If you’re someone who likes to refill your plastic bottle each day, you could actually be doing more harm than good. Why it is vital that you remain fully-hydrated at all times, drinking polluted water could be far more damaging to your health.

While most plastic water bottles are safe to use because they are made from PET plastic, some ‘re-usable’ plastic water bottles are still made from plastic containing Bisphenol A (BPA) – a controversial chemical, which is used in the manufacture of a wide variety of household items and is thought to interfere with sex hormones.

According to Dr Marilyn Glenville, “Certain chemicals found in [some] plastic bottles can have effects on every system in our bodies. They can affect ovulation, and increase our risk of hormonally driven problems like PCOS, endometriosis and breast cancer, among other things.”

The NHS has confirmed that BPA has the potential to migrate into beverages. However, they have suggested that more research is required into effects of the chemical on humans:

“The science is not yet completely clear on how BPA may affect humans. BPA may mimic hormones and interfere with the endocrine system of glands, which release hormones around the body.

“Those calling for a ban suggest that it may be a factor in a rising numbers of human illnesses, such as breast cancer, heart disease and genital birth defects.”

If the potential for cancer, heart disease or birth-defects does not put you off of reusing plastic water bottles, there is also another problem to worry about – bacteria.

According to a study conducted by Treadmill Reviews, “Thousands of moisture-loving bacteria may be crawling on your favourite refillable drinking container.”

Researchers found that bacteria in refillable bottles used by athletes for a week could reach over 900,000 colony forming units per square cm on average, which is worryingly more bacteria than found on the average toilet seat!

Buy water cooler or rent water cooler from Living-Water in London.