Being one of many families who buy bottled water and then re-use the bottles over and over, the story on WSB-TV  Action News last night made me pick up my water bottle and look at it with new eyes this morning...

According to the report, plastic contains chemicals.  A new study suggests that using plastic bottles over and over could release chemicals that aren't good for you.  Certain plastics give off trace amounts of phenol A, a chemical that mimics the female hormone estrogen, and could cause problems with infertility, obesity, and several cancers.

In order to figure out how harmful your plastic bottle is, look for the number in the triangle on the underside of your bottle.  One is the lowest risk - a number of 3, 6 or 7 contains chemicals which could be most harmful, even if the bottle is only used one time (yikes!).  According to experts, if your bottle doesn't have a rating, don't use it!

There are alternatives out there - glass bottles and environmentally friendly stainless steel pitchers are some examples of these.