General information
Water is an inorganic, inherently unique substance that determines the existence of life on our planet. It is the basis for all biochemical processes, a universal solvent. This substance is unique because it can dissolve both inorganic and organic substances.
Throughout life, it accompanies a person, and our body mostly consists of it. Therefore, it is impossible to live without it.
The article below will talk about why drinking water is good for you, how to do it correctly, and why you need to choose certain water to get maximum benefits for your body.
What water is best to drink?
The question of what kind of water you can drink is relevant for most people. Very often we drink it without thinking about its origin.
However, you should always ensure that the liquid consumed is physically complete and healthy. When discussing whether it is beneficial to drink water of a certain origin, the following factors must be taken into account:
- natural origin is important - it must be extracted from an underground source;
- it should not contain any artificial additives;
- the absence of deep purification by osmosis is important;
- it is desirable that it be slightly mineralized (0.5-0.75 g/l).
After all, only a liquid of natural origin contains all the elements necessary for the body. Accordingly, it is difficult to find a more beneficial drink for the body.
Of course, during the discussion, other questions arise - for example, what kind of water is better to drink - boiled or raw.
Which water is better to drink: warm or cold?
Preference should be given to warm water; we have already discussed this issue in part.
In addition to this topic, I will say that cold water, although it speeds up metabolism and will help you lose excess weight, its constant use will lead to digestive problems and disruptions in intestinal function.
Hot water can warm up and dilate blood vessels, but it has many more disadvantages: liquid that is too scalding can lead to cancer of the throat and esophagus, increased gas formation, damage to tooth enamel, and decreased immunity.
But warm water has some advantages: it improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, removes toxins and waste, and heals the skin.
Which water is better to drink: warm or cold depends on both the time of day and the food you eat!
In the morning on an empty stomach, it is useful to drink clean, cold (but not ice-cold) water: distilled, purified through a filter. Cold purified water activates intestinal motility and helps remove accumulated toxins from the body.
I listened to interesting arguments about Dr. Skachko’s water and I want to convey them to you.
Pure water is excellent for cleansing, but it should not be used throughout the day, as it can only get into an empty stomach, otherwise it will disrupt digestion: it dilutes gastric juice, digestion is disrupted, rotting processes begin, and fermentation occurs in the intestines. It turns out that such water has little health benefit, it just cleanses the body - it enters the bloodstream and is immediately excreted through the kidneys.
If we drink a glass of water before eating, we cannot eat for an hour. And after the digestion process - not the end of the meal, but the end of digestion - an hour should pass, only then it will be possible to drink a glass of clean water.
Warm water does not activate intestinal motility, but it does activate the excretory ability of the skin and lungs.
But the body needs not only cleansing, but also nutrition. Therefore, you can add honey, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar to the water. This water both cleanses and nourishes – it works like two in one, and you need to drink it warm.
And it’s not entirely true when they say that you need to drink 2 liters of only clean water a day. Water in tea, compote, soup should also be included in this amount.
Water with food is better absorbed and the power of water flow into the body increases sharply. Juice, soup, tea, compote enrich the blood with beneficial microelements. Water in this form is easier to drink and maintain water metabolism than pure water devoid of salts.
In addition, if you cannot drink water during meals, since it dilutes gastric juice and food digestion worsens, then you can drink tea and juice during meals, as well as after meals.
Which water is healthier - boiled or raw?
Since raw water contains many microelements in the form of salts, it is best to drink it. The molecules in it are arranged in a unique way. This is why raw water is sometimes called living water. It promotes cell regeneration and prevents the formation of free radicals . However, boiling water is often necessary as the untreated raw liquid may contain toxic substances and harmful bacteria .
However, boiled water is practically useless for the body. Moreover, it is even harmful, which is why sometimes it is even called “dead.” This name is due to the following factors:
- after boiling, the oxygen content decreases significantly;
- salts that are beneficial to the body fall into an insoluble precipitate during the boiling process;
- if you boil tap water, the chlorine it contains turns into toxic compounds, which can subsequently trigger the development of cancer pathologies;
- Since the structure changes after boiling, bacteria begin to multiply in it after about a day.
But when discussing the questions of how “dead” water is useful, whether boiled water can be consumed, its benefits and harms must be assessed adequately. After all, there is always a very pressing issue of safety, and no one can guarantee that raw food does not contain substances harmful and even dangerous to the body. Therefore, those who ask whether drinking boiled water is healthy can be answered that the benefits of boiled water are at least in its safety.
But those who still choose boiled water should adhere to some rules. It is necessary to let the raw liquid settle for two hours, after which it is boiled. You need to turn off the kettle as soon as it starts to boil. Then the liquid will have time to be disinfected, but some of the minerals will still remain in a form in which they can be absorbed by the body.
It is also important to drink boiled water only fresh and not store it for a long time. But it should be clearly understood that only liquids of natural origin contain all the microelements and macroelements .
Purified water
To always have drinking water on hand, you can install a purification system at home. Many experts criticize purified water because it contains no minerals. It is called “empty” and even harmful, since along with this very water minerals are allegedly intensively removed from the body, and their supply is depleted.
But in fact, if your diet is balanced, and if you periodically take vitamin and mineral complexes, you will not face any deficiency. If you can’t afford to install the system, you can buy purified water or order it to your home.
Is drinking water safe in our country?
Is it possible to drink tap water? This is a relevant question for many modern people. And not only from the tap, but also spring or bottled.
Thanks to the use of modern disinfection and purification systems, from the point of view of sanitary-chemical and microbiological indicators, the water in taps is safe. However, you need to remember that in most populated areas the water supply is worn out, which leads to an excess of chlorine and iron in the liquid that flows from the tap. And sometimes it even contains bacteria and organic matter.
It is more preferable when it comes into the water supply from an underground source. However, in most settlements, especially very large ones, the population receives it from various land sources - rivers, lakes, large reservoirs. Without a doubt, it is cleaned, but still it remains not as high quality as when it was raised from the ground.
Which water is better to drink: boiled or raw?
It's better to boil.
Since this protects against the entry of pathogenic microorganisms. Some time ago there were reports that boiling, especially twice, can be harmful to health. Many people believed it. And now they are afraid to boil.
In vain. There is no danger.
When it comes to the fact that boiling water is harmful, they usually mean that it should not boil away. Because if the volume decreases significantly, this will lead to an increase in the concentration of various chemicals that are always present in tap water.
Therefore, you should never drink the residue that has formed after the liquid has boiled away. Also, do not add a new portion to it and boil it again.
But if you just boil it, drink some tea and add a new portion to the kettle, there will be no harm from it.
Those who are still afraid to boil again can only pour a fresh portion into the kettle each time. But under no circumstances should you give up boiling.
What is the healthiest water to drink?
If we talk about raw, many people have different opinions. Some believe that it is better to buy bottled, even taking into account the rating of its manufacturers. Others calmly drink what comes out of the tap.
Let's take a closer look at which water is best for drinking.
Tap
It is pre-purified at enterprises that supply water to the population to such an extent that it meets all the standards specified in the relevant documents. But still it is not the best choice. If other options are not available, the following recommendations should be followed:
- practice boiling taking into account the principles described above;
- filter;
- stand for two hours, and drink only the top half of the settled liquid.
However, the latter method will not provide protection from harmful microorganisms and toxins .
Bottled
A good choice is bottled water. What it is? This is raw water that has been previously industrially purified. It is safe for consumption. It is also packaged in large bottles of 5, 10, 19 liters, etc. If we discuss the rating of bottled water, we need to take into account that it can be of the first and highest category.
- The first category is tap water purified by deep purification, taken from surface water bodies.
- The highest category is purified using gentle methods, disinfected with ultraviolet light, from an artesian well.
But before you buy just such a variety for the whole family, you need to clearly know what bottled water is and whether it is healthy. Provided that the cleaning was carried out correctly, its benefits are undeniable, and there is no need to boil it before consumption. But the reality is that many manufacturers, trying to save money, carry out certain stages of purification in bad faith. As a result, the product is often not as high quality as the annotations on the label indicate. And often low quality is confirmed by test purchases.
To determine which bottled water is the best and choose a good product, you need to consider the following:
- a manufacturing company that has been operating on the market for a long time is more reliable;
- conscientious manufacturers use high-quality packaging and labels;
- a kind of “rating” of the best bottled drinking water can be found out by talking with people - “popular” opinion is also important as an argument when choosing;
- To fully verify the quality of the product, it can be taken to a laboratory and ordered to be tested for safety and quality.
Rodnikovaya
Spring water, the benefits or harms of which are often discussed by users, undergoes natural purification, making its way through several layers of soil. In such a liquid, as a rule, there are no harmful impurities and, moreover, it is enriched with minerals as it passes through the soil.
When choosing just such water for children and adults, you need to take into account that those springs that are located near large cities, highways or industrial enterprises are not suitable in this case, since they are not clean and safe.
But there are a lot of springs, both widely known in certain regions, and small but very clean ones, from which they take water that belongs to the highest category in all respects. Some of these springs tend to have official passports and access is restricted.
You can also find spring water on sale - it is also packaged and sold in bottles. But there are often cases when ordinary artesian water is packaged by unscrupulous manufacturers instead of spring water. Its benefits and harms have already been described above. But in any case, artesian water is not spring water, so you should be very careful in your choice. In addition to following the recommendations that have already been described, you need to ensure that the label indicates the spring where the contents of the container were taken.
Those who prefer to collect water from a spring themselves must ensure that the container is always clean. Periodically, samples must be taken from the source and tested in the laboratory.
Mineral
Mineral water comes from natural sources and contains large amounts of salts and trace elements from deep layers of soil. As it passes through the soil, it gradually mineralizes. It is divided into three groups depending on the salt content in it:
- medicinal – with mineralization more than 8 g/l;
- medical dining room – with mineralization 1-8 g/l;
- dining room – with mineralization less than 1 g/l.
You can figure out why mineral water is useful, and which mineral water is the healthiest, by learning more about each of its varieties.
Dining room
You can drink it without risk, since it does not have an active effect on the body. It is useful to drink such mineral water for those who have recently suffered poisoning, intoxication, or acute intestinal infection. However, it is still not recommended to drink it constantly. And under no circumstances should you completely replace regular drinking mineral water. It should also not be given to children under 12 years of age unless prescribed by a doctor.
Healing mineral
It is prescribed by a specialist, always determining the dosage and period of use. Like medications, it has both indications and contraindications. Therefore, you should not consume such water without a specialist’s prescription.
Medical dining room
This mineral water is also prescribed by a specialist. But later the patient himself can use it in the same courses, adhering to previously received recommendations.
Filtered
Nowadays, filtered water is consumed very widely, and many homes have quick filters for purification. This is the most economical way to get quality liquid straight from the tap.
A specialist will help you choose the best filter for drinking water. You can purchase a flow filter that is built directly into the water supply system, as well as mobile jug-type filters.
But in order to get the most optimal result, you first need to analyze the water coming from the tap. Since each filter has a special cleaning basis, it is necessary to understand exactly what undesirable substances are in the liquid.
You can obtain a safe and healthy liquid at the output by adhering to the following conditions:
- choose the right filter to filter out specific substances;
- change cartridges in a timely manner, ideally without waiting for the time specified by the manufacturer to expire;
- Have samples tested in the laboratory from time to time to determine if filtration is helping.
Universal filters
They completely clean the liquid from bacteria and other harmful substances. Their operating principle is the so-called reverse osmosis. Are there any harm or benefits to the body when using such filters?
This water is safe because it is completely free of impurities. However, at the same time, it is also cleansed from salts. And distilled (salt-free) water is not very healthy.
Distilled water: benefits and harms
If you regularly consume such liquid, demineralization of the body develops. Liquid without salts will gradually remove them from the body. As a result, diseases of the heart, blood vessels, and skeletal system may develop. Premature aging of the body will also occur, and metabolic processes will be disrupted.
Some modern expensive filters are equipped with a system that provides artificial mineralization of purified water. However, those salts that were added to the liquid artificially are not absorbed as well as natural ones. In addition, they can adversely affect the function of the urinary system.
It is also necessary to take into account the fact that chlorine compounds, which are carcinogenic, penetrate back through the membrane. And this increases the risk of developing cancer.
Jug filters
They purify the liquid only from specific types of contaminants. And if a laboratory test has not been previously conducted to determine the presence of toxins and pollutants, such filtration may be useless. And pathogenic microorganisms can multiply in the cartridges, which subsequently only worsen the condition of drinking water.
Melt water: harm and benefit
Relatively recently, information that melt water is very useful began to be widely disseminated in various sources. In particular, much has been written about the fact that the molecular structure of such a liquid ensures its positive effect on the body. It is believed that it activates metabolism , reduces cholesterol in the blood, strengthens the immune system and improves physical and intellectual activity.
But in fact, under normal conditions it is impossible to obtain a useful “product”. After all, even if after defrosting the upper part should be separated, harmful impurities may still remain in it.
Kolodeznaya
Wells are still often used in villages. But very often well water is not safe, and if tested in a laboratory, it will not meet sanitary standards. Often this liquid contains a large amount of nitrates, iron, and sulfates. And sometimes pathogenic organisms that are dangerous to health are found in it.
It is extracted from surface aquifers, which are heavily polluted by wastewater. Rainwater also gets into the wells, polluting it even more. In addition, garbage and carcasses of birds and animals often end up in wells. Therefore, unfortunately, there is no need to talk about the safety and benefits of such water.
Tap water
In Russia, great importance is attached to the quality of tap water; the parameters for its purification are quite high. But, unfortunately, the pipelines fail. They are often old, which leads to increased iron content in the water.
Tap water also contains chlorine. Its presence is understandable, because tap water needs to be disinfected. But even with the help of chlorine, not all bacteria can be eliminated; a certain amount still remains in the water.
As mentioned above, the best water is obtained from underground sources. But in big cities, water has to be taken from rivers or reservoirs. And although it undergoes multi-stage purification, its quality is still not ideal, so you should not drink it raw.
What to give to babies?
Until the child is three years old, he should be given bottled water of the highest category. It must be boiled. When the child is three years old, he can drink it without boiling. But you need to buy only a high-quality, proven product.
However, there is another opinion, less conservative: after a year you can start giving your child clean, unboiled water, provided that the parents are completely confident in its quality.
Experts, as a rule, do not recommend buying a special one for children. After all, it contains few minerals and salts, and it can “pull” them out of the child’s body.
In any case, conscious people should ensure that the whole family consumes only high-quality and proven liquid. After all, health and well-being directly depend on this.
