False myths: mineral water is better than tap water

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By pro_admin

When it comes to acquiring and drinking water there is always a question that usually haunts us, is it better to buy bottled water or consume it directly from the tap? The presence of water sold in supermarkets and food stores has increased considerably over the years, so a first general perception is that of a growing tendency to consume this compared to what we can take directly from the tap.

The choice of bottled water over tap water can occur for several reasons. Marketing companies offer this product as a healthy alternative to other drinks, in addition there is a tendency to think that it tastes better and to perceive it as safer and of better quality. These arguments remain practically immutable truths, when this is not always the case.

Tap water quality

For obvious reasons, the quality of tap water depends on the supply that each country provides to its population, so we can find very particular examples depending on the case. This type of water can be contaminated by a number of physical, organic and chemical elements. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out distribution systems that ensure their quality from the water treatment plants to the tap of each home.

In Spain, a study carried out by the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) found that most of the tap water consumed in that country is of excellent quality, being free of polluting substances. Only in areas where the water has high amounts of lime and magnesium salts, the population resorts to mineral waters packaged more regularly due to the slightly unpleasant taste that the alternative can have.

In the United States, a study, conducted by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), examined a total of more than a thousand bottles from 103 different brands of bottled water. One-third of the brands tested contained some level of contamination in at least one of the samples. What the NRDC went on to show is that bottled water is not necessarily cleaner or safer than most water we get directly from the tap.

Mineral water advocates

It must be borne in mind, first of all, that if the analyses of tap water come, in most cases, from publicly funded studies, in the case of bottled water such research is often subsidized by the marketing brands themselves. So before accessing any information about it, it is advisable to consult the sources.

Critics of tap water versus bottled water argue that the former, even if purified, always contains small amounts of bacteria and chlorine compared to a supposed state of original purity of the latter. Which, as we have already seen, does not always have to be true.

In short, the differences between both types of water are not usually excessively marked except in very extreme cases that can occur, in the same way, both in one and the other. So the choice is to the taste of each of us, either for the flavor, texture or added properties that a certain brand of bottle water can provide.

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