Your body is comprised of 80% water, which you should be able to maintain to have optimum health. With various choices around, it is difficult to select the best type of water to drink. As you take your pick, you will come across three terms: distilled, purified, and mineral. What are these and which one should you choose?
• Distilled: This type of water has been collected and vaporized, which means that solid residues are all eliminated, including minerals. In this case, distilled water does not contain any mineral, which makes it acidic. Distilled water is great for short term use and to detoxify the body.
• Purified: This denotes that the water is in its purest form and is therefore often confused with distilled because of the removal of water impurities. Purified water undergoes additional processes, including deionization and reverse osmosis. Note though that distilled water is purified water, but purified water is not distilled water because of the extra purification procedures it goes through.
• Mineral: Mineral water may come from the same source as purified and distilled water. However, this type of water is called so because it is required to contain a certain amount of trace minerals, including magnesium and calcium. Mineral water offers many health benefits, but it is more of a treat than an everyday drink.
You may also hear about tap and bottled water. Tap water is often not recommended by experts because of the many contaminants it contains, such as fluoride, aluminum, and arsenic. However, if you think bottled water is a better option, you are wrong. In truth, 40% of bottled water contains just tap water.
How to Choose the Best Water
Since your priority is to be healthy when drinking water, you should look for the following qualities in the water you drink:
1. Free from contamination – Water you drink should be filtered that there are no toxins, such as bacteria, viruses, and synthetic chemicals.
2. Rich in minerals – As much as possible, minerals should be found in the water you drink to help you maintain good health.
3. Has balanced pH – The water you drink should not be acidic and not too alkaline, but should have pH level between 6.5 and 7.5.
4. Is electrolyzed – Water that is considered micro-clustered or reduced contains small groups of water molecules, which can help improve cell hydration and absorption of nutrients at the cellular level.
5. Has antioxidants – Ionized water has the ability to have negative oxidation reduction (-ORP), which can neutralize the free radicals in the body, while slowing down the process of aging.
The body is designed to drink spring water, which contains all the minerals the body needs. Sometimes though, this may not be too practical for you. Installing a home water filter system and therefore drinking filtered water is considered the next best option in drinking water for your health.