The Mineral Content in Inexpensive Bottled Water
You know that you need to drink plenty of water every day to lead a healthy lifestyle, but did you know that not all drinking water is ever the same?
It’s true! Apart from the very obvious differences between wastewater and potable water, there are many considerations when it comes to choosing the right drinking water for you. And those considerations may surprise you.
From tap to bottle, no two water sources are ever identical in composition. So, while each individual water molecule does, in fact, have two hydrogen atoms linked to one oxygen atom—just like you learned in school—clean, safe drinking water can be loaded with minerals that play an important role in your body, or it can come up significantly short.
Good mineral water provides your body with nutrients that are essential to your health. Things like calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, and zinc are all present in high-quality drinking water, and they work hard to help your body function properly.
Without enough minerals, your organs, muscles, tissues, and bones begin to weaken, and you can even experience a decreased immune system—which can lead to a whole host of other health conditions.
The good news though is that you can get enough minerals into your diet by doing things like eating healthy every day and drinking plenty of water. However, there is one thing that you definitely want to keep in mind. As previously mentioned, not all water is ever the same.
And this is important to remember because standard tap water and most inexpensive bottled waters do have mineral content, but it’s oftentimes in much lower concentrations than other sources that are available to you. Plus, the minerals in tap water and inexpensive bottled water are added in during the manufacturing process instead of occurring naturally.
The healthiest bottled waters on the market are oftentimes your best opportunity for getting enough minerals into your body just by drinking water. This is especially true for bottled waters that are specifically labeled as mineral water—which means that they must have at least 250 parts per million of total dissolved minerals that occur naturally.
So, what does this mean for you?
It means that the next time you reach for a drink of water, your best option is to choose high-quality bottled water with naturally occurring minerals in it.
When you do, you’ll intake calcium which strengthens your bones and teeth but also regulates your heartbeat. You’ll also get your daily dose of magnesium which enhances your exercise performance and supports a healthy blood sugar level. Plus, you’ll increase your potassium which regulates the fluid balance inside your cells. And you’ll benefit from an influx of zinc which heals damaged tissues while supporting a healthy immune system.
What happens if you choose to buy inexpensive bottled water with very low levels of minerals instead?
The truth is, you’ll still stay hydrated which, of course, is a very good thing. However, you’ll miss out on your opportunity to replenish minerals that are a vital part of keeping your body healthy. Plus, you’ll fill up so much on water that is doing little to improve your body’s functioning, that you won’t have any room left to get your daily dose of minerals in other ways like eating or taking supplements.
In essence, every sip of water you take is a chance to keep your body strong and your immune system functioning properly. And while you may feel like choosing inexpensive bottled water, or even tap water, is a better option than grabbing a sugary drink, you’re still not optimizing your health in the way you could be.
Additionally, those cheaper bottled water options you see at every grocery store or convenience store are actually sourced publicly and then processed. This means that the inexpensive bottled water companies are basically giving you tap water after they add chlorine to it and strip salts and minerals from it through the distillation process. And even worse, cheap processed water can actually trick your body into thinking it has enough minerals in it already, causing your body to flush out the minerals you’re intaking now and the minerals your body holds in reserve. This can cause you to become deficient in minerals over time as you continue to drink this type of water.
You know that processed cheap foods aren’t great for your body, so it only makes sense that a highly-processed, cheap bottled water isn’t your best bet either. Where good quality mineral waters have an absolute minimum of 250 parts per million of dissolved minerals, but typically fall between the 400-650 parts per million range, inexpensive bottled waters can have as low as 10 parts per million of dissolved minerals.
So, not only are you introducing significantly lower concentrations of minerals into your body in the first place, inexpensive bottled water strips the minerals you’ve already ingested and stored—which means that it can actually cause more harm to your body than good.
Your health is of the utmost importance. And drinking high-quality water loaded with naturally-occurring minerals is an opportunity for you to keep your organs, muscles, tissues, and bones in good working order. After all, minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, and zinc perform many functions in your body that are necessary for life.
And you have two options for getting more of these vital minerals into your body. You can drink clean mineral water that is sourced directly from natural springs on Earth, bubbling over rocks as it pulls minerals out from the environment. Or, you can purchase cheap bottled water that is sourced from the tap, processed with chlorine and other harmful chemicals, and stripped of its natural mineral content.
The human body is made up of 60% water. Even your bones have water! So, hydration is an incredibly important part of taking care of your body so that you stay healthy and strong. Do yourself a favor, stay hydrated with the best source of drinking water available, and replenish those life-sustaining minerals your body craves at the very same time.
