Water is the driving force of all nature.” - Leonardo da Vinci

Water!! We rarely pay attention to its enormity. Water is life. It is the one thing the world cannot survive without. Although we have realized its importance for drinking purposes, we still need to think about the quality of the water we drink. Thanks to tons of water campaigns that today people are more concerned about the quality of the water they drink.

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We often hear people saying, "I'm dying of thirst!"

Well, they just might! A mere 2% drop in our body's water supply can trigger signs of dehydration, fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on smaller print, such as a computer screen. (Are you having trouble reading this? Drink up! ;) )

Although water covers more than 75% of the Earth, only 1-2% of the Earth's water is available as a source of drinking. Yet, our society continues to contaminate this precious resource. Water is a key component in determining the quality of our lives as almost 70 per cent of our physical body is made up of water.

Water helps us flush out toxins, keep our organs hydrated, prevents fatigue and boosts energy as well as helping a host of other symptoms. Now while I do believe that drinking a good amount of water each day can have a positive effect on the body in general, it seems we may be missing out on the best reason to stay hydrated.

I remember living my life in hostel during my engineering and then as a paying guest. I never used to pay attention to the quality of water I got to drink. I suffered, and learned. A few weeks ago, when I was at my hometown, I came across a water campaign by Kent RO Systems Ltd. They explained the need of paying attention to the quality of water we drink and brought some facts to my notice. I wasn't convinced much. So just for the sake opened the company’s website out of curiosity and browsed through it and was really impressed with the specs. I also Googled up the facts about this and was astonished to find their research true.

Here’s a video I found on the site:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBLK-q-x0_A

As long as there is life on this planet, water will be here. Without it, life is impossible. Thus, it is important for us to know how precious water is. We ought not to waste it or pollute it by any means. Water is just too precious. In fact, it’s PRICELESS.

 

 

 

 

Pollutants in Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are one of the most important ingredients that we consume for our survival. One cannot imagine cooking curry without vegetables, can we? And fruits can surely help avoid doctors. Mostly, people wash fruits, vegetables and meat before preparing salad, consuming them raw or cooking. But what is unknown to many people is the fact that they are not entirely free from pollutants even after soaking and fully cleaning them with water. The risk still remains and these pollutants have a very harmful and adverse effect on our health.

Now, if we have a lawn or garden, we might be able to cultivate the best crops for our own needs and if it is organic, it can benefit us by providing food security & taking care of the environment. But in cities, such cases are very rare as one has very little space and having a garden may sound an alien concept. Cities are also highly polluted and plants grown in such contaminated soil can affect the general health of the public in a negative way. 

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Vegetables and fruits grown in contaminated lands and environment can cause the following problems:

• ·         Cancer
• ·         Respiratory Problems
• ·         Nervous System
• ·         Skin Related
• ·         Food Poisoning and ultimately Death

Farmers in the villages use various kinds of pesticides and insecticides for growing crops, which are meant for commercial purposes. When the crops are fully grown, a lengthy supply chain is followed where the wholesalers purchase the commodities from the producers; retailers purchase them from the wholesalers and then the goods finally reach the consumers. In this process, goods move from one state to another, one city to another, one country to another, and while the transportation takes place, the fruits and vegetables that we end up consuming, absorb the pollutants present in the air. Such pollutants cannot be seen through our eyes, but they can affect our health after consumption.

Merely washing fruits and vegetables with water does not help in removing the negative elements that remain in it and we end up exposing ourselves to adverse effects of these chemicals. If we keep on scrubbing the vegetable or fruit, we may not get anything to eat! (Pun intended)

So, can we save ourselves from the problems relating to pollutants in fruits and vegetables?

Yes, we can. We have no reason to compromise when it comes to our health! Technology has been proving very beneficial in all walks of life! Technology has given us washing machines that take care of our clothes’ washing needs. Similarly, by using innovative technology Kent mineral RO SDN BHD has brought forth a phenomenal product called KentOzone Vegetable & Fruit Purifier, which uses ozone gas to kill bacteria, viruses and other pathogens.

The key features of Kent Ozone Purifier are:

• 1.      It removes harmful chemicals, kill insecticides and germs from fruits, vegetables and      meat
• 2.      It effectively oxidizes residual chemicals and bacteria from surface of vegetables and fruits
• 3.      Helps in cleaning antibiotics and hormones that invariably remain in meat, fish and other  seafood
• 4.      Removes bad odour from seafood and meat

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Always remember “Health is Wealth” and a change in our lifestyle could usher in eco-friendly methods of living and eco-friendly products (like the one discussed above) can go a long way in improving our health, both in rural and urban areas

Different Types of Water Filtration Technologies

“Water, water everywhere, but not a single drop to drink.” 

A more apt statement for these times might be, “Water, water everywhere, but is it safe to drink?” And if it’s not, what is a reliable water filtration process?

In a country as large and vibrant as Malaysia, development workers operate in knowledge-rich environments where continuous experimentation and implementation of innovative ideas go on. While some of the knowledge is shared, much of the larger pool knowledge gained through these experiences remains in danger of being forgotten.

So here we are, discussing most commonly used water filtration technologies, namely Boiling, UV filtration, RO and Mineral RO.

Boiling. The simplest method to purify water is probably Boiling. In this we need to bring the water to a full boil for at least five minutes to be safe, with some experts recommending an even longer time. The positive of this method is that it kills the bacteria and viruses present in water. However, the down side is that it does not eliminate dissolved impurities and chemical  pollutants and particles such as sand and insects continue to remain in boiled water! Boiling also requires lots of fuel and cooking equipment and removes the oxygen, so the water ends up tasting khaara.

Image Credit: Google Images 

Ultraviolet (UV) purification. Another popular method to treat water is Ultraviolet (UV) purification, which uses a UV light source of higher intensity than sunlight to remove suspended impurities such as mud and sand. In the UV purifier, a germicidal lamp source enclosed in a special glass is used to generate a short wave of UV light. This is able to penetrate the cells of micro-organisms and subsequently disrupts in such a way that it prevents them from replicating and eliminates most of them. However, UV purified water cannot be stored for long as the deactivated bacteria and viruses might get reactivated after prolonged storage. UV also does not remove dissolved impurities and other chemicals and requires high maintenance expense & energy costs due to use of multiple lamps.

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Reverse osmosis (RO) is a new technology being used for the past few years to purify drinking water. In this method cellophane-like membranes separate purified water from contaminated water by applying pressure on the concentrated side of the membrane. The purified water is forced into the diluted side and the rejected impurities from the concentrated side are washed away in reject water.  This is an effective way to remove all kinds of impurities. However, in this process, essential minerals necessary for our body also get washed away and our body is devoid of its benefits

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 Kent’s patented Mineral RO technology. The ground-breaking Kent’s patented Mineral RO technology combines the best of all technologies, while eliminating the limitations of a standalone technology. It removes dissolved impurities, chemicals and totally kills bacteria and viruses present in the water, while maintaining essential natutral minerals through its TDS controller. Kent is the first and only company in Malaysia whose water purifiers are NSF certified. NSF, USA is one of the most recognized certifications in the drinking water treatment industry and provides assurance that the products have been rigorously tested and comply with all the requirements.

Image Credit: www.kent.co.in

So next time when you drink water, first check whether it is purified and if it is, the method used to purify it!