Bottled Water
Full of Health or Full of Hype?
By Kelly Hayford
Drink plenty of water” is a phrase indelibly imprinted on each of our
minds, constantly reminding us of the necessity of this life-sustaining gift
of nature. Gone are the days of filling up a canteen at the side of a pristine
running stream, however. Clear plastic bottles sporting designer names and labels
are most people’s choice today.
In fact, the bottled water industry has become the fastest growing segment of
the overall beverage industry. Sales have tripled in the last decade and now
exceed over $7 billion per year worldwide. Fifty-four percent of all Americans
drink bottled water. But is this often high-priced commodity really the best
choice when it comes to fulfilling our daily H2O quota? Or has over half the
population fallen prey to yet another marketing extravaganza?
As a nutritional consultant I have long been asked these questions. Unfortunately,
there is not a simple yes or no answer. There are multiple factors to consider
in order to make wise, informed decisions.
First, there are a few basic categories or types of bottled water available
on the market today (see descriptions on pg. 63 for details), each of which
usually has one or another purported health benefits associated with it. Whether
or not the health benefits associated with these types of water are valid or
not, is the topic of much debate among health professionals with no definitive
answers.
Regardless of any potential health benefits that may be associated with any
given type of bottled water, the most important thing for people to know is
that all brands are not created equal. Although there are pure, high quality
bottled waters available, discerning the good guys from the bad can be dicey
business. Due to substandard and challenging government regulations, what it
says on the label outside the bottle is not always what’s inside.
For example, a study done by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) found
that an estimated 25 percent of bottled water tested was really just tap water
in a bottle! In another example, last year 500,000 liters of Coca-Cola’s
Dasani brand water was recalled in Britain due to high levels of bromate, a
carcinogenic chemical. Pathogens can also be a problem as the NDRC further reports
that one-fifth of the bottled waters tested exceeded unenforceable state or
industry bacteria guidelines.
| Fruit and Vitamin Water
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Other concerns voiced by those in opposition to the proliferation of this industry
include: the 1.5 million tons of plastic used for bottling and the toxic chemicals
that can be released into the environment during this process; possible consumption
of the toxic chemicals that may leach into the water from the plastic bottles
in which the water is contained; and the enormous amount of resources expended
in the overall production, packaging and transportation of bottled waters.
All things considered, in conjunction with the NDRC, I will continue to recommend
water filtered at the source either through a quality in-home filtration system
or one available at most natural foods stores, as the safest and usually most
economical overall drinking water for daily consumption.
Types of Bottled Water
The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) product definitions for bottled
water are:
Purified Water: Produced by distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis
or other suitable processes (see glossary).
Drinking Water: Water sold for human consumption in sanitary containers
that contains no added sweeteners or chemical additives (other than flavors,
extracts or essences that do not exceed one-percent-by-weight of the final product).
Must be calorie-free and sugar-free.
Artesian Water / Artesian Well Water: Bottled water from a well in
which water is tapped from a confined aquifer (permeable stratum of rock overlaid
by impermeable rock).
Spring Water: Water that flows naturally to the earth’s surface
from an underground formation without the aid of drilling or pumps.
Mineral Water: Contains not less than 250 parts per million total dissolved
solids (mineral and trace elements) collected naturally by passing through various
layers of earth and rock to the well or spring. No minerals added.
Sparkling Water: Naturally carbonated water (i.e. contains the same
amount of carbon dioxide that it had at emergence from the source, after treatment
and possible replacement with carbon dioxide.) Note: soda water, seltzer water
and tonic water may contain sugar and calories, and are considered soft drinks,
not bottled water.
| Bottled Water Testing
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Glossary of Labeling Terms:
Reading the labels on bottled water can be wrought with confusion. Here’s
a list of some of the most commonly used terms to help sort things out:
Carbonation: saturation with carbon dioxide. Under pressure, the gas
in water becomes carbonic acid.
Charcoal filter: device for removing dissolved gasses, such as chlorine,
from purified water.
Deionized or Demineralized: process of reducing water to a non-mineral
state by passing it over a bed of resins. Generally, deionized water is considered
of higher quality than distilled water and is more economical to produce.
Distilled: purified by passing through an evaporation-condensation
cycle that removes most dissolved solids (minerals).
Filtration: a naturally occurring or artificial process in which water
passes through filters and is depleted of certain minerals and other elements.
Ionization: a process whereby ions are separated and/or exchanged
Municipal water: water supplied by a city for public use, otherwise
know as tap water.
Ozonization: a method of sanitizing water by using ozone which is made
by forcing compressed air through a high voltage arc into the water.
Reverse osmosis: process by which water is reduced to a non-mineral
state by passing through a plastic membrane under pressure, which separates
the water from other elements.
Ultraviolet ray: invisible rays beyond the violet end of the visible
spectrum used to kill pathogens.
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