How to Test and Filter Estrogen from Drinking Water?

Is there any compound that cannot be mixed with water? I think it is very rare. For example, do you know estrogen gets mixed with water?

We all know that estrogen is a female secondary sexual hormone. Still, many of us are curious to know ” How can estrogen be present in water“?

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Estrogen can be present in water, but How?

It is because of Birth control pills which are mixed with water indirectly every day. Many women are taking birth control pills, and these pills only absorb small amounts. Other portions of the pills are mixed with water after you swallow.

According to the study, numerous doses of estrogen are added with birth control pills.

  • It can be mixed with water when you excreted urine into the toilet.
  • Excretion of sweat when you put it into the washing machine.
  • Many of the women may flush the unused or expired  pills into the toilet.

In these ways, it can be spread into the rivers, lakes, water supply systems or oceans.

How much estrogen is in water?

It must be a very challenging question because nearly 15 million women are taking contraceptive or birth control pills in the USA. 

Most birth control pills are made of synthetic estrogen, working well with the female reproductive system. So there can be little chance to mix, but the usage of these pills is high.

It is difficult to ensure “How much” because the workers of the local water system will never think of studying or testing the amount of synthetic estrogen in the water.

Can you filter out water from estrogen?

If the estrogen can be mixed with water, there must be methods of filter/reduce/remove estrogen from the water.

Normally, suppose you want to remove the estrogen from the water. In that case, you can use ozone treatment at a low cost. Other various chemical oxygen and pH can be used to remove the estrogen from the water.

However, activated carbon is an effective way to remove/filter/reduce the estrogen from the water. And another one is the Black Berkey ® purification, which successfully finds the way to filter out the estrogen and other hormones such as progesterone, THMS, etc.

Here are two filtration units recommended by us to filter out hormones, especially estrogen:

Best for removing hormones and fluorides: Big Berkey BK4X2 Countertop Water Filter System

Big Berkey BK4X2 Countertop Water Filter System

This water filter can efficiently remove estrogen, lime, fluorides, and other hormones. Actually, it ensures safe drinking water by filtering out most of the impurities from the water.

It includes 2 specialized Berkey filters and a couple of fluoride elements as well. It is made of high-grade SS 304, and the filter unit can filter up to 6000 gallons of water before changing the filter system. The filtration unit is capable of 6-14 people per day.

Best Budget filter for removing estrogen: Fed Water Filter with 2 Black Berkey Purification Elements

Fed Water Filter with 2 Black Berkey Purification Elements

This filtration unit is pretty much similar to the previous one, except for one major difference. It can’t filter out fluorides. But, you can get assurance of any hormonal residue, heavy metal-free, lime, and harmful substance-free water from this filter. Most importantly, it’s a budget-friendly filter.

This filter is a great choice for small families. The filtration unit lasts for at least 6000 gallons of purified out before expiration. It’s a must-have filtration unit for families with pregnant women, infants, and kids.

So, if you are looking for hormonal, bacteria, protozoa free water filtration unit at a moderate price, the Fed Berkey filtration unit is the ideal choice for you!

Other Methods & Tips regarding estrogen-free water:

Some tips will help you to have an idea about reducing or filtering the estrogen from the water. However, some of the estrogens will remain in the water.

  1. Buying a bottle of water can decrease the chance of drinking estrogen-containing water.
  2. Another tip is the reverse osmosis system generally used in industry to remove the estrogen from the water bodies.
  3. Researcher have found some useful techniques, Biofilters that helps to filter out the estrogen by the enzymes called Laccases which digest the estrogen 
  4. Another effective method is the combination technique that removes 98% of estrogen from the water.
  5. Charcoal and lime filters are beneficial methods of eliminating or reducing the estrogen from the water. This is not yet the trending method, but it is studied that 98% of the estrogen from the water can be diminished.
  6. Another method is related to the long chains of the monomer, the process called polymer membranes. This has the properties of an activated carbon absorber that helps to remove the estrogen from the water.
  7. Drinking excessive estrogen-containing water can be dangerous, so you should change your lifestyle and tell people not to throw hormones-containing pills into the water bodies.

Why shouldn’t you blame the pill for estrogen in drinking water? 

You should not blame the pill for estrogen in drinking water because it is not the only reason for estrogen in the water. According to the study of Environmental and science technology, experts gave us an idea that only 1% of estrogen comes from the contraceptive pills or birth control pills into the water. So what can be the other causes?

 The causes are:

  • This can be caused by the intersex of the fishes
  • Livestock can travel into local groundwater and through the soil as they contain estrogen.

Why is it important to know if any estrogen is present in Drinking Water?

If the level of estrogen in the water is less, it is not harmful, but it can be dangerous if it contains excessive amounts of estrogen because there are negative effects if you drink estrogenic water every day.

Some of the risks are, you may face 

  • Depression
  • Serious acnes on your whole face
  • Osteoporosis
  • Sex drive will decrease
  • Breast and uterine cancer
  • Suffer from polycystic ovaries
  • In the case of a male, the amount of sperms can decrease
  • Male may suffer from prostate cancer

Can you test water that contains estrogen?

If it is a big problem for you and you want to check the drinking water, you can go to the laboratory to find out. You can test water that contains estrogen in water are:

  • Activated carbon filter
  • Combination techniques
  • Biofilters
  • Chlorine and charcoal filters
  • Reverse osmosis system
  • Polymer membrane method
  • Avoid water in plastic bottles

Does tap water/drinking water/swimming pool contain estrogen?

Yes, tap water/drinking water/swimming pool contain estrogen. 

Some researchers have already checked the swimming pool to know whether the swimming pools contain estrogen. They tried to collect the estrogen from the water in different areas of swimming pools, and they also tried to test the swimming pool used by males.

According to the study, after collecting the samples, they found that the swimming pool used by women contains more estrogen than the men. The estrogen concentration in the pool used by women was 17.95pg/ml, whereas the pool used by the male was only 8.96pg/.

However, experts say that they need more time to investigate the estrogen level’s health risks, which remain in the swimming pool.

Tap water contains estrogen because most of the water treatment systems can not easily recognize the level of estrogen. Estrogen can get mixed with tap water from birth control pills, but less than  1% of estrogen is generally found. However, it still can be harmful to the human body.

Estrogen can be found in drinking water in the form of estradiol, the most influential version of estrogen that makes women take out urine and feces through excretion. Almost 2.5 million women are taking birth control pills. They may flush into the toilet and mix with the water supply without your knowledge and estrogen in the water.

Is estrogen in water harmful if you drink and take shower?

According to the study of MOEs and MOSs, estrogen in water is not much harmful if you drink, and experts are trying to detect estrogen in the water and environment. Because this estrogenic water has brought some changes in the wildlife and humans that can be harmful in the future if it is not adequately taken care of. 

Some of the scientists in the Northeast have discovered that male fish are developing female biomarkers like ovaries due to the estrogen in rivers and lakes that can cause the fishes to be less fertile across the period of the next.

Plants, fish, and soil can be affected by estrogen found in wells or ponds. As a result, you can suffer from various types of cancer, which is still unknown to doctors or scientists. So we follow and maintain to keep the water from the estrogen.

Frequently Asked Question:

#1. Does estrogen dissolve in water?

Estrogen is soluble and fat repellent in water, but unconjugated estrogen is not soluble in water.

Conclusion

Different water filters are there to remove estrogen from water. Therefore, you need to choose drinking water smartly if you are trying to conceive.