Water. The liquid of life which we consume every day. Over 60% of our body is made of water. We lose about 2.5 litres of water every day and we need an average of 8 glasses of water (approximately 2 litres) per day for a healthy lifestyle. Given its importance, how much do you know about water? The Editors of foodvenue.com did some surfing and found some pretty interesting facts.
Tap Water. Our drinking water must meet certain bacteriological and chemical safety standards before it is fit for consumption. Tap water, as we know it, have been subjected to various treatments such as filtration and purification and chemically treated with chemicals such as chlorine before it reaches our tap. Technically there is nothing else which you need to do to drink tap water. However our mother insists we boil it first and we suggest you do likewise. In fact, we have filters too. You can never tell what's in those pipes can you?
Distilled Water. Distilled water is water in its purest form - H2O and nothing else. No minerals and chemicals are added. Distillation is the natural process in which water is recycled in our natural environment. Water from the earth and the sea becomes vapour due to the energy from the sun. The vapour rises and forms cloud which condenses into water droplets at a lower temperature and returns to earth in the form of rain. Watson's and Tops are examples of bottled distilled water available in the market today.
Spring Water. We must admit that the term spring water is confusing. In certain countries like UK, it seems that spring water may be processed. However from our research we can only say that the only difference is that spring water may not contain a stable mineral content - unlike natural mineral water.
Natural Mineral Water. It seems that when water is described as "natural mineral water", it must come from an identified and protected source. The water should be clean and clear, and should also contain various minerals whose composition is unique to each water source. Due to the minerals contained in the water, natural mineral water taste slightly different from distilled water. The taste of natural mineral water is usually defined by minerals such as Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium and Sodium. Examples of bottled natural mineral water are Evian and Perrier. Interestingly the source for Perrier's natural mineral water contains natural gasses which gives it a sparkling effect. Hmm ... mother nature's own carbonated drink !
Want to know more?
We recommend the following sites:
Check www.institut-eau.tm.fr/indang.html for in depth articles and information on mineral water.
Check www.minere.com for information on Perrier.
Check www.watsons-water.com/index_eng.html for Watson's distilled water products. Plenty of FAQs and information.
Although a bit short in substance, we enjoyed the look-and-feel of www.evian.com. It's quite cool actually.
