Does drinking mineral water have health benefits?

What is mineral water?

Mineral water demand has increased and suppliers are doing a booming business. Is water any different if it came straight out of your tap or from an expensive bottle. All water contains various minerals, sodium, calcium and so on. Some of these minerals are good for you, some are not so good.

Some suppliers have excessive claims on how good their water is and has medicinal properties. They claim their water is collected from mountain springs, hence the water is unpolluted, uncontaminated, and crystal-clear. They lead people to believe that the dissolved minerals provide specific health benefits. In fact many of these dissolved solids are impurities. Sometimes there are micro-organisms in the water, prolonged storage may cause the water to be harmful to you.

In most advance countries, the tap water should be clean enough to drink. Unless you travel to countries in the third world like Indonesia and Thailand, then it is prudent to buy mineral water. Even then, it is safer to buy import mineral water.

It has been found in some countries, unscrupulous companies actually bottle tap water, or sources which are questionable. Even is advance countries, fraudulent restaurant owners have been caught recycling their empty mineral water and selling tap water in these empties to unsuspecting customers and charged them an exorbitant price.

People are sold to the perception that mineral water is good for you and have health benefits. This is a misconception and a placebo effect. You will reap just as good benefit if not better from the cold crisp water from your kitchen tap.