Many consumers simply assume that any bottled water is "mineral water." It's common to see people thirsty and say, "I'll buy a bottle of mineral water," only to find they've bought a bottle of "mineralized water." Mineralized water and natural mineral water are fundamentally different. The former is purified water with artificially added minerals, while the latter is natural water rich in various minerals. Experts advise against drinking mineralized water in large quantities.
The ambiguous mineral content of mineral water raises consumer concerns about its safety.
On the packaging of a well-known domestic brand of mineral water, the words "food additives (potassium chloride and magnesium sulfate)" are visible, but the exact amounts of potassium chloride and magnesium sulfate added are not clearly stated. This ambiguity in the specific amounts of these two chemical additives easily leads to misunderstandings.
Potassium chloride is a commonly used electrolyte supplement in clinical practice, but excessive potassium supplementation can cause hyperkalemia, while magnesium sulfate is a strong laxative. Therefore, a doctor posted online that "drinking mineral water is essentially drinking a laxative," questioning the safety of mineral water. Furthermore, even if mineral water contains only small amounts of potassium chloride and magnesium sulfate, long-term, excessive consumption is detrimental to health, especially for people with pre-existing digestive issues. It should not be consumed as a regular daily drinking water source.
Experts explain that for bottled mineral beverages, according to the "Hygienic Standards for the Use of Food Additives," the potassium chloride content cannot exceed 52 mg per liter, and according to the "Hygienic Standards for the Use of Nutritional Fortifiers," the magnesium sulfate content cannot exceed 50 mg per liter. The lack of clear labeling of additive content in mineral water raises concerns about its safety.
Mineral water is merely a marketing ploy by manufacturers.
The website of a well-known mineral water brand states that while purified water undergoes a six-stage filtration process to remove harmful impurities, it also removes essential minerals, thus failing to fully meet the body's needs. Mineral water, on the other hand, is based on the idea of nutrient supplementation. It adds appropriate amounts of compliant food additives to purified water to improve its quality, ensuring it doesn't completely lack minerals and helping people supplement their diet without causing new imbalances.
In fact, the magnesium and potassium we need can generally be obtained from our daily diet, so there is no need for special supplementation. "Mineral water" is just a marketing gimmick. It's essentially a word game played by manufacturers and consumers. People know that purified water isn't healthy water, and mineral water is too expensive. Therefore, driven by profit, manufacturers "invented" mineral water-a low-cost product with the added benefit of minerals.
"We call mineral water 'false teeth' because real teeth are mineral water," an expert said in an interview.
Mineral water is acidic and detrimental to health.
Many nutrition experts believe that an alkaline diet is beneficial to health, while an acidic diet increases blood viscosity and the risk of cardiovascular disease.
For example, red meat is an acidic food, while vegetables and millet are mostly alkaline. Because mineral water contains added potassium chloride and magnesium sulfate, these dissolve in water and decompose into chlorides and sulfates, both of which are strongly acidic.
Therefore, mineral water is actually acidic water, and long-term consumption is not suitable for human health. Professor Lingbo points out that the most suitable water for the human body is slightly alkaline, and natural mineral water and boiled water are generally slightly alkaline.
Natural mineral water is easily absorbed and better for health.
Since the human body can obtain minerals from food, is it still necessary to drink natural mineral water? In response to the reporter's question, the expert explained: "Natural mineral water contains many rare mineral elements that the human body cannot obtain from food, such as strontium and lithium. Moreover, natural mineral water is a balanced mixture of minerals and trace elements formed over hundreds of millions of years, which is more in line with the body's needs."
Artificially added mineral water cannot achieve the health benefits of natural mineral water because artificially added elements such as calcium and magnesium tend to precipitate when added to water. Furthermore, minerals in natural water are not free but exist in the form of hydrated ions, making them easily absorbed by the body. However, hydration is a long process, and artificially added minerals do not easily form hydrated ions with water. Therefore, drinking natural mineral water appropriately is indeed better for health.
