Mineral water

What is mineral water

"Natural mineral waters are waters that, having their origin from an underground stratum or reservoir, come from one or more natural or perforated springs and which have particular hygienic characteristics and properties favorable to health".

With this definition, Legislative Decree 105 of 25 January 1992 establishes the meaning of the term "natural mineral water".

Mineral water: history

These types of water were used in the past for their healing virtues. With the improvement of the economic condition of families and with the spread of fears related to water pollution, mineral water has found year after year an increasingly important place in daily nutrition. Today, Italy has become one of the largest consumers of mineral water in the world, with an annual turnover of around two and a half billion euros. A record that is also shared under the production aspect, since over 12 billion liters of water are "produced" every year.

The reasons why mineral water finds such success are to be found in the massive advertising campaign undertaken by the producers, who tend to increasingly value the alleged beneficial virtues of their waters. This excessive revaluation for commercial purposes is then associated with a widespread fear of the health of our rivers, increasingly exposed to agricultural and industrial pollutants.

A true, unfounded, phobia, which leads many consumers to use mineral water even to cook pasta or to prepare coffee.

In reality, drinking water does not have much to envy of mineral water, at least in terms of safety.

Mineral water and numbers
250 L	Average daily water consumption for domestic use of every Italian citizen
> 90%	The percentage of water contained in some vegetables (lettuce, cucumbers, courgettes, tomatoes, carrots, etc.).
80%	The percentage of body water in the child
71%	The percentage of the earth's surface occupied by water
60%	The percentage of body water in the adult
45%	The percentage of body water in the elderly
5%	The difference, in percentage terms, between female and male body water.
3%	The dehydration threshold beyond which one can cross the pathology (heat stroke, difficulty in muscle contraction, collapse).
2%	The water loss that leads to a 20% drop in the performance level

Mineral or drinking water?

The most important feature that distinguishes mineral water from drinking water is the total absence of disinfection treatments. It follows that, in certain aspects, mineral water can be considered of better quality even if, in both cases, the waters must be bacteriologically pure. In particular circumstances it may happen that tap water is even better than bottled water, given the more rigorous and frequent checks provided for by the Italian legislature.

Chlorine is usually added to drinking water to prevent bacterial growth as it flows through the pipes. However, precisely because of the passage in the ducts, the dissolution of small particles of lead and other metals cannot be excluded, after all in derisory quantities; this aspect does not create big problems to the organism, despite the remarkable toxicity of these elements. However, it is important to protect younger children by limiting the use of drinking water during the first years of life.

Chlorine and heavy metals give drinking water an unpleasant or worse taste than mineral waters. And this is another reason that pushes the consumer to prefer bottled water.

Ultimately, it is difficult to make a fair judgment for the two types of water. The factors that come into play are in fact numerous.

Even tap water can flow from underground aquifers, as well as bottled water can be groundwater; it follows that the quality at the origin is not always better for mineral waters. The territorial variability, in this regard, is truly remarkable; imagine, for example, the city of Aosta and compare it with Ferrara, which draws water from a Po that has loaded itself with waste from the Mon Viso up to there, passing through large cities such as Piacenza and Turin and joining waters of tributaries such as the Lambro (which it receives) the discharges of Milan).

Not all drinking water is disinfected with chlorine and in any case, although more "polluted" at the origin, they undergo a series of treatments that make them absolutely safe and free of bacteria or toxic substances.

The mineral content is very variable for both types of water although, in general, the mineral waters commercially available generally have a lower fixed residue.

While pipes can release heavy metals in tap water, plastic bottles can release some carcinogenic chemicals found in plastic polymers. Remember the inscription on the mineral water packs, "keep away from sunlight and heat"? It serves, precisely, to prevent alterations of the plastic materials and to avoid any danger of contamination.

Finally, the economic aspect should not be underestimated, as it clearly plays in favor of drinking water consumption.

DID YOU KNOW THAT ... You can drink up to about 9.5 liters of water a day. Once this threshold is exceeded, problems can arise that are also quite serious for health, due to marked alteration of electrolyte concentrations in organic fluids (hyponatremia). Exemplary is the case of a dead athlete, due to hyponatriemic encephalopathy, during the Boston marathon for drinking 15 liters of fluids during the 5-6 hours of her run.

"Guizza" mineral water and "San Benedetto" mineral water come from the same source. The considerable price difference that separates them is therefore due to the coverage of marketing expenses, while the qualitative aspect is superimposable.

In the next article we will focus our attention on the mineral water label, an important source of information for the consumer, which must be able to at least capture the most important characteristics.