The consumption of chlorine changes HDL (“good”) cholesterol into LDL cholesterol, creates oxidative damage throughout a body, acts as an immunosuppressant, causes severe arterial damage, and it destroys fatty acids which are needed for heart health. Chlorine is even one of the main causes of respiratory illnesses in wintertime, for people use humidifiers, which release chlorine gas when they are used with chlorinated water. Showering in chlorinated water similarly releases the gas, and this is strongly tied to asthma. Nevertheless, chlorine remains the standard chemical that is used to sterilize water supplies throughout the world. It is toxic to every living thing. It is truly effective at killing the bacteria and microscopic parasites that live inside water, but it is likewise destructive to human health. Societies throughout the world have paid an incredible price in carnage for having chlorine-sterilized water. While the ‘purification’ of water by chlorine has prevented large-scale outbreaks of diseases such as cholera, it has also led to our current epidemics of heart disease and cancer, to name a couple.

The real difference in consequence is that we are now dying torturous deaths over a span of decades from poisoning, instead of having much quicker deaths from pathogens. While this may seem as an accomplishment upon a cursory inspection, it is worth considering that most people survived the bacterially-laden water of yesteryear without long-term consequences, but virtually nobody escapes the ravages of chlorine in the present. Chlorine first causes extreme oxidation damage, then it depletes the oxygen from the body to cause acidosis, which stimulates cancers. The arteries are typically in a terrible condition by that time, from the same inflammatory causes.

According to the book, Coronaries Cholesterol Chlorine by Dr. Joseph M. Price, the chlorination problem was first discovered in Americans who were participating in the Korean civil war of the 1950’s. The effected soldiers were issued chlorine tablets to “purify” the water inside their canteens. It was noticed that the twenty-something soldiers were developing severe cardiovascular diseases at an astonishing rate, which tended to mimic the conditions of their grandparents. More of these American soldiers died from heart disease in their thirties and forties than from the bullets of Korean communists.

Avoidance is always the best policy concerning chemicals, but avoidance is not the only solution to the problem of chlorine exposure. Chlorine can be neutralized with vitamin C before it enters a body, or even after it has been consumed. Vitamin C is more accurately known as either ascorbic acid or sodium ascorbate, and regardless of name, it chemically destroys chlorine. The reverse is equally true. Chlorine also destroys vitamin C. Whichever is consumed in a sufficient amount wins. Most people of the civilized world do not eat enough citrus fruits; and they thereby do not get enough vitamin C in the diets, so chlorine wreaks havoc throughout the Western World as a result. Furthermore, since chlorine depletes vitamin C within the body, it should be effortless to understand the devastating health effects of chlorine, which is in effect, an anti-vitamin C chemical. Fortunately, it takes very little vitamin C to neutralize the amount of chlorine that is found inside our water, as will be shown later.

Whenever chlorine is neutralized industrially, harsh sulfur-based chemicals are used, which lower the oxygen content of the water, and these chemicals are themselves somewhat toxic. The United States Department of Agriculture and Forest Service sought a safe replacement for such chemicals in 2005, to use whenever factories dispose of their chlorinated water. If the chlorinated water were dumped into septic systems, it would kill the beneficial bacteria; whereas it would kill the fish and plants if it were spewed into lakes and streams. Therefore, the chlorine is always neutralized first. In April of 2005, the U.S.D.A. Forest Service studied the effects of the two forms of vitamin C (ascorbic acid and sodium ascorbate) on chlorine. The group, led by Brenda Land, a sanitary engineer, found that both forms are extremely effective in neutralizing chlorine, and of course, neither form of vitamin C is toxic to marine life. They published their report titled, “Using Vitamin C To Neutralize Chlorine in Water Systems”, for the benefit of waste water operators. It chronicled that just a single gram of vitamin C neutralizes the chlorine from 100 gallons of water that has been chlorinated at a concentration of 1 P.P.M, which is the standard concentration for drinking water in the United States. While most municipal water in the U.S. contains about 1 P.P.M. of chlorine, it may legally contain up to 4 P.P.M. For reference, the average bathtub has a capacity of 60 gallons at the point of overflowing. Since 1 teaspoon of ascorbic acid is about 5 grams, less than a quarter of a teaspoon would be needed to neutralize the chlorine within the hypothetical bathtub. Using 1 full teaspoon would guarantee that all of the chlorine would be quickly neutralized, even if the highest levels of chlorine were present. The reaction is rapid and invisible.

A Chlorine Antidote

The inclusion of vitamin C is never enough to make tap water truly safe, because municipal water contains an array of damaging chemicals and metals that are uneffected by vitamin C. Fluoride, pesticides, pharmaceutical drugs, and heavy metals are typical. Some of the most harmful substances in our water are the THMs (trihalomethanes), which result from chlorine reacting to organic compounds that are already inside the water and our bodies. It is currently unknown as to whether vitamin C has any effect upon THMs, the most notorious of which is chloroform, a carcinogen. It is less widely known that the bleaching action of chlorine compounds has a tendency to produce dioxin compounds, as well. The impurities of municipal water and their dangers are detailed in our report about tap water.

Whenever chlorinated water is the only type available, adding a pinch of vitamin C can have a major impact upon reducing its damage and improving taste. Taking vitamin C supplements 30 minutes prior to drinking a chlorinated beverage can drastically lessen the taste of chlorine, in addition to reducing its damage. Therefore, taking vitamin C before going to a restaurant is usually a wise choice. Also, applying iodine transdermally would greatly thwart fluoride absorption.

Aquariums and Ponds

Gallons

@ 4 P.P.M. Vitamin C Weight Vitamin C Teaspoons

1 40 mg. 1/125th

10 400 mg. 1/50th

30 1.2 grams 1/4th

100 4 grams 4/5ths

150 6 grams 1 1/5th

Those with fish aquariums can use vitamin C instead of chemicals to neutralize chlorine. Vitamin C is significantly safer for fish than dechlorination chemicals. The chart shows how much vitamin C is needed for common tank sizes, assuming a high chlorine content of 4 P.P.M. Be sure to check the pH of the water after adding vitamin C, because it is a mild acid. If the water is made too acidic, then it can be safely adjusted with small amounts of baking soda.

The suitable amount of vitamin C powder can be visually approximated with a teaspoon, or by simply using vitamin C supplement capsules that have known weights. The most pedantic people can get a pocket scale to facilitate measuring such small amounts with great accuracy, but it is not necessary. People may simply use a bit extra if they are uncertain. Having too much vitamin C is not harmful, unless the amount is extreme. Chlorine test strips can be found wherever aquarium supplies are sold.

Common Sources of Chlorine Exposure

Chlorinated drinking water, including some brands of bottled water

Soft drinks

Reconstituted juices (“from concentrate”)

Processed foods

Bleached flour

Shower mist

Skin absorption from showers, baths, and swimming

Cleaning and bleaching products

Hand sanitizers

Insecticides

Pesticides

Herbicides

Fungicides

by Sarah C. Corriher For Healthwyze