Let's Talk About Water

Image via Salvajé

Yep, you read that right… I want to talk about water today. And not in the way you probably think I do. I’m not here to tell you that you should be drinking at 64 oz. of water a day… you know that. I know that. We all know that. We’ve all heard it 100,000 times and can read about that anywhere.

But, what I do want to talk about is our water quality. I’m sure that you’re aware that not all water is created equal. There’s tap water, bottled water, sparkling water, city water, spring water, mineral water and well water. And most of us think that bottled water must be the best because we believe it’s pure… it’s the cleanest, the safest, the healthiest. But then within the bottled water realm, there’s a hierarchy… you know, like Dasani is trash and Smart Water, Evian and Fiji are the best. And that’s it… right?

Well… as you might have guessed… not exactly. I recently watched the Netflix series Down to Earth and there was an entire episode about water that was very eye opening for me. Obviously I know that water is the elixir of life. We can live for weeks without food but only days without water. Without water, we would literally die. But, as with most things… there is so much more to it than that.

In the episode, the hosts sit down for a water tasting with a water sommelier, Martin Riese, who drives home one primary takeaway: stay away from purified water. I know it seems counterintuitive, because everything we’ve been told about drinking water always focuses on how pure the water is… we pretty much all use Britas to filter and purify our tap water… but here’s why that shouldn’t be the case. Riese states:

“When it says purified water, or distilled water on the label, I would never touch that. That means it's nothing other than actually boiled up tap water.”

To further elaborate, he goes on to describe how in its natural state, water contains minerals… and it should contain minerals, because our bodies need these minerals, such as magnesium and potassium, to function properly and maintain our health.

Purified water doesn’t have any of those minerals, because they’re all stripped away in the purification process. Not only are we not getting the minerals our bodies need, but because that purified water, when ingested, will “look” for those minerals in the body and draw them out and flush them away, we’re being depleted of these minerals at the same time.

So… by drinking purified water, you’re actually depriving your body of the nutrients it needs. A real mind f*ck, right?!

As I was watching this episode I realized that when I was in Mount Shasta, I directly experienced the benefits of mineral water when we visited the Headwaters of the Sacramento River (which I talked about in this blog post), where fresh, cold, mineral water comes directly out of the mountain and the Sacramento River begins. BUT at the time, I was under the impression that this was the purest water you could find and that’s what made it so amazing and good for you, but in reality, it’s the opposite. This water is filled with minerals, the same minerals that Martin Riese was talking about in Down to Earth.

And not only could I taste the difference in the Shasta water, as we like to call it, I could feel it, too! I slept better than I normally do (thanks to the magnesium), I felt my digestion improve (it’s full of natural probiotics) and I just generally felt more hydrated (probably because the water I was drinking wasn’t drawing other nutrients out of my body, but my body was being replenished).

So, what does this all mean for us? It means that we all need to start changing our mindset about the water we’re drinking. We need to step away from purified water and start drinking mineral water. Easier said than done, of course. Tap water in the US isn’t exactly the best option (it’s pumped full of fluoride and chlorine, and god only knows what else), and I wouldn’t recommend drinking tap water in any major city without running it through a purifier. I don’t want to suggest moving over to exclusively drinking bottled water either because it creates so much waste as it is… and we don’t all have the luxury of filling up our water bottles from the Sacramento River Headwaters every day…

But, here’s a good starting place and what I’m planning on doing myself: any time you find yourself needing to buy a bottle of water, DO NOT buy purified water, but instead, go with an alkaline or mineral water. Fiji Water and Waiakea are both great options, but if you want to experience Shasta water for yourself (and if you can find it!) try Castle Rock. It’s sourced directly from the Mount Shasta springs and is just. so. good (to be honest, I might start buying a case of this water each month, just to make sure I’m regularly giving my body the minerals it needs).

So… are you as shook by this information as I was?! What’s your favorite bottled water and do you plan on switching it up now that you know the health benefits of mineral water? Please share in the comments!

xo,
Kelsey