Drugs In Our Drinking Water?

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7:00am Segment Info:
The short answer is probably not, but there's a slight catch. First of all, we're talking extremely small amounts of medication - parts per million/parts per billion. According to city water officials, New York City's drinking water is safe and meets all federal and state regulations. But here's the catch. The regulations do not address pharmaceuticals in our water supply in trace amounts. So the truth is we don't even know how much of this actually makes it to our taps and we don't really know if there are any long term health implications.

How did all of these medications get into the water supply in the first place?

VIDEO & MORE INFO AFTER THE JUMP

Well some comes from human waste and a lot of people flush medications down the toilet, and the watershed area for us spans from Connecticut to Pennsylvania. That's a lot of toilets. Most of the watershed area is rural, so there is also runoff from farms and veterinary medicines. Our water is processed at wastewater treatment plants upstate, but much of the pharmaceutical residue passes right through the system.

8:00am Segment Info:

1. Sherly from Brooklyn asks: Does eating a lemon or grapefruit help you burn fat?

Sherly, fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet, but you're probably asking about citrus burning fat because of those crazy diets that have been promoted like the grapefruit diet. The problem with that diet and others like it is they have you basically eliminate all other food from your diet and just eat grapefruit. Here's a tip for you, any diet that eliminates whole food groups is not good for you.

2. Llianna from the Bronx asks: Can a woman do a DNA test on her baby while being pregnant?

Absolutely. That's what an amniocentesis is. Doctors use a thin needle to withdraw amniotic fluid from the amniotic sac that surrounds the baby. That fluid contains fetal cells and chemicals produced by the baby. Those cells contain genetic information and can help doctors identify chromosomal abnormalities. Amniocentesis is usually done after the 15th week of pregnancy in women over 35 or those at increased risk of chromosomal problems.

3. Sue who’s staying in the New York City asks: What should the normal blood pressure be?

Sue, blood pressure is a measurement of the blood flowing through your arteries. It depends on how much blood is being pumped and how narrow your arteries are - the more blood and the narrower the arteries, the higher the pressure. Normal blood pressure is below 120 over 80. You're considered to be hypertensive if you're 140 over 90 or more. Prehypertension is between those two. It's important to remember that high blood pressure or hypertension often has no symptoms. So get checked and get treated because it can increase your risk of heart attack and stroke.