Natural

 

Natural mineral water and desalinated filtered water from the sea are two different types of drinking water that may have different effects on your health. Some of the main differences are:

Therefore, the choice between natural mineral water and desalinated filtered water from the sea may depend on your personal preference, availability, cost, and health goals. You may also want to consult your doctor or a nutritionist before making any changes to your drinking water habits.

 

How to Recognise Natural Mineral Water:

 

One way to tell if a bottle of water is natural mineral water or not is to look at the label. According to the European legislation1, natural mineral water must be labelled with:

  • The name of the source and its location
  • The date of official recognition of the source by the competent authorities
  • The mineral composition and other relevant constituents
  • The treatment methods used, if any
  • The statement “natural mineral water”

Another way to tell if a bottle of water is natural mineral water or not is to taste it. Natural mineral water may have a distinctive taste and mouthfeel due to its mineral content and carbonation. However, this may vary depending on the source and the individual preference. Some people may prefer natural mineral water for its taste and health benefits, while others may find it too hard or too fizzy.


World Best Premium Water

What Are the Different Categories of Bottled Water?

Different categories of bottled drinking water usually represent different sources or purification methods. In some cases, there are additives as well.

Spring Water

Spring water is sourced from underground springs. However, because its source is a natural spring, this doesn’t mean the water is pure and free of contaminants. In fact, like water from any source, to be safe for drinking or cooking, spring water needs to be filtered or distilled.

Bottled Spring Water

Filtered (Purified) Water

This is water that has gone through enough filtration—often involving more than one type of filter—until it tests free (or at an extremely low level) of contaminants. You can either use a home water filter or buy your water in bottles, already filtered.

Filtered (Purified) Water

Distilled Water

Distilled water is the condensed steam of water that’s been heated to a boil. It’s collected in a container separate from the one in which the water was boiled.

Even though people are advised to boil water when the water supply has been contaminated, boiling is not the equivalent to distillation for water purification.

Distilled Bottled Water

 

Why Contaminants in Drinking Water Matter

Water contaminants encompass a broad range of substances, including heavy metals, chemicals and other toxic substances, microorganisms, and sediments carried by the water. Most of these are not harmful in small quantities. A few are.

If quantities aren’t monitored carefully, contaminants can get out of control. A good purification process that uses multiple methods, disinfecting agents, and filter types can do a lot to prevent or change this situation.

If these remedies aren’t used—or at least not to the extent they should be—the water supply could be rendered unsafe.

If impure water is bottled and sold by businesses, it probably will result in a lot of sick people.

Contaminated water

Why the pH of Drinking Water Matters

A site listing the “absolute worst bottled water” brands uses pH testing (along with the amount of plastic in the bottle) to determine its rankings. What it lists as the ten worst brands have pH levels between 4.0 and 6.0 (relatively acidic pH levels).

The EPA has recommended that municipal drinking water be maintained at a pH between 6.5 and 8.5. One reason for this is that acidic water can be a sign of contaminants and might corrode metal pipes.

The bottled water brands the site mentioned above sees as the best have a pH level in the range from 7.0 to 9.0—meaning the water is between neutral and alkaline. A pH over seven is sometimes touted as good for hydration and quenching thirst.

However, there’s no evidence that drinking water that’s slightly alkaline has health benefits other than, perhaps, for those with acid reflux disease (GERD), high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol.

If you test the pH of your home drinking water and get a reading outside the safe range, you should contact your water company to alert them to this test result.

pH levels in Drinking Water

Our Picks for the Top Bottled Water Brands

Sadly, some of the top bottled water brands you may have bought in the past—maybe even still use today—could actually be among the worst bottled water on the market. They probably shouldn’t be on the market at all.

Still, a lot of bottled water brands maintain high standards. Below are some drinking water brands we consider the best bottled water to drink based on several different reviews and supporting sources.

Fiji

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Fiji water, sourced in Fiji, is generally considered the best. It meets FDA standards, has a pH of 7.5, is bottled at its named source, and is the second most popular imported bottled water brand and the best premium bottled water brand in the United States.

Fiji water

Evian

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This brand with a pH of 7 (neutral) is spring water—from a protected source that “lies at the very foot of the French Alps, far from any urban or industrial development.” It’s quality-tested at two stages, popular, and has a clean taste.

Evian water

 

Alternatives to Bottled Drinking Water

In some places, such as many larger cities or those with known contamination of the public water supply, there are very few ways to avoid drinking bottled water. In many other places, though, it can be avoided. Here are some ways to avoid bottled water.

Drink Tap Water

If you happen to live someplace with a good, well-maintained local water supply, you will do well just to turn on the kitchen tap and fill a reusable bottle. As long as your municipal water is clean, water from your sink would be fresh and not taste like plastic.

Use a Water Purification System

There are many ways to filter your water at home. Those with concerns about the public water supply or their home well water often do this.

Most home filtration systems use carbon filters made with activated charcoal. Some use these in combination with clay filters, which remove different types of impurities.

Some home water filtration systems use the reverse osmosis process, wherein the tiny water molecules are squeezed through a semi-permeable membrane, leaving the larger impurity molecules behind.

Use Purified Water Dispensers and Reusable Containers

Until purified water dispensers are more widely available in workplaces and public spaces, you should carry your reusable drinking water container. You can use several materials in place of plastic bottles. These include:

  • Glass—fragile, but also long-lasting and recyclable
  • Ceramic—also fragile, but a good, natural insulating material
  • Stainless steel—durable and recyclable
  • Plant-based plastics—biodegradable and, if you wish, edible
  • Paper containers—convenient and recyclable

Another way to avoid throwing away “disposable” plastic bottles is simply reusing them. As we know, they’re durable and will last a very long time. Just don’t accumulate a lot of them to put in landfills at a later time!

 

How Do You Like Your Water?

Will you switch your bottled water preference to one from our list of top bottled water brands? Will you consider one of our bottled water alternatives? Perhaps you will become an advocate for more water dispensers in convenient locations?

Along with being responsible users of water containers, we need to recognize that not all bottled water quality is the same. Even though most water looks the same when it’s in bottles, some can be filled with contaminants such as chemicals or microscopic organisms, while others are very pure.

 

 

If you would like to know more about our office water services, the water quality, pricing, delivery, or anything else, just let us know.

 

 

 Acqua Panna 

 Franklin & Sons 

 S.Pellegrino 

 Sohat 

 Monviso

 Evian

 Fiji 

 Fiuggi 

 Lurisia 

 Perrier 

 Upbeat Drinks 

 Vita Coco 

 Volvic 

 Wildalp 

 Sophia Water 

 Spring Aqua 

 Harrogate Spring Water 

 Highland Spring 

 Veen 

 Dolomia 

 Voss 

 Ferrarelle