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Overall, it’s best to use tap water if you can. However, you might need bottled water occasionally if you experience problems with your tap water.
Bottled water and tap water are subject to government regulations and oversight and are often safe to drink.
Tap water is the best water to drink because it’s a better choice than bottled water as it’s less costly and doesn’t result in single-use plastic waste.
The mineral content and pH level vary between different sources and types of water; however, that doesn’t significantly affect the overall healthfulness of the water. However, high mineral contents can affect your water’s odor, appearance, and taste.
Our bodies are made ofmostly water, and we can’t survive without water. So you must drink water several times daily to stay hydrated and healthy. The human body can survive up to 3 weeks without food but can’t last more than three days without water.
Research shows that men need at least 125 ounces of water daily while women need about 91 ounces. (The difference is because men, on average, have a higher energy expenditure and more fat-free body mass). Since it’s essential to hydrate throughout the day, it’s also crucial to do so with water that’s best for your body. So, which is the best option for the human body betweenmineral water,spring water, and other water types?
Water is crucial, it’s not all the same. Different types of water, such as spring water, tap water, mineral water, distilled water, and alkaline water, differ in caloric intake, nutritional benefits, and price. So which is thebest water to drink?
According to the World Health Organization, this purified tap water is safe for human consumption. Before tap water reaches your faucet, it goes through many purification processes. Various purifying agents (including chlorine and ozone) kill viruses, bacteria, and other potential contaminants and pathogens in water.
While the purification process makes tap water safe for consumption, it doesn’t make it nutrient-rich. The purifying agents kill pathogens and contaminants and kill the essential natural nutrients.
This water comes from underground aquifers. It’s organic, natural, and free from any chemicals. However, there’s a likelihood it may have traces of arsenic, a cancer-causing agent.
This water is from protected underground mineral springs. It differs from other types of water because it contains higher mineral ratios. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) reports that mineral water should have at least250 parts per million minerals and shouldn’t contain artificial minerals. It supplies your body with electrolytes that are crucial for hydration, and it’s an excellent source of calcium.
The pH of ordinary drinking water is 7, while the pH of alkaline water ranges from 8 to 9.5. According to scientists, it aids oxygen and blood circulation and is perfect for those with high blood sugar, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.
However, drinking too much alkaline water can lower your pH levels, weakening your bones and immune system.
This is a type of purified water that is boiled. After boiling, the steam is contained and compressed back to liquid form. Distilled water undergoes purification, removing all contaminants, such as sulfur and sodium. This is an excellent option if you live where tap water processing is unknown. Although this water is safe for consumption, purification processes also remove minerals and vitamins, causing it to lose its long-term hydrating ability. Also, it loses its taste because naturally occurring minerals and vitamins are removed.
Alkaline and mineral water are the healthiest types of water because they offer vital nutrients. However, drinking safe and uncontaminated water should be your top priority.
How much water you should drink varies from person to person; however, being adequately hydrated has many health benefits, including better brain function and higher energy levels.
Unfortunately, all water isn’t equal, with some offering more health benefits than others. Here are various types of water and everything you need to know about them.
This type of bottled water is bottled either from the glacier or spring. Theoretically, this water is clean and free of toxins. Also, it contains vital minerals that are found in mineral water.
However, depending on the source, this water could be raw, untested, and unfiltered, which can cause potential health risks depending on its contents.
Often referred to as soda water or carbonated water, this water is infused with carbon dioxide. As a result, this water offers a refreshing taste. However, while sparkling water contains some minerals, they aren’t adequate to benefit your health. Often, this water is more expensive than tap water and other types of bottled water.
Typically, groundwater or tap water is treated, removing harmful substances like fungi, parasites, and bacteria. This means that this water is safe for consumption.
This is water that’s sweetened with artificial sweeteners or refined sugar. This water also contains artificial or natural flavorings. It’s a tasty substitute for plain water, making consuming it in large amounts easier.
This water comes from the ground; it’s untreated and has potential health risks. Fortunately, you can make well water suitable for drinking by installing a filtration system to filter it and remove harmful substances.
The World Health Organization reports that the minerals found in drinking water at high levels include:
Mineral-rich water has many health benefits, including:
When rain falls and seeps into the ground, it fills the crevices, porous space of aquifers, and cracks, becoming groundwater. Approximately40% of Americans drink groundwater. Unfortunately, this type of water is polluted when contaminants—from fertilizers and pesticides to waste leached from septic systems and landfills--make their way into aquifers, making it unsafe for human consumption. Removing pollutants from groundwater is a daunting task. Thus, it’s essential to avoid drinking groundwater because it’s prone to pollution.
Surface water covers approximately 70% of the earth. This water is from freshwater sources, and it accounts for over60% of the water used in American homes. The most recent surveys concerning water quality from the United States Environmental Protection Agency report that over 50% of American streams and rivers and approximately one-third of the lakes are polluted and unsuitable for fishing, swimming, or drinking. Nutrient pollution, including phosphates and nitrates, is the primary contaminator in many freshwater sources. Although plants need these beneficial nutrients to grow, they’re a primary pollutant because of fertilizer runoff and farm waste.
80% of ocean pollution occurs on land—whether far inland or along the coast. Contaminants like unsuitable nutrients, heavy metals, and chemicals are carried from factories, farms, industries, and cities by rivers and streams into our estuaries and bays, where they’re washed into the ocean. Oil spills and leaks also pollute our seas and oceans.
Thus, avoid drinking groundwater, surface water, and ocean water because these waters are polluted and contaminated and unsafe for human consumption.
Things are pretty bad in the water industry regarding plastic water bottle pollution. For instance, Americans buy approximately 29 billion plastic water bottles a year. That causes a massive pollution problem because water bottles don’t biodegrade. Instead, they photodegrade, which means it takes nearly1,000 years for a single plastic bottle to decompose, leaking pollutants into water and soil along the way.
As a result, United States landfills are filled with over2 million tons of discarded plastic water bottles. And since plastics are produced using fossil fuels, they’re a substantial environmental hazard and cause a massive waste of valuable resources.
Here are other ways the water industry contributes to the environmental pollution:
To reduce plastic water bottle pollution:
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the best pH level of water sources should range between 6.5 and 8 on a scale ranging from 0 to 14. Therefore, the best pH for drinking water is 7. Water with a pH level outside of this suggestion contains heavy and toxic metals or chemicals because of a higher pH level.
Water with a high acidity level hasn’t undergone proper filtration measures. Still, it has pollutants like chemicals and pesticides that harm your health and make it unsafe for consumption. Outdated water systems and pipes, especially those made from old materials such as lead and copper, can also make the water acidic. Regular water with a pH level below 7 is likely to have an odor and not taste as good as water that’s safe to drink.
Typically, freshwater pH varies depending on human activity, the weather, and other natural reasons. However, UCLA Health reports a significant risk in drinking acidic water with a pH lower than 6.5. This water may erode pipes, causing exposure to heavy and toxic metals like copper, lead, and magnesium. Regarding alkalinity, even water with a pH level above 8.5 is still safe for human consumption but can sometimes have a bitter taste and cause skin problems.
Thus, it’s essential to ensure the water you drink has a pH level between 6.5 and 8 and avoid high acidity or alkalinity water.
Grocery and supermarket shelves are packed with many types of water. But not every beverage that bills itself as water is good for your health.
Many drinks billed as water are often loaded with calories and sugar. Even though these drinks are labeled water, drinking them can cause weight gain, increasing your risk of obesity.
So how can you determine which water is best for drinking and which are just sugary drinks?
Some people install water filters in their homes to make tap water safe for drinking. There are four main types of water filters:
No one water filtration system can remove all the contaminants from the water. So, if you choose to install a water filter system, have your tap water tested by a certified laboratory first to determine what’s in your water.
Also, it’s crucial to note that installing a home filter won’t protect you from water that has been declared unsafe for human consumption. Plus, not all home filters make tap water safe for drinking. Some water filtration units are only meant to improve the taste of water, not water quality.
Reverse osmosis water filtration is one of the most prominent filters used in commercial and residential settings.
A semi-permeable reverse osmosis membrane at the heart of a reverse osmosis unit removes various water ingredients, such as beneficial minerals. Also, reverse osmosis water filters are multi-stage units, increasing their ability to remove contaminants from water.
Often, reverse osmosis water is slightly acidic and less palatable because of the reverse osmosis system’s superior ability to remove contaminants from water. However, most reverse osmosis units add a remineralizer filter in the final stage of the filtration process to avoid taking out essential minerals from water.
Ceramic and activated carbon water filters don’t take out beneficial minerals from water. So, these water filtration methods retain essential minerals in your water while eliminating dangerous contaminants.
Generally, activated carbon water filters are perfect for removing water contaminants attracted to carbon. This process is referred to as adsorption, and it occurs because carbon has a greater affinity to the contaminant than water.
Carbon filters often remove THMs, chlorine, and VOCs, not salts, minerals, and heavy metals from water. Thus, contaminants that aren’t attracted to carbon, including beneficial minerals, aren’t removed by this filtration process.
An excellent way to ensure you’re drinking the best, healthy water is filtering it. Although you can buy bottled water that’s already filtered, you can also filter your water at home. The method you decide to use—and there are many—will largely depend on your:
This section will discuss various DIY water filtration methods you can use to filter your water at home.
Boiling your water for at least 1 minute can make it safe for drinking. However, boil it for at least three minutes if you live above 6,500 feet above sea level.
Some standard water disinfecting or purification drops and tablets include:
To use these tablets or drops, follow the instructions on the package and add the drops and tablets into your water to filter it and allow them to sit for the directed period.
Here, you allow UV sunlight to shine through your water and purify it. This destroys the DNA of germs, filtering your water by removing bacteria, viruses, and other dangerous microorganisms.
Adding lime juice can also speed up the solar treatment filtration process.
These store-bought sediment filters can remove bacteria and germs from natural water. Depending on the brand, you can use these filters once or multiple times.
They are available in various forms, including:
People also use fruit peel filters, includingapple peels, to filter their water, especially in remote places that rely on contaminated water for daily needs.
You can also adopt this method to filter your water. However, this water filtration method might not be effective because there isn’t enough research to support the effectiveness of this DIY method.
When traditional water filters are unavailable, you have many other DIY options readily available to filter your water, including purification tablets and drops, fruit peel filters, and UV treatment.
Summer is a season of scorching sun and sweat. You spend most of your time outdoors soaking up the sun or hiking your heart out during this time. With so much outdoor activity and movement throughout your summer schedule, most likely, you’re looking for effective ways to stay hydrated all summer. That’s where cute water bottles come in handy. They make it easy for you to carry water wherever you go and hydrate throughout the day.
Do you need a little inspiration to achieve your fitness goals and stay well-hydrated this summer? Then what you need is a water bottle or jug from HydroJug. If you live an active and healthy lifestyle and make staying fit a part of your everyday routine, then you’ll love HydroJug. HydroJug makes it easier and more convenient for health-conscious people to drink more water throughout the day.
With Hydrojug, you can reduce the time it takes to refill your water bottle constantly during your workouts. That is because HydroJug holds half or a gallon of water. Also, you can easily customize your HydroJug with colorful sleeves that have convenient pockets to carry essentials, such as your smartphone. Click here to learn more about buying thebest stainless steel water bottles.
Glass water bottles can also help you stay hydrated throughout the summer. Aglass water bottle offers a refreshing drink more than a regular plastic bottle. In addition, it has fewer potential disadvantages, such as unwanted BPAs. Glass water bottles are also made from friendly and food-grade materials, offering a pure drinking experience.