Mineral water vs regular tap water
Posted on: 26/Jul/2019 2:32:15 PM
Mineral water, as evident in the name, the water contains a lot of minerals including magnesium, sodium and calcium. Well, it is often put in question whether mineral water is better than regular drinking water. This article answers the long-pending question:
Each one of the living organism on earth needs drinking water to survive. Apart from being inevitable to perform our regular physical activities, water also contains all the needed nutrients that the body cannot make by itself.
In the United States, people have got enough access to pure drinking water. However, there prevails the practice of seeking mineral water for use because of the purity and health benefits of the same.
Mineral water vs regular water
As per the evidences available, we are unable to distinguish the two kinds of water clearly. The processing that either of these waters undergo are quite the same. In terms of definition, there are certain kinds of minerals available in mineral water and the packaging is done at the source end.
Differences between the two
Tap water
Basically tap water is the water we get in household taps. These are nothing but water obtained through surface sources or underground sources.
Generally the tap water is referred to as safe drinking water, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. This is a regulatory board that curbs presence of contaminants in water.
The public water suppliers carry out the job of transmitting water from water source to the treatment plants. Here, there are chemical disinfection being done. The clean water thus obtained is given for use at households via underground pipeline systems.
There are minerals, calcium, magnesium and potassium present in tap water. There is very high minerals content in hard tap water. This is considered healthy by a few people, but the downside is that these minerals tend to form deposits that may corrode the pipes or hinder flow. Though there are several efforts being taken by the public water suppliers, there is pollution constantly taking place in the drinking water due to rust and leaking pipelines.
Mineral water
Mineral water is the water we source out of natural reservoirs. This gets very high mineral content when set against tap water.
As per sources from the Food and Drug Administration, there needs to be a minimum of 250 parts per million in mineral water out of the entire dissolved solids. Manufacturing are disallowed to add such minerals into their products.
In general, the types of minerals commonly found in mineral water are calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, bicarbonate, zinc and iron.
Right at the source, mineral water gets packed in bottles. A few people prefer mineral water as they are considered to be pure without any kind of chemical disinfection treatment processes. It is however to be noted that mineral waters tend to get subjected to a few processes which may be for removal of carbon dioxide gas or to take off the toxic elements.
CO2 aids in preventing oxidation. And it further growth of bacteria in mineral water. So in case of carbonated water, CO2 is obtained right during the source. Further, upon extracting, CO2 can be added extra.
Below are five main advantages of having mineral water
Mineral water is magnesium rich
Magnesium is present both in bottled water as well as tap water. This mineral is essential in keeping our body’s blood pressure, glucose level and nerve health in good conditions.
A few sources may have lesser volume of magnesium as compared to others. Magnesium level in water can be of 1mg/l to 120mg/l according to the source.
For women, about 310mg of magnesium in needed and for men, the need is 400mg of magnesium. Sources from the office of dietary supplements says there is lesser magnesium consumption that ideally needed for our body.
If an individual is not getting the required amount of magnesium, he may experience loss of appetite or fatigue, weakness in muscles, vomiting or nausea, etc.
In extreme conditions of magnesium deficiency, it may lead to muscle cramps, mood swings, very low levels of calcium and potassium, heartbeat irregularities, seizure, etc.
Keeps blood pressure under control
Lower magnesium levels tend to boost your blood pressure which leads to cognitive heart diseases. This in turn may lead to improper or unhealthy heartbeat conditions. Consuming mineral water that have very high magnesium content may subside cardiovascular diseases.
In a study conducted in 2004, there were 70 adults assessed all of whom had border level hypertension with very low magnesium levels. They were made to drink mineral water of the volume 1 litre per day. This largely helped them in reducing blood pressure.
Maintains healthy blood circulation
As mineral water is rich in calcium, potassium and magnesium, it aids in promoting proper blood circulation in the body.y. For building strong bones and maintaining bone strength, our body inevitably needs calcium. It further regulates heartbeat and its rhythm.
Maintains good bones strength
One can get their bone strong and sturdy by having mineral water rich in calcium.
As there is calcium in mineral water, it strengthens bones. Whenever there is a breakdown of bone tissue, there is new bone getting replaced in the same place. In adolescent stage, the rate at which new bones are deposited is faster. Beyond 20 years of age, bone formation becomes a very slow process and leads to brittle or weak bones.
One can prevent bone loss by large by consuming calcium-rich foods and performing regular exercises.
As per recent studies performed to understand the ways in which our body tends to absorb calcium out of milk and other sources like calcium supplements or mineral water, it is concluded that there is very high amount of calcium present in mineral water and that it helps in boosting the overall calcium supply in our body.
Further, magnesium also aids our bones. In older women who take very high magnesium content every day of the range 422.5mg everyday, there will be higher bone density as set against others who don’t have mineral intake.
Improves overall digestion
One can enjoy good digestive system and proper healthy digestion by consuming magnesium-rich diet. Generally, magnesium tends to take water into the intestines and enhance stool consistency on the whole. It keeps the intestinal muscles relaxed and aids in proper bowel movements.
