A Health Analysis of Tap Water and Bottled Water
1. Tap Water
Tap water is convenient, inexpensive, and its ubiquity makes it a constant presence in people's lives. According to the standards of water plants, tap water is technically potable. Some might immediately object that tap water is merely for domestic use and not for drinking raw. This is a valid point. While tap water at the plant's outlet is produced in strict compliance with national standards, our household tap water undergoes secondary contamination through long pipelines, rooftop water tanks, and other facilities. By the time it reaches our taps, it is no longer suitable for drinking raw. We can recall that in our childhood, people used to swim in the Pearl River. At that time, the river contained only a few dozen pollutants. Today, with industrial development, the Pearl River contains 2,700 pollutants, most of which are chemical. Water plants must therefore add heavier amounts of chlorine and bleaching powder during the treatment process.
Residual chlorine in tap water produces a carcinogenic substance called chloroform when boiled. Therefore, after boiling the water, it is best to wait for over ten minutes to allow some of it to evaporate.
Furthermore, harmful substances like rust, sediment, and heavy metals do not disappear simply because bacteria are killed by boiling. In our daily diet, toxins from grains and water enter the body along with food. While a portion is excreted, a significant amount accumulates internally. Over the years, this leads to a weakened constitution and the onset of chronic diseases.
"Have you eaten?" is a common greeting. But how about, "Have you had your colon cleansed today?" Doesn't that sound strange? In Shanghai, a forefront of China's development, trends are constantly更新 (updated). Blood transfusions and colon cleansing are considered the most avant-garde. However, what do these trends make us reflect upon? Can we remove most of the toxins before they enter the body? This is where the demand for clean water arises.
2. Bottled Water
As people's quality of life improves and health consciousness grows, a demand for "good water," "high-quality water," and "clean water" has emerged. Purified water is deeply processed from tap water, removing most harmful, toxic, and odorous substances such as heavy metals, trihalomethanes, organic compounds, radioactive materials, and microorganisms. This eliminates consumer panic over water pollution and satisfies the demand for "clean water," thus quickly creating a significant "market effect."
However, several drawbacks of bottled water remain unresolved to this day:
(1) The "purity" of purified water removes not only harmful substances but also the beneficial trace elements found in tap water. As early as 1997, the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission banned primary and secondary school students from drinking purified water, stating: "Students lose trace elements through exercise and sweating, and drinking purified water prevents them from replenishing these elements, so it is therefore forbidden." It's as if we are using purified water to wash away the trace elements we好不容易 (with great difficulty) obtain from our food, which could harm the health of a generation.
(2) Secondary contamination of bottled water. Due to the pneumatic water dispensing system, for every amount of water dispensed, an equal volume of air enters the bottle. Bacteria in the air can multiply rapidly within three days. Water after three days exceeds the national standards for drinking water. However, since the water is paid for, it's impossible to discard it if it's not finished.
(3) High price. The production cost for a 5-gallon bottle of purified water is less than 0.50 RMB. However, costs rise step-by-step due to the distribution expenses of the water plant, water stations, and water companies, the profit margins required at several stages, and other advertising expenditures.
(4) Due to its production process, purified water is slightly acidic, which is not beneficial for neutralizing an acidic constitution.
If tap water and bottled water are not the ideal choices for daily life, then what constitutes "good water"?
Professor He Zhiqian of Sun Yat-sen University proposed that truly good water is weakly alkaline mineral water.
What is weakly alkaline water? It is water that is alkaline due to its rich content of alkali metal ions. What are its health benefits for the human body? Since an acidic constitution is the root of all diseases, the normal human pH level is between 7.35 and 7.45. If the pH level falls below 7, a person will become ill and may die. In daily life, only 10% of people are healthy and strong with an alkaline constitution, while 90% have an acidic constitution. Among them, 10% are seriously ill, and the remaining 80% with an acidic constitution are in a sub-health state.
Foods containing elements like phosphorus, chlorine, sulfur, and sulfon are generally acidic foods, such as flour, meat, grains, oils, alcohol, soda, and white sugar. Foods rich in elements like potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium are generally alkaline foods, such as fruits, vegetables, soy products, dairy products, kelp, and alkaline beverages. It should be noted that sour-tasting foods are not necessarily acidic foods. For example, an orange is rich in potassium, making it an alkaline food. Professor He Zhiqian of Sun Yat-sen University (formerly Sun Yat-sen Medical University) proposed that the ratio of acidic to alkaline foods in a person's diet should be 1:3. In other words, for every one serving of rice, one should eat three servings of vegetables to maintain balance. However, this is difficult to achieve in daily life. Therefore, consuming more alkaline foods and weakly alkaline water can have a significant positive effect on people with an acidic constitution.