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Even though I prefer strength training, anaerobic intervals and tennis as my main form of exercise, swimming can be an excellent form of healthy exercise for your body.  

In fact, swimming may very well be one of the most perfect forms of exercise. It increases your flexibility, endurance, muscle tone, strength, and cardiovascular conditioning – all without straining your heart and with a low risk of injury.

In addition to using the pool for exercise you can use it for pure entertainment value like jumping in the pool after a hard workout on a hot day or playing in the pool with your kids or friends.

However, before you jump in the pool, there are some important pieces of information you need to know to protect you and your family from the hidden dangers lurking in most pools But before I explain what these dangers are let me touch on some safer alternatives for you.

I am convinced that the best place to swim in the ocean for a large variety of reasons. Second best would be a clean lake or river.

Salt water actually serves to kill many of the parasites that live on your skin, in your nasal passages, and around your eyes. Swimming in salt water can help you take a significant amount of stress off your immune system and help you detoxify and balance your body.

In addition, swimming in the ocean allows you to absorb many of the valuable and beneficial minerals from the salt water.

My home base is Chicago so I leave for the winter and travel to warmer climates and spend a few months in Hawaii. I’m always astounded how most people choose the hotel or resort swimming pool when the ocean is only a few steps away.

But you may not live near the ocean or sea, or even have the time to go to the beach.

So, what’s the next best thing if you’re hooked on swimming for family fun and exercise?

Well, I’ve raised concerns before about swimming pools – this is not a great alternative for you unless you…

• Steer completely clear of chlorinated public swimming pools – indoors and out
• Find a way to keep your own pool clean from bacteria, algae, and other organisms
• Avoid using chlorine and other hazardous chemicals to treat your pool water

Just like I firmly believe you should filter your tap water from the dangerous effects of chlorine, I recommend you do the same with your pool water.

Ever walk into an indoor pool area and get hit with the overwhelming smell of chlorine?

Just breathing the chlorine gas (Cl2) can be harmful to your health.

And you should be aware your body can absorb more chlorine, and the far more dangerous disinfection byproducts, swimming in a public pool in 1 hour than drinking unfiltered tap water for a week.

Need I say more about why you should avoid public swimming pools – indoors and outdoors as well? Most public pools are overloaded with chlorine.

The well-intentioned people who maintain public pools overly shock them with chlorine to make sure bacteria and other organisms get snuffed out quickly. No one wants to deal with some sort of bacterial infection from swimming in a public pool.

But the bottom line is chlorine is a hazardous chemical when absorbed by your body.

Are you curious why indoor swimming pool workers are more prone to respiratory illnesses? You guessed it, exposure to chlorine water, chlorine gas, and disinfection byproducts.

A Dutch study concluded…

• Swimming instructors and others who spend time near chlorinated pools face an increased risk of respiratory problems.
• Swimming instructors were more than twice as likely to suffer from sinusitis or sore throat, and more than 3 times as likely to have chronic colds as other pool workers with less exposure.
• Compared to the general population, pool employees with high levels of exposure were at a 40% greater risk for tightness of the chest, and over 700% more likely to suffer breathlessness while walking.  

Another European study conducted by the Department of Public Health in Brussels, Belgium, found even outdoor swimming pool exposure to chlorinated water could be detrimental to swimmers.

The Belgium research showed that after attendance at public outdoor swimming pools, adolescents were at higher risks for forms of:

• Asthma
• Airways inflammation
• Certain respiratory allergies

And these scenarios are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to why you should avoid public swimming pools – the chlorine itself is only a small part of the total health risk you face from chlorinated water.

You know that chlorine is a chemical that has been used in municipal water supplies for years.

City water management added chlorine to kill hazardous bacteria in your water and in the pipes that transport water to your home. Since first introduced into the U.S. water supplies in 1908, chlorination virtually eliminated waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and hepatitis.

So, it was a natural progression when chlorine became an added disinfectant and sanitizer to swimming pools

You probably already know how chlorine can irritate your eyes… your nose membranes… and your skin.  

But you should be aware there’s strong evidence the disinfection byproducts produced from chlorine, can be far more harmful to your health.

Disinfection byproducts (DBPs) form when the chlorine in your pool water reacts with organic matter such as skin and hair. And one group of these DBPs, trihalomethanes (THMs), can be found in higher levels in swimming pools than in unfiltered tap water.

Chlorine DBPs can cause…

• Weakening of your immune system
• Disruptions to your central nervous system
• Damaging effects to your cardiovascular system
• Unhealthy functioning of your renal system
• Harmful impacts to your respiratory system

Other disinfection byproducts from adding chlorine to your pool water are chemicals called chloramines.

These chemicals form when chlorine reacts with ammonia found in sweat and urine. Chloramines can irritate your respiratory tract and some research links their byproducts to bladder cancer.

And one of the most volatile types is trichloramine – often found at elevated levels in both public and home chlorinated swimming pools.   

So, it’s just not chlorine itself that is a major health risk when added to pool water – it’s the dangerous byproducts created by the chlorine’s reaction to organic matter and ammonia that can create even greater health issues for you.

And unlike chlorine itself, which dissipates rapidly within hours, the spawned chemical byproducts and DBPs linger much longer in pool water – sometimes days’ longer.

Now, if you have children, swimming pool safety takes on a whole different perspective.

Not only do you want to make sure your children learn how to swim, you want the water they swim in to be non-hazardous as well.

Well, unfortunately, a study published in Pediatrics found that children who spend their early years in chlorinated swimming pools could face higher risks when compared to others who do not frequent pools.

These higher risks included…

• Developing asthma
• Facing recurrent bronchitis
• Being prone to other airway damage and breathing problems

And the suspect in this study was not the chlorine itself, but one of the byproducts mentioned above – trichloramine.

Another Belgium study concluded that “the prevalence of childhood asthma and availability of indoor swimming pools in Europe are linked through associations that implicate pool chlorine in the rise of childhood asthma in industrialized countries.”

After taking into account additional factors such as climate variations, scientists found staggering evidence childhood asthma increased 2-3% for every indoor pool in a geographical area.

The bottom line – your kids could face higher risks of respiratory problems the more they swim in chlorinated pools.

So, what can you do?

First of all, you already know my recommendation for chlorinated public swimming pools (whether indoors or out) – avoid them as much as possible.

Swim in the ocean or sea as much as you can.

And if you’re pregnant, you should make every effort to avoid chlorinated pools altogether. Some research shows an increased risk in stillbirths associated with elevated levels of trihalomenthanes (THMs) – chlorine disinfection byproducts reviewed earlier.

Two years ago I purchased a home that had an inground pool. I personally never would have installed one but since I inherited it I was challenged with finding the safest way to keep the pool clean and me and my guests healthy while using it.

The challenge you face is you still need to disinfect your pool water somehow. Yet, using chlorine on a regular basis could pose significant health risks to you and your family.

There are other chemical alternatives such as bromine but many have their own issues and generate different but very similar hazardous disinfection byproducts as well.  

So let me share with you what I compiled after several years of research on how to keep my pool clean.  I elected to install an ozone generator to keep my water clean to decrease but not eliminate the need for chlorine. Here’s a quick look at how chlorine and ozone compare:

ACTION IN WATER	CHLORINE	OZONE
Oxidation Potential (Volts)	1.36	2.07
Disinfection: Bacteria Viruses	Moderate Moderate	Excellent Excellent
Environmentally Friendly	No	Yes
Color Removal	Good	Excellent
Carcinoge Formation	Likely	Unlikely
Organics Oxidation	Moderate	High
Micro flocculation	None	Moderate
pH Effect	Variable	Lowers
Water Half-Life	2-3 hours	20 min.
Operation Hazards: Skin Toxicity Inhalation Toxicity	High High	Moderate High
Complexity	Low	High
Capital Cost	Low	High
Monthly Use Cost	Moderate-High	Low

(Table adapted from Ozone Solutions, Inc: http://www.ozoneapplications.com/info/ozone_vs_chlorine.htm)

Once an ozone system is in place, monthly use cost is less than a chlorination system. So, it’s still a viable solution you might want to consider if you’re looking to install a pool or are planning major renovations.

I installed my home ozone pool generator two years ago and found that while it worked well it still wasn’t sufficient to stop algae blooms after heavy rains. This was typically addressed by “shock treatments”  which are high doses of chlorine which rapidly dissipate and are very effective at making the water crystal clear.

After 24 hours nearly all the chlorine is gone and you have a “chlorine free” pool. This is how the suppliers sell you on this option. What they don’t tell you is that while the chlorine is gone the disinfection by products are NOT.They do not rapidly volatilize and are many thousands of times more toxic than the chlorine.

They even fooled me and I only recently recognized the danger of these DBPs within the past year.

So, at least in my experience, ozone generators are not sufficient to use as the sole solution to keep your pool clean without the use of any chlorine.

What I found was a simple solution that not only keeps your pool looking clean but also helps you eliminate chlorine and the risky byproducts we’ve been talking about.

So how does it work?

Well, since our number one goal was to eliminate your dependence on chlorine as much as possible, my team and I discovered a filter technology that provides an excellent way for you to enjoy chlorine-free water.

The  Mercola Swimming Pool Treatment disk uses a unique form of the patented KDFÒ (Kinetic Degradation Fluxion) copper-zinc (CuZn) media.  

Through a proprietary process, the CuZn media forms into a soft disk filter that looks like a gold sponge. The disk filters your pool water as the water twists and turns through the maze of copper-zinc fibers within.

The  Mercola Swimming Pool Treatment disk efficiently removes chlorine while also acting as a scale-remover and helps maintain a bacteriostatic environment in your pool.

You may know about KDF from my drinking water filtration system. The pool filter uses the same innovative media – it’s simply formed into a filter disk that fits snugly into your skimmer basket.

Here are some of the key benefits of the Mercola Swimming Pool Treatment disk:

• Eliminates your need for chlorine – helps you create a chlorine-free pool
• Significantly reduces your dependence on other chemicals for: pH balancing, mineral additives, water softener, and controlling hardness and scale
• Creates a bacteriostatic environment in your pool that inhibits bacteria and algae – without the hazardous byproducts generated if you use chlorine
• Uses an all-natural process to provide anti-corrosive protection to your pool’s plumbing system
• Is easy to install and replace – fits snugly in your skimmer and/or sediment filter
• Helps you create a more energy efficient system by reducing scale that can coat your pipes, pumps, and other pool equipment
• Provides you with a cost-effective solution – no added re-plumbing or complex installation required and disk filters typically last 3-5 months

Now,even with this filter media there made be a need for occasional “shocking” of your pool water if you have heavy rains for example. 

However, please avoid the mistake I made and avoid using chlorine to shock your pool.

Remember, even though the chlorine dissipates very quickly, the real hazards to your health are the chlorine-created disinfection byproducts (DBPs) which can linger for days in your pool.

Don’t be mislead by your local pool store or retail outlets where you purchase pool supplies – avoid chlorine at all costs. 

There are other less risky “shocking” agents on the market you can use instead – hydrogen peroxide is one example. Another agent is potassium monopersulfate, used to effectively eliminate organic contaminants.

So, if you truly want to enjoy a safe and clean pool, I strongly recommend the  Mercola Swimming Pool Treatment disk for your home pool. The consequences from using chlorine are simply too risky to your family’s health.

And please remember to avoid all public pools because of the hazards I reviewed with you above.

Instead, if you live near the sea, I encourage you to swim there as often as you can for invigorating exercise and salt water health benefits.

But if you plan to spend time in your own swimming pool, please do so by eliminating all chlorine use. Order your  Mercola Swimming Pool Treatment disk today and start taking advantage of a practical, natural process to ensure safe and clean water in your pool. 

I’m in the process of turning my personal swimming pool into totally chlorine free using a combination of the ozone system and the copper-zinc pool filters.

You can order both copper-zinc filters with full confidence knowing I back both of them with my 100%, money-back, “no questions asked” guarantee.

It’s simple. If you’re not 100% satisfied, you can receive a full refund.

So order now and enjoy your swimming pool for healthy exercise and family fun.

(click to enlarge)