Continued from our Retreat & Renew Daily Tip.
The world of water is not what it used to be. Nowadays you can purify your tap water or purchase bottled purified, spring, oxygenated, sparkling, artesian waters, and more. Deciding what water to drink has gotten as complicated as choosing which foods to eat. Water is one of the most basic elements in life, but figuring out just how much and just what type of water we ought to drink isn’t always so simple.
Refilling the Tank
A healthy body can’t be a well-oiled machine if it’s not a well-hydrated machine. The list of waters wonders is endless. Every cell, tissue, and organ needs water to function, and nearly every life-sustaining process requires it. It transports nutrients and oxygen to cells, flushes out waste products, moistens tissues in the skin, mouth, and eyes, and helps to regulate body temperature, maintain blood volume, and cushion joints.
The average adult loses about ten cups of water every day through normal body functions, but unlike other nutrients, the body does not store excess water. In order to keep our bodies working properly, we need to replace the water that we lose. But how much is enough?
You’ve heard it for years, drink at least eight glasses of water a day. But in February 2004, the Institute of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board issued new recommendations and removed the eight a day standard; the institute now advises healthy adults to rely on thirst to determine their fluid needs. The report did not specify water requirements but made general fluid intake suggestions of 11-plus cups a day for women, and 15-plus cups a day for men.
But these new guidelines are for total fluid intake, including fluid from all food and beverages. Since approximately 80 percent of our water intake comes from drinking water and other beverages, and the other 20 percent comes from food, this translates into approximately 9 cups a day for women, and 12 1/2 cups for men, as the recommended amount for beverages, including water.
Although other beverages can help you reach this target, water, clean, refreshing, and calorie free, is the ideal choice. The question, however, remains which water?
Water, Water, Everywhere
Last year Americans spent around $9 billion on bottled water. As the water industry becomes more competitive, it’s important to pay attention to what’s in your bottle of H20.
Bottled water is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), just as any other packaged food or beverage. According to FDA regulations, bottled water products must be labeled truthfully, meaning that a company must fill their bottles with water that fits the description on the label.
While the FDA and bottled water companies are astutely aware of the differences in bottled water, the same cannot be said for consumers. Here are some things to consider the next time you’re shopping for something to quench your thirst.
Are You Sure it’s Pure?
Some buy bottled water out of convenience, but most are looking for something that’s higher quality than what comes out of the tap (see ‘What’s on Tap’). Be warned. It’s estimated that about 25 percent of the bottled waters consumed in the U.S. come from municipal water supplies. Disregard the enticing images on the label that show mountains, snow, or streams. If the label simply reads ‘purified’ or ‘drinking water’, chances are the water is not from a mountain spring or bubbling brook, but rather bottled at a plant using processed municipal water. Top selling waters like Aquafina from Pepsi and Dasani from Coca Cola, for example, are both purified, processed municipal waters.
Purified water, for all practical purposes, is tap water that has gone through a wide range of treatment processes to remove impurities and make the water taste better. It’s water that has been produced by distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis, filtration, or other suitable processes and that meet the definition of purified water in the United States.
Consumers can buy purified water or they can purify their tap water at home. There are a number of methods of water filtration available and they are generally cost-effective and environmentally friendly. Some filtration systems attach to the faucet and filter the water as it comes through the tap, while others feature containers that filter the water in them. PUR now offers a three-step filtration sysem, which removes sediment, makes the water healthy (removing pollutants, heavy metals, chlorine, etc.), and improves the taste. Check the box or product information to see if the filter has been tested and certified by the American National Standards Institute and National Sanitation Foundation (ANSI/NSF), a non-profit independent testing organization. For a list of all the filters that have been certified by ANSI/NSF, buy a copy of Water Wise: The Consumer’s Guide to Safe Drinking Water from NSF International, or visit NSF’s Web site (nsf.org).
Consider the Source
Some bottled water actually comes from natural sources where Mother Nature, alone, is responsible for the mineral content and distinctive taste.
Spring waters, like Evian and Poland Spring, come from underground formations that flow naturally to the surface of the earth. They must be collected either at the spring or through a borehole that taps into the spring. According to the International Bottled Water Association, “Spring water . . . must have all the physical properties before treatment, and be of the same composition and quality as the water that flows naturally to the surface of the earth.”
Artesian waters, like Fiji Natural Artesian Water, need a little help getting to the surface. ‘Artesian’ or ‘well’ water comes from a well that taps a confined underground aquifer and may be pumped to the surface.
Bottled waters derived from springs and wells where the natural chemical (mineral and trace elements) composition of the water has not been altered as a result of treatment process, may be labeled as ‘natural.’ Keep in mind that natural springs and wells are as unique as a fingerprint with no two being identical. The taste of the water reflects different geologic strata where water absorbs minerals and trace elements.
Delicious Fiji Natural Artesian Water, for example, comes from an artesian aquifer in a remote valley from the islands of (you guessed it) Fiji. The water is rich in the minerals essential for maintaining good health, but low in the ‘hard’ minerals that can create an unpleasant taste. Ditto for Volvic Natural Spring Water. Volvic is a distinctive mineral water from the Clairvic Spring in the volcanic highlands of the Auvergne region of France.
Available from both international and domestic sources, spring and artesian waters are ideal for everyday drinking as well as to make coffee or tea.
What Else is in your Bottle?
If you’re tired of plain old water, there are a slew of specialty waters on the market. If you want something fizzy, the addition of carbon dioxide gives sparkling water its bubbles. Flavored waters add some zing for your taste buds, but they can have either no or modest amounts of sweeteners. Read your label carefully to avoid soda-like sugar water. Vitamin-enriched waters come complete with a smattering of nutrients. But sippers beware. Research suggests that people who receive adequate amounts of vitamins from their diet and multis, do not benefit from receiving additional doses; superfluous vitamins are just flushed out of the body.
‘Oxygenated’ water is the latest tricky trend to hit the water scene. Labels affixed to the bottles claim that drinking oxygen-enhanced water will do everything from boosting energy levels to improving athletic performance. Unfortunately, it’s just a lot of fizz. All water that has been exposed to the air is oxygenated to a small extent. In fact, only the amount of oxygen contained in a single breath can be forced into water under pressure. Most of the added oxygen escapes from the bottle as soon as you twist the cap off, and in any case, it’s the respiratory system, and not the digestive system, which utilizes oxygen for use by the muscles.
Bottled Waters
Biota Spring Water – biotaspringwater.com
Evia Natural Spring Water – evian.com
Fiji Artesian Water – fijiwater.com
Poland Spring Water – polandspring.com
Volvic Natural Spring Water – volvic.na
Home Water Purification
EcoWater Systems – ecowater.com
Purefecta – pall.com
PUR Water Filtration System – purwater.com
Waterwise – waterwise.com
By Heather Jones, R.D.
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