Water Everywhere, but What to Drink?

The earth is a watery planet. Two thirds of the earth surface is ocean. The land is covered with lakes, rivers, and streams. The earth is like a sponge soaking up rain. Water collects in aquifers deep below and flows downward to join lakes and oceans. Human bodies range from about 60 to 80 percent water content. Water is the fluid that carries nourishment to living cells of organisms that depend upon it to sustain life.

Rain falls daily on the planet surface and is vaporized off the surfaces of the earth and its water bodies. Vapor is cooled in the atmosphere and collects in the clouds in tiny droplets. These clouds eventually become laden and release their droplets and rain that falls to the earth’s surface. The heating and cooling cycles of the earth function as a global distiller wherein the sun’s rays vaporize water later to be condensed and fall to earth as rain. Rain is distilled water, water that has been purified by vaporization and condensation. As rain drops, it picks up tiny particles and pathogens that hang in the air. On the earth rain water mingles with bacteria, chemicals, minerals, and pathogens in the earth’s oceans and land. This wonderfully pure distilled rain drop is progressively sullied on its return cycle to earth. The development of the industrial revolution has introduced many new toxins into the environment that end up in the earth’s soil and water bodies. That is why that despite the fact that water is ubiquitous many humans do not have access to safe and health drinking water.

So what waters are clean and healthy? There are many opinions on that subject, and many marketers offering products for sale. Before the industrial era it was commonly assumed that water taken fresh from a clear mountain stream was an excellent source of water and the taste confirmed that. Today among the world water bottlers the French rank high among those with epicurean interests. France today offers over 200 brands of fine tasting waters of varying health beneficial contents. Like fine French wines, these premium waters are sought after by the world’s finest restaurants. Is there something to that?

Perhaps when one considers nature’s natural water system one observers that nature constantly distills water and returns it to earth in the form of rain. As rain falls upon the high lands it run down rivers and streams and in the process it picks up minerals from the earth. As evidenced by the market for fine French mountain mineral waters perhaps nature’s method of preparing water is the optimal method for human consumption. Glacial water, marketed by a number of companies, is additional evidence that fine water connoisseurs prefer mountain mineral waters. Glacial ice is the largest source of fresh (not salt) waters in the world. Harvesting glacial ice, of course is not inexpensive which accounts for why these bottle waters are premium.

An estimated 41 billion gallons of bottle water were purchased worldwide according to 2004 data. Consumers purchase bottle water because the think it is superior to tap water; the most convincing factor they have for that judgment is taste. Nevertheless, in many instances tap water has been found to be of superior in safety to bottled water. Much of the bottled water is municipal water that has had some additional treatment principally to improve its taste. Conventional opinion prevails that the taste of tap water in many municipalities is objectionable. Facts indicate that neither tap water nor bottled water is anything close to pure yet the bottled water industry continues to grow principally because of the taste factor. Tap water in most areas is polluted with fluoride, arsenic, aluminum, pesticides, herbicides and other organic chemicals. The presence of fluoride in the water increases lead content. On the bottled water side, PET plastic bottled-water containers have been found to leach antimony, an elemental metal that is an eye, skin, and is lung irritant at high doses. Plastic is porous so it can contain harmful bacteria if it comes from recycled plastic sources.

While much of the bottled water is purchased in gallon containers, niche marketers are finding success with premium water brands differentiated by flavors, minerals, and electrolyte additives. There are a few other chemically altered exotic water alternatives. Among these waters treatment processes include filtration, ionization, reverse osmosis, and distillation.

The purest of the waters is distilled water. Some swear by distilled water while others decry as a health hazard. Conclusive testing on the health benefits of distilled water has not been definitively determined. Some attest based upon user comments that distiller water has a detoxification effect on the body and will over time, because it combines with minerals in the body, deplete minerals from the body. Others argue that there is so little mineral content in even the mountain mineral waters that one raw vegetable ingested will dwarf the total mineral intake of mineral waters. Despite those arguments one would have to conclude by the size of the bottled water market that clearly something is lacking in municipal water supplies and about taste more than any other factor. Water indeed is more to humans than a vital resource in support of life. Water is a beverage.

Health conscious people seek the purest and healthiest sources of sustenance. Organically grown food sources are much in demand. We prefer our food fresh cooked and seasoned to taste. We want our coffee fresh brewed. So what about our water?

Perhaps we need to look to nature for the answer. Nature distills water for us and then pours it back to the earth to be treated with minerals in the soils of the mountains. That is the water that people pay the highest premium to acquire. Perhaps in the modern industrial world we should distill our water and then revitalize it with minerals that mimic what nature does in the mountain streams.