{"id":3592,"date":"2016-08-28T11:28:10","date_gmt":"2016-08-28T15:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/141080.com\/?p=3592"},"modified":"2022-12-18T13:02:31","modified_gmt":"2022-12-18T17:02:31","slug":"bottled-water-versus-tap-water-which-is-actually-healthier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wandernotizen.com\/en\/mineralwasser-versus-leitungswasser-was-ist-eigentlich-gesunder\/","title":{"rendered":"Mineral water versus tap water \u2013 what's actually healthier?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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

According to the magazine Observer <\/a>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest test from Stiftung Warentest<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a> read it yourself. But some interesting details are definitely worth mentioning here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mythos Minerals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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 This is because the EU repealed a regulation in 1980, and since then, even low-mineral waters are allowed to be called mineral water.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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free choice of water<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, it's often about taste. People who live in an area with \u201etasteless tap water\u201c might find culinary enjoyment in mineral water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why tap water is better<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

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 Nestl\u00e9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several reasons play a role in this for me:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tap water is more strictly controlled than mineral water<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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<\/del> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tap water tastes fresh and natural.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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 \u2013 yuck!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tap water costs about one cent or half a cent.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The cost of bottled mineral water is currently extremely high 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, and if you were to drink one less 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nestl\u00e9's Dirty Business<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The greed of water providers, especially Nestl\u00e9, 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<\/strong>. You can also find the movie on YouTube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Update: 10\/03\/2016: The film \u201eBottled Life\u201c can no longer be found on Youtube. Therefore, the video at this spot no longer worked. However, I have linked another good video here for you. You can find a lot of reports and documentaries about Nestl\u00e9 on Youtube. Just search for it.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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