Water Health

Water is truly the essence of life. It makes up about 60% of an adult's body, while a child's body consists of up to 75% of water. A loss of 3% of total body water will cause fatigue and 10% is seriously life threatening. Depending on climate, diet, and body, the human being should drink about 1.5 to 3 l of water.

Is Mineral Water Healthy?

There is much debate about the health effects of mineral waters. Apart from the obvious function of providing liquid to the body, there are no scientific studies that would show a significant effect of mineral waters on the health. While of course mineral waters contain minerals that are in principle beneficial for the body, the ability of the body to absorb them from the water is not exactly good. But even if only part of these essential minerals can be absorbed, you will benefit from them. Furthermore, since natural water is free of any calories, sugar or artificial ingredients, it certainly is better than a sweetened, flavoured soft drink. And then, there are usually no adverse effects from drinking mineral water, so you may drink it just for the fresh taste of it.

Note that in the USA it is not allowed to advertise mineral water as beneficial for your health.

Tap Water

Depending on where you live, the tap water may be drinkable, in some instances it is in fact very good. At many places, tap water has a composition similar to a still mineral water (e.g. Basel, Munich, or Zurich). In Germany, for example, the regulation for tap water is more strict than the one for mineral water (see Regulations for Germany). On the other hand, there are many countries where tap water is inherently unsafe to drink.

Many people like their water bubbly. There are several products that let you produce your own sparkling water in a simple way.