Finding a bottle of water has become a convenience we sometimes forget to appreciate. In New York City, you can buy a bottle of water from almost anywhere, including a street corner from a lady selling $1 bottles of Poland Spring alongside her sliced mangos with chili powder.

Despite the ease of finding water, the quality is something important to look at whether it's bottled or tap. Let me break it down for you.

Contrary to popular belief and the current trend of consuming "local water", tap water is unclean and unhealthy. According to the EWG tap water database, New York City tap water included hexavalent chromium (that's the stuff from Erin Brockovich), monochloroacetic acid (an acid formed when chlorine or other disinfectants are used to treat drinking water), Bromoform, and several other contaminants. (1) Here is the scary thing: in comparison to a nationwide scale, NYC numbers on these contaminants are on the low end. (See image below) So, maybe New Yorkers are right after-all. We do have the best water, it's just the best of bad water. Use this interactive map to check your city's tap water.

safe and healthy tap water per city. New York City tap water.

This is why I refuse to drink tap water (and no, I will not drink water from a Brita filter either). Some have called me snobby, but I prefer not to consume cancer causing chemicals, chlorine, bacteria and parasites when hydrating myself. I will gladly pay the $5 at a restaurant for the bottled water option and at home, we have an amazing under-sink RO filter.

Our four-step reverse osmosis water filter removes 99.9% of chemicals, toxins and “bugs” and even reinstates the minerals back into the water before it comes out the spout. We use this water for not just drinking but making tea and coffee, ice, cooking veggies, and washing produce. It’s a life-saver! Literally. (If you do not have a re-mineralizer you will want to add minerals to your water, as RO filters do filter them out.)

My picks for water filtration systems (click item to shop)

Now, onto bottled water. Not all water in bottles is created equal. First of all, there is basic taste. Anyone who tells me Dasani tastes the same as Fiji is straight up lying. There is no comparison. Dasani, along with other companies like Aquafina, actually bottle ultraviolet-light cleaned tap water, so yes you are drinking glorified tap water.

Second of all, plastic bottles, even BPA free, are not safe. BPA is not the only chemical that is in plastic and these chemicals can seep into the water which you end up drinking. This can majorly mess up your endocrine system (2) and cause other health issues, so the best thing to do is find good water bottled in glass bottles or carry around a personal glass carafe. I love my BKR bottle.

Thirdly, a lot of water is actually very acidic, which can contribute to other health issues as it is. (3) Acidity in water can be caused by too much filtration (yes, there is such a thing), so beware of which bottled water, plastic or glass, you are drinking. Anyone can test the PH of water at home with water test strips or you can just go on YouTube and see the hundreds of videos showing PH water tests of endless brands of water. You want to strive for a PH of 7.

My picks for healthy bottled water (I am featuring glass and plastic bottles in my order of preference based on taste for each category (first glass then plastic). All of these brands have excellent PH levels.) Available on Amazon or your local store.