, California," Mr Marler said.

Untreated water can contain animal faeces which can spread Giardia, which causes symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting, in the US it results in 4,600 hospitalisations per year.

Hepatitis A can also be spread through water if it has not been treated. In California 20 people died from the disease during an outbreak in 2017, although it is unclear what caused it.

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