Clean, fresh water is essential in our lives – something that we often take for granted. In fact, up to 70% of our body is water! There are many different types of water. When you walk into any grocery store, there are different brands of bottled waters lined up in the refrigerators. Yikes! How to tell them apart? Speaking of bottled water, a popular debate amongst everyone is whether bottled water or tap water has more benefits.
[1]Okay, ready for the different types of water?
1. Spring Water refers to water collected from a spring, or in other words “an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth”. A popular brand of spring water is the Poland Spring Water.
2. Sparkling Water is the fizzy kind – the kind that fizzles in your mouth!! The reason it fizzles is because sparkling water contains the same amount of carbon dioxide in the water as when it first emerged from its source. How fun! Perrier is a brand of sparkling water.
3. Artesian Water refers to water that came from a well in which its water level is above the aquifer. It’s underground and bears layer of rock or sand. Confused? Well, an example of artesian water is the Fiji Natural Artesian Water, where it’s taken from an aquifer beneath volcanic highlands on the main island of Viti Levu.
4. Mineral Water refers to water that contains no less than 250ppm of dissolved minerals. In addition, the proportions of mineral and trace elements are constant and relatively proportional at the point of emergence of the source. In other words, no additional minerals were added to the water. A brand of mineral water is Highland Spring Natural Mineral Water.
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5. Purified Water is water that had its bacteria and “dissolved solids” removed by some process such as distillation, deionization, or reverse osmosis – thus, purifying it. Aquafina® by PepsiCo is a brand of purified water.
6. Municipal Water is not bottled water. It’s basically water piped into your home. Municipal water must meet the strict standards of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It can then be filtered at home.
Now, which one is better? Bottled water or filtered water? Some people argued bottled water is better because they see it as “safer”. Also, bottled water is a preferred choice if filtered tap water carries with it some off-flavors or odors. However, tap water that’s tested by the Environmental Protection Agency is safe in terms of chemical or bacteriological safety. According to the Earth Policy Institute, it costs about 1.5 million barrels of oil to make plastic water bottles. Did you know that’s enough to run 100,000 cars for a whole year? Yikes! Also, nearly 80% of the water bottles are not recycled, leading to the clogging up of landfills. If you think about it another way, if the average cost of a water bottle is around $1, and an average American drinks an average of around 160 bottles a year, you can save $160 if you filter your water!!! Then you can use that $160 to relax at the spa, go on a big shopping spree, etc.
What are your thoughts on bottled water vs. filtered water?
By Mitzi Dulan [3] with research assistance from Rachel Yam [4]
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