China News Service, March 25. According to the WeChat public account of the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, with the improvement of people's living standards and the enhancement of health awareness, more and more consumers are accustomed to buying bottled water or barrels in their daily lives. Fill with water. Mineral water, natural water, distilled water... There are so many types of drinking water on the market that it can be confusing. What is the difference between these waters with different names?

　　Bottled water and bottled water on the market are both packaged drinking water. Currently, common packaged drinking water can be roughly divided into three categories: purified water, natural water or natural spring water, and mineral water.

pure water

　　Purified drinking water is produced by processing water that meets the sanitary standards for drinking water by distillation, electrodialysis, ion exchange, reverse osmosis or other appropriate water purification processes. Distilled water on the market is also purified water.

　　During the treatment process, purified water removes bacteria, viruses, heavy metal elements, organic matter and other harmful components in the water. It has lower hardness and better taste. It can be drunk directly and will not form scale when boiling water. But during the processing, minerals beneficial to humans such as potassium, calcium, and zinc are also removed.

Natural water/natural spring water:

　　Both drinking natural water and drinking natural spring water are made from water from natural sources that have not gone through the public water supply system. The difference is that the water source of natural water can come from wells, mountain springs, reservoirs, lakes or mountain icebergs, etc., while natural water can come from wells, mountain springs, reservoirs, lakes or mountain icebergs. Spring water can only come from underground springs.

　　These two types of water only require minimal treatment (such as filtration, ozone or equivalent treatment), which removes impurities and harmful substances in the water while retaining the original minerals and trace elements in the water that are beneficial to humans. Natural water/natural spring water from different water sources has different mineral element compositions and proportions, and there are also certain differences in taste and water quality.

mineral water

　　The mineral water we talk about daily mainly refers to drinking natural mineral water. Drinking natural mineral water is water that naturally gushes out from deep underground or is collected through drilling. It contains a certain amount of minerals, trace elements or other components. It is not polluted in a certain area and preventive measures are taken to avoid pollution; under normal circumstances Under this condition, its chemical composition, flow rate, water temperature and other dynamic indicators are relatively stable within the natural cycle fluctuation range.

　　Mineral water is essentially natural water, but natural water is not necessarily mineral water. Mineral water must be deep groundwater, and the minerals or carbon dioxide contained in it must meet one or more of the limit indicators in the national standards. Generally speaking, mineral water has stable water quality, low microbial content, and contains a certain amount of minerals and trace elements needed by the human body, such as zinc, selenium, strontium, etc.

　　In other words, the key to identifying various packaged drinking water depends on its water source and implementation standards.

　　From the perspective of water source, the source of pure water comes from public water supply or non-public water supply, while the water source of natural water, natural spring water and mineral water comes from non-public water supply.

　　From a standard perspective, pure water, natural water and natural spring water comply with the "National Food Safety Standard for Packaged Drinking Water" (GB 19298-2014), while natural mineral water follows the "National Food Safety Standard for Drinking Natural Mineral Water" (GB 19298-2014). GB 8537-2018) standard.

　　Different packaged drinking water has different water quality and taste due to different ingredients.

　　So what kind of water should we choose for daily drinking?

　　From a health perspective, the natural trace elements and minerals in water are valuable nutrition and health resources. Therefore, water is not as “pure” as possible. Natural elements that are beneficial to the human body should be retained as much as possible, and harmful ingredients should be removed.

　　Scientific research shows that appropriate amounts of calcium and magnesium in water have a protective effect on cardiovascular health. Although the magnesium provided by water only accounts for 2%-4% of the human body's needs, for those who are mildly deficient in magnesium, such as those who take diuretic drugs due to high blood pressure, heart disease, etc., resulting in excessive excretion of magnesium. Supplementing magnesium through drinking water can still play an important role.

　　In addition, magnesium in the dissolved ionic state in water is more easily absorbed by the body than magnesium in food. The World Health Organization (WHO) points out that long-term drinking of mineral-free water can directly or indirectly lead to low or even zero absorption of beneficial minerals in the body.

　　Therefore, purified water is not suitable for long-term drinking as daily drinking water alone. It can be drunk occasionally or alternately with other types of drinking water.

　　Although purified water is not suitable for long-term drinking, in some cases, such as when making tea, its lack of "impurities" has a unique advantage. As the saying goes, "Water is the mother of tea." Good tea needs the right water to complement each other. Scientific research shows that the mineral content, pH, conductivity, etc. in water are the main factors affecting the quality of tea. A higher pH value will make the tea darker; minerals can easily react with certain flavor substances in tea, thus affecting the color and taste of the tea. Purified water has a lower pH and the least mineral content. When used to make tea, the soup has a bright color and a pure aroma, which can best reflect the original taste of various teas.

　　So the higher the mineral content, the more beneficial it is to human health? Trace elements and minerals in water may have a certain improvement effect on certain chronic diseases, such as digestive tract diseases. However, water with too high mineral content is not suitable for everyone. In some cases, "too much is not enough", so you must choose according to your own situation.

　　For example, some studies believe that the kidneys of infants and young children are immature, and if the mineral content in the water is too high, it will increase the burden on the kidneys;

　　Children and people with weak kidney function (such as kidney dialysis patients, the elderly, etc.) should avoid drinking water with high strontium content alone for a long time, because low calcium intake may cause risks to the bone health of these people.

　　In fact, in addition to packaged drinking water, the most healthy and economical daily drinking water for ordinary people is boiled tap water, which is plain water. Tap water is currently the most common drinking water in China. It is taken from natural water sources on the surface or underground, and is purified and disinfected through a series of treatment processes before being delivered to thousands of households.

　　Our country has strict requirements for tap water quality. Tap water that meets the "Hygienic Standards for Drinking Water" (GB 5749-2022) is safe and reliable.

　　The treated tap water removes some parts that are harmful to the human body and retains the minerals that are beneficial to the human body. However, due to the long distance of municipal pipelines, in order to avoid microbial contamination during transportation, it is recommended that you boil it before drinking it.

　　Boiling tap water can not only kill microorganisms in it, but also effectively remove volatile substances such as residual chlorine and halogenated methane. Drinking boiled water is a good habit passed down from generation to generation among us Chinese. Boiled water is cheap, simple to prepare, convenient and fast. It is the most economical and practical first choice drinking water for human health.

　　In addition to drinking the right water, it is also important to drink enough water. The recommended daily water intake for adults is 1500-1700 ml. Drinking water should follow the "small amount and often" principle, and do not wait until you are thirsty to drink water.

　　Only by developing scientific drinking habits can we share a healthy life, and the source of life can truly nourish each of us.