Surely each of you has wondered about the question of bottled water versus tap water. Is it healthier to drink a bottle of Evian from the supermarket, or should you simply turn on the tap at home? I'll show you my perspective on the topic and whether, according to various studies, drinking our tap water is actually healthy in the following post.

Actually, I wanted to write you a short and sweet post here and simply say: Drink tap water! =) But the topic isn't quite that trivial.

According to the magazine Observer In Switzerland, people drink approximately 900 million liters of mineral water per year, making it the most popular beverage. This is also the case in Germany and Austria. When I refer to mineral water, I mean supermarket water. This includes both still and sparkling water. Examples include Evian, Vittel, Gerolsteiner, Valser, Voss, Fiji, and Pure Life.

Everyone knows that one should drink between 1.5 liters and 3 liters of water a day, and unsweetened teas can be counted towards this, but not coffee, sugary drinks, or the like. But: Do you absolutely have to buy expensive water for this, or is tap water or "Hahnenwasser" (as we say here) also fine?

The latest test from Stiftung Warentest

In August 2016, there was a major water check. A total of 30 still mineral waters and tap water, meaning drinking water, were tested in 28 German cities and towns. I don't want to go into the individual test results here. You can find the test on the website of Foundation for Consumer Information read it yourself. But some interesting details are definitely worth mentioning here.

Mythos Minerals

According to Stiftung Warentest, mineral water does not contain high amounts of minerals. This is because the EU repealed a regulation in 1980, and since then, even low-mineral waters are allowed to be called mineral water. Furthermore, mineral water does not represent a significant source of minerals for humans.

Free choice of water

It can also make sense to reach for mineral water if a certain mineral is needed. For example, calcium for lactose intolerant people. You can also benefit from a lot of sulphate if you suffer from constipation. But I don't want to go into that in detail here *g*

Furthermore, taste is often a factor as well. Those who live in an area with „tasteless drinking water“ might find culinary enjoyment in mineral water.

Why tap water is better

I've been drinking tap water exclusively for many years now, when I'm at home or visiting friends. When I'm out and about, there's often no other option than to stop briefly at a gas station and buy a bottle of Evian. (Evian, because it's from Danone and not Nestlé).

Several reasons play a role in this for me:

Tap water is more strictly controlled than mineral water

Large companies usually have to check the drinking water they provide us with multiple times a day. This makes water one of the most strictly controlled foodstuffs. There are significantly more limit values, e.g. for pesticides and Urine Uranium. The basic idea is that the water must be of such good quality that someone can drink it daily throughout their life without getting sick from it.

Tap water tastes fresh and natural.

There's nothing better than a cold, fresh glass of tap water, especially in the summer. Of course, I live in the mountains and we have great spring water available here. Not just at home, but especially when hiking in the mountains, and there's practically a village well every few kilometers. But even when we're in Germany, we only drink tap water. In my opinion, it tastes more vibrant. Just the thought that mineral water is packaged in plastic for weeks – yuck!

Tap water costs about one cent or half a cent.

The cost of bottled mineral water is extremely high, especially in Switzerland. A liter costs around 1 CHF in the supermarket (or 50 to 70 cents in Germany). Tap water costs about one-hundredth of that. Of course, you only notice the cost savings after years. If you were to drink one less small bottle of red wine on the weekend, you would have compensated for the costs again. Nevertheless, when it comes to costs, it's more about the principle for me.

Nestlé's Dirty Business

The greed of water providers, especially Nestlé, is also a crucial point for me. Water should be available to everyone, and villages in Africa should not be dried up to sell the water in Europe. You can watch a well-researched documentary in the film Bottled Life. Information is available on the website of Bottled Life. You can also find the movie on YouTube.

(Update: 03.10.2016: The film „Bottled Life“ is currently no longer available on YouTube. That's why the video no longer works here. But I have linked another good video here. You can find a lot of reports and documentaries about Nestlé on YouTube. Just search for it :)

Who likes to lug bottles

It's amazing that people are still lugging heavy cases of drinks home from the supermarket or having them delivered. Of course, there are no alternatives for cola, Fanta, Sprite, etc. (yuck, yuck, yuck). But water is available in unlimited quantities at our home. Besides, the long transport routes for water are anything but good for our environment. Unnecessary amounts of CO2 are emitted. Another plus for tap water. It doesn't have to be lugged and is immediately available.

Furthermore, mineral water is usually not even from the region. It is transported from far away, even from overseas (see above, Fiji Water...). So much for the ecological footprint of mineral water.

Update 2019-05-03

Lukas von Healthy with Pleasure has written a very detailed and up-to-date researched report on tap water. As of March 2019.

It discusses many individual substances and their concentrations in domestic drinking water. It also offers tips on where tap water should not be consumed without hesitation.

All in all, a very good and objective post that you should definitely check out.

Here you can find the post: Drinking tap water: Healthy or poisonous?

Conclusion

Mineral water versus tap water, the topic is currently on everyone's lips. Many people are still not quite comfortable with the idea that tap water is actually healthier. Especially since it's practically free. Water that costs 70 cents more per liter must also be 70 times better. 🙂 Unfortunately, far too many people still think this way. That's why this is a call to action: Find your arguments and reasons. Why do you still buy bottled water in bulky plastic crates or plastic bottles? By the way, at Utopia, in a current Contribution Here are some more food for thought.

Cheers to that, and remember, especially in the summer, it's crucial to drink lots and lots of water! No matter the source, first and foremost *g*