, , ,

What Is The Best Type Of Water | Pros And Cons For 10 Popular Water Sources

, , ,

If we were playing chess, water would be the king with queen moves. Its versatility enhances the way you build muscle, lose fat, perform, feel, and so, so much more. Come on, 65 percent of our body is water. 

But with so many types of drinking water to choose from, how do you know which is best for you and your situation? 

How do you choose the correct source? What factors matter? Is cost the true representation of quality? Answers are needed!

In this article you’ll find why you should drink water, an explanation of the different categories, what the best type of water is, and the pros and cons for 10 popular types of drinking water. Let’s dig. 

SECTIONS:

-Advertisement Continue Below-

Benefits Of Drinking Water

I’d be remiss to not promote some of the benefits of water consumption before throwing the types to choose from at you.  

  • Energy

  • Hydration

  • Physical performance

  • Cognitive performance

  • Stress management

  • Muscle growth assistance

  • Weight loss assistance

  • And so much more 

In fact, here’s an entire video on who, what, when, where, why, and how on the great H2O for even more on the subject.

What Is Water Made Of

Don’t misconstrue the perceived clearness of water as “emptiness”. There’s a lot going on with H2O. Namely and imperatively minerals.

A mineral is an inorganic substance from Mother Earth. Some minerals happen to be necessary for functionality and survival. Others you’d want reading the “no trespassing” sign:

Good minerals: calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, and zinc for example. 

Not so good minerals: aluminum, lead, arsenic, barium, and such.

Note: calcium and magnesium are the most pivotal micronutrients you’ll fetch to supplement your diet from most waters. The other elements move the needle a little less, they aren’t in great supply for the typical bottle of drinking water.

Calcium? Essential to bones, teeth, then heart and muscle contractility.

Magnesium? Essential to energy metabolism, muscle contraction, micronutrient transportation, and muscle protein synthesis.

Another note: most diets are nutritionally poor, particularly in America. Whatever your water can do to assist dietary improvement.. insist it assists.

-Advertisement Continue Below-

Categories Of Drinking Water

I’m sure picturing drinking water with “categories” sounds interesting to some folks. Water is just water right?

Not exactly, drinking water comes in numerous forms and has diverse nutritional profiles. Some mineral laden and some mineral deficient.

Each with their set of pros and cons.

At hand are 3 main categories of drinking water: spring or glacier water, mineral water, and purified water.

Purified water means the aqua source was deionized, distilled, or underwent reverse osmosis. Each tactic is concerned with removing potentially harmful substances for safer consumption or even for scientific purposes IE labs.

Mineral water is as the name suggests, mineral heavy. Spring water contains minerals by default, yet mineral water is juiced. It can be from a mineral spring, which contains naturally higher mineral content than other springs, or artificially augmented by adding a great deal of minerals to previously purified water.

Spring water or glacier water is bottled at the source with unaltered natural properties. Obtained from a spring or glacier respectively, spring and natural are often terms used interchangeably. Although unaltered, these springs and those analogous are marketed as protected to prevent contamination.

-Advertisement Continue Below-

What Is The Best Type Of Water

Now that you’re familiar with the categories let me tell you, they’re not all equal.

Each brings along its set of benefits and challenges.

If you’re here, you’re into fitness, thus you’re into performance. But not only performance you’re into health (to a degree at worst), and aesthetics never hurt.

Your H2O choice influences your physique’s appearance, performance, and your overall health. 

Here’s a list of boxes to check that’ll let you know you’ve nominated a respectable source for hydration:

  • Reasonable price: this isn’t a one-off purchase. You’ll consume a large amount unceasingly. A large amount accumulates to dollars, you want quality at a quality price.

  • Enough minerals: low or no mineral water poses concerns.. performance-wise, aesthetic-wise, and even heath-wise. Comparatively, too much mineral depth can be troublesome, too. More on these soon.

  • Is replicable: you want easily accessible water, since consistency is the mother of detecting progress, or lack of, in all respects. Excess randomization breeds difficulty when measuring success. For example, some waters contain minerals, some waters do not. Mixing sources with frequency will manipulate water retention, due to your body having no consistency with electrolyte balance (particularly sodium and potassium). Your muscles won’t even look as full. When this is the case progress pictures hold less weight.

  • Safe to drink: need I say more?

  • Not a gimmick: trendy water promotions may brandish misleading, outlandish claims. What’s worse is it’s without even an effort to seek evidentiary backing. Then these gimmicks tend to be pricey. Skip the gimmicks.

{whispers} Traditional spring or glacial water checks all of these boxes.

-Advertisement Continue Below-

The Issues With Purified Water

“Purified” just sounds good right? Fresh, clean, no worries – you get all of that from one word, however!!!

Unless micronutrients are reinfused to a sufficient level, you should limit purified water consumption. It’s too much of a “good” thing.

Distillation, reverse osmosis, deionization, and the like remove harmful substances true, but wait there’s more! The stated procedures also remove helpful substances. They remove everything.

It’s almost nothing, but merely water. This creates an issue and other issues on top of the created issue.

Low mineral or no mineral water, also referred to as demineralized water, disrupts homeostatic mechanisms - notably electrolyte balance. It stalls mineral metabolism, in fact elicits the removal of essential, stored micronutrients. Demineralized water is a diuretic, it flushes everything on its way out.

The irony is, minerally deficient water’s lacking of minerals induces it to attract the minerals you’ve already accumulated. It soaks up what you already have without replacing it, it’s a leech. The case can be proven based on your urine containing minerals upon exit. 

We haven’t even hit the kicker yet, you may think “I can eat my way out of this with a balanced diet.” Negatory. Continuous consumption means continuous removal - it’s a leech.

Other problems with demineralized water: 

  • Spillage AKA extracellular fluid, this makes your muscles look flat and puffy

  • Lower red blood cell volume

  • Increased cortisol (stress hormone) secretion

  • Fatigue

  • Weakness

  • Less than full force muscle contraction

  • Headaches

  • Muscle cramps

Note: even food prepared or consumed in combination with low mineral water can muck up nutritional content. Leeeech❗️

Another note: on the other end of the spectrum - mineral water is heavy on the minerals, yet the absorption of added minerals is up for debate. There aren’t abundant sources for me to say definitively in either direction, so exercise caution with grandiose mineral water guzzling. You could end up flirting with toxicity of a certain mineral, too much of a good thing isn’t a good thing.

-Advertisement Continue Below-

Pros And Cons For 10 Types Of Drinking Water

When choosing a water source you want cooperation, not obstruction. There are many options of drinking water that come in many forms. And bottles, I’m still in awe of canned water.. I know.. I’m childish.

The types covered here are: carbonated, tap, flavored, distilled, spring/glacier, purified, mineral, alkaline, hydrogen, and hexagonal origins of water. After deciding on what tickles your fancy. Feel free to do a little research into a brand to double check. You’ll get the details on exact mineral content. 

Sparkling Or Carbonated Water

Carbonated water is infused with carbon dioxide gas, under pressure. This gives it the bubbles we’ve loved since adolescence. May or may not contain minerals and can derive from natural or artificial sources.

What’s good

  • Bubbles are cool

  • Decent transition from soft drinks

  • May contain minerals

  • Provides digestive assistance

  • Possibly helps with constipation

What’s not so good 

  • May not contain minerals

  • Pricey

  • Its acidic nature could anger your dentist

  • Not uncommon to contain too much in the mineral department, IE excess sodium

  • Could contain sugar

  • Artificial sweeteners often present, which leads to cravings

Tap Water

Tap water is considered the most accessible water source, but it has a murky reputation. Having a not so family friendly taste doesn’t help either. Still, tap water is overwhelmingly safe to drink. If you remain unconvinced check with your local water supplier, they have ‘deets’.

This particular source flows through your bathroom, kitchen sink, water hose, public fountains, etc.. It’s all around you. 

What’s good

  • Easiest on the pockets

  • Easily accessible

  • Usually easy to manipulate the temperature (just turn the faucet)

  • Comparatively easy on the environment

What’s not so good

  • Mineral depth is location dependent

  • Instances like what occurred in Flint, Michigan are possible

  • Low, yet higher than store-bought water chance of containing arsenic

  • Undoubtedly an acquired taste

Flavored Water

Flavored water is water with sweeteners. Natural and/or artificial additives - possibly infused with vitamins/minerals. This type may be sold premixed or be the result of you giving your water a little umph via powder or liquid squirt.

What’s good

  • Improved taste, so compliancy becomes less of an issue

  • Reasonable transition from sweet beverages like soda

  • Could be a reason you to look forward to drinking water

  • If nutrient laden, it may nullify some of the effects when added to demineralized sources

  • Satisfies a sweet tooth with less damage

What’s not so good

  • Often contains sugar

  • Artificial sweeteners aren’t without consequences, cravings

  • Generally more costly than flavorless water

  • Could be bad psychologically if you feel like you’re cheating the process

  • If you forget the flavoring you could decide to not sip, so it does double as a crutch

-Advertisement Continue Below-

Distilled Water

Distilled water AKA completely demineralized or deionized water is boiled, then its steam is compacted into liquid form. This process removes everything making it pure. And I mean everything, no good or bad in there - it’s just there. 

What’s good

  • Helps shed water weight

  • Useful for science

  • No toxins

  • Able to be enhanced

What’s not so good 

  • No minerals

  • Is a diuretic

  • Can dehydrate

  • Removes electrolytes

  • Leads to muscle spillage

  • Causes cramping

  • Lessens muscle contraction potential

Spring Water Or Glacier Water

Spring water, glacier water, or natural water is my method of choice and my blanket suggestion. It’s usually untouched and bottled at the source.

Brands tend to protect their springs to prevent contamination, while preserving mineral consistency. In this segment by spring I mean other than natural spring mineral water, although they’re both technically spring they’ll have awfully varying degrees of micronutrients.

What’s good

  • Natural source

  • Free of toxins

  • Desirable level of mineral content

  • Naturally alkaline in its purest form

  • Palatable

  • Not too pricey

What’s not so good 

  • Some manufacturers may mislead you into believing it’s spring, so research your chosen brand

  • Can be pricey if you catch yourself looking at the wrong shelf

Purified Water

Distilled water is considered a purified source of water, for the record, but here is a nod to reverse osmosis, deionization, and similar methods of purification that tend to sterilize water to a high degree. Even though not as thoroughly as distillation.

These sources are low in mineral content, almost completely demineralized. 

What’s good

  • Safe to drink

  • You can purify water at home

  • Removes toxins

  • Good price

  • Could be reinfused with minerals

What’s not so good 

  • Often low to no minerals

  • Causer of muscle cramps

  • Less than full strength muscle contractions

  • Can act as a diuretic

  • May remove electrolytes

  • Could cause muscle spillage

-Advertisement Continue Below-

Mineral Water

Mineral water commonly comes from natural springs in areas minerally dense. They contain a greater assortment or are more concentrated with certain minerals than run-of-the-mill spring water. This can be good or bad depending on your total intake and regular dietary habits.

What’s good

  • Tasty to many

  • Contains a slew of minerals

  • Buffers an incomplete diet

  • Can’t discount placebo effect, by drinking you start to think yourself into being healthier

What’s not so good 

  • Can obtain excess minerals if your diet is already balanced

  • Costly

  • With abundant consumption its mineral density could present an overdose risk

  • May be high in sodium

  • Could be too high in potassium

  • Not tasty to me 😆

Alkaline Water

Alkaline water has been the craze as of late and is interesting to say the least. To be considered alkaline a water source needs a potential hydrogen (PH) balance also known as acid-base balance, higher than typical drinking water.

Traditional drinking water has a PH of 7, while alkaline is usually 8+.

Note: an acid-base balance is the level of acids and bases. It determines how acidic or alkaline the studied substance happens to be on a scale 0-14. The lower the number the more acidity and as the number increases so does the alkalinity, 7 is the neutral point. 

Alkaline water must have the right minerals to create the necessary PH and reflect negative oxidation reduction potential (ORP). ORP evaluates the oxidizing potential of a source, stating how it is antioxidizing or pro-oxidizing and to what degree.

*takes break from defining*

Our bodies maintain a slightly alkaline balance of 7+. The idea is that alkaline water will help maintain that alkaline balance.

What’s good

  • It hydrates

  • Could potentially reduce body acid, although unproven

  • Contains antioxidants

  • You’ll look hip

  • Increases blood flow more than purified water

  • Contains minerals

What’s not so good 

  • Pricey

  • Could hinder your stomach by reducing its acidity, therefore its ability to kill harmful bacteria

  • Could cause alkalosis, leading to nausea and vomiting

  • To adjust your body’s PH you’d be forced to consume toxic levels of the contained minerals

Hydrogen Water

Hydrogen water is infused with extra hydrogen. During the process you dissolve hydrogen gas in the H2O. The jury is still out on its effect, but the claims are bold.

What’s good 

  • A study showed anti-inflammatory potential in mice [2]

  • May be even more detoxifying than other waters

What’s not so good 

  • The price is wild

  • Unproven claims

  • Findings are unsure of how extra hydrogen impacts the body

-Advertisement Continue Below-

Hexagonal Water

Hexagonal water AKA structured water or magnetized water or exclusion-zone (EZ) water, is H2O when the molecules come together in a hexagonal shape. 

Usually obtained from a spring or glacial source, hexagonal water is under strong review within the scientific community. Yet if it holds up in the long run, we have ourselves a 4th state of water in addition to the well-known liquid, vapor, and ice forms. Structured water would be fourth and change a lot about what we previously believed pertaining to H2O. 

Proponents for, argue that our body prefers water in this hexagonal structure. So everything about how we function can improve.

Those against, argue it’s a hoax.

Time will tell.

What’s good 

  • Free of pollutants

  • May be obtained from natural sources

  • Some believe you can create it on your own from other sources of water

  • Mineral content is where you want it

  • More easily used by the body

What’s not so good 

  • Science under review

  • Pricey

My Thoughts

I personally go with spring water because it’s cheap, yet reliable. You can drink it in excess without taking away from your body or reaching toxic levels of minerals. I can go swimming with the amount of water I consume, so this is key.

Mineral water could be your choice if you happened to be severely deficient in what some of that particular brand infused their water with.

Remember with your water intake you want the same source as often as possible for consistent results, especially when judging development IE progress photos and scale movement. 

-Advertisement Continue Below-

So, It’s About That Time

Something as simple as water has so many variants, but this element of life is one that deserves our attention. Out of the three categories of water spring or glacier water holds the crown, for it provides all you need. It has the minerals and it is safe to consume. You need water and if you’re doing it right you’re drinking quite a bit. When putting so much of something in your body you need the facts, those type of decisions are consequential. Gulp water that helps the cause not other than. Now go off and put those muscles to use, drink water, and Be Great.