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Otter Bottles

Who knew that what you choose to drink your water from can be such a complicated issue?

I was not a water drinker as a kid (preferring juice and diet pop) until I was about 17 and the doctor suggested that my IBS symptoms could be due to the fact that I was dehyrated (I was already working out every day by then) and was not drinking enough water to move my high fibre diet through my system. Many years later I discovered my tummy troubles (intense pain and bloating) was due to my morning bowl of cereal with milk (except when I'm pregnant or breastfeeding, I am extremely lactose intolerant). Anyhow, when I finally started toting a water bottle to the gym, it was the soft plastic kind that makes any fluid it touches taste "plastic-y". It always bothered me and I worried that it was toxic. So, like many other people, I eventually switched to the hard plastic Nalgene bottles which have no smell or taste. I figured this had to be healthier. Ha! Then it was revealed that these bottles are chock-full of BPA and scramble our endocrine systems. So out went all the hard plastic bottles and in came the stainless steel Sigg bottles. But the story didn't end there. Then Sigg revealed that there is a trace of BPA in the lining of their bottles produced before 2008. Adam and I thought about returning them in the mail to the company like others did, but I was really just sick and tired of the whole business by then. Maybe I'll just stick my head under the tap from now on.

The situation is even worse for kids because for some reason, the bottles and cups aimed at kids are crap. I have bought probably 20 BPA free plastic or stainless steel sippy cups and water bottles for the girls and almost every single one, regardless of price, ends up leaking. Adam and I recently bought new stainless steel water bottles for them and Big A's leaks heavily, so it can't really be put in a bag, and the spout on Little A's broke altogether and it had to be thrown out.

Well this is my last attempt to find water bottle bliss for them. I went to a local eco-friendly store and purchased bottles from a company called "OtterBottle" (www.otterbottle.ca). Cute name AND a Canadian company AND some procedes from sales go to the David Suzuki Foundation. I'm not so optimistic that the tops won't break or leak, but you can buy replacement tops for them, at least. Although they weren't cheap, they were cheaper then Sigg bottles. I'm hoping these are the last water bottles I have to buy for a LONG time!

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