Bottled Water

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PeteC
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Bottled Water

Post by PeteC »

I'm more or less confident that the bottled water we drink here is not of the mineral free distilled variety, meaning boiled and then re-condensed. However do any of the available brands, normal big bottle or premium such as Crystal, have essential minerals removed through whatever process they use to purify it?

I've seen bottles marked "ultra violet purification" "reverse osmosis purification", although I don't believe they actually use a true reverse osmosis process as too complicated and expensive.

I don't want to find after years of use that the bottled water we're drinking does not have at least the minimum amount of minerals needed for good health. I also don't want the hassle and expense of supplementing our normal water with bottles of brands like Minere.

What do you think/know.....are we getting enough essential minerals with our normal bottled brands here? Pete :cheers:

EDIT: With normal outdoor activity and temperatures here we all should be drinking 3 liters of water a day. More if we are ultra active.
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Re: Bottled Water

Post by 404cameljockey »

Sorry to ask, but do you mean IS of the mineral-free distilled variety?

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Re: Bottled Water

Post by RCer »

Interesting question, Pete. I had not thought about the mineral content.
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Re: Bottled Water

Post by 404cameljockey »

I guess that paying more 'should' ensure quality, like in most things, but I only buy the 45-55 baht 6 packs of large bottles. The other side of the supermarket aisle has the scarily prices waters. I vary the brand bought (as I think you are supposed to), and don't worry about price so long as it's in that range.

And talking of scary, some stories and info here:
http://www.chiangmailocator.com/wiki-dr ... iland-p152

Seems that reverse osmosis is not necessarily the best method of producing drinkable water.

And on Crystal: "Crystal (www.crystal.co.th, call center 026 933333) prouds itself of being the first and only Thai company to have received the US-based NSF certification (National Sanitation Foundation) since 2002. It has also won the national FDA (Food & Drug Administration) awards for the maximum of three consequetive years.
The call center confirmed that this is RO water which is additionally treated with UV. So perhaps this company has high standards in cleaning the water, but in the end it's RO water."
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Re: Bottled Water

Post by 404cameljockey »

http://www.scienceasia.org/2015.41.n6/scias41_409.pdf

In the tables, even local bottled mineral water shows higher total dissolved solids than local purified water, (a good thing) but no detectable calcium or magnesium!

Seems you're right, it's a minefield.
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Re: Bottled Water

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404cameljockey wrote: Fri Sep 01, 2017 7:50 am Sorry to ask, but do you mean IS of the mineral-free distilled variety?
No clue what you're asking? :? Pete :cheers:
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Re: Bottled Water

Post by 404cameljockey »

prcscct wrote: Fri Sep 01, 2017 8:50 am
404cameljockey wrote: Fri Sep 01, 2017 7:50 am Sorry to ask, but do you mean IS of the mineral-free distilled variety?
No clue what you're asking? :? Pete :cheers:
Should be clear enough. I'm asking if you meant to say:
"I'm more or less confident that the bottled water we drink here is of the mineral free distilled variety"

i.e. there are no minerals in it because it's been distilled. :)
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Re: Bottled Water

Post by handdrummer »

If the water has been distilled, there are no minerals in it. If they're added back then who knows what the source is? If the mineral word ends in "ate", eg: Calcium Carbonate, it is synthetic and the body absorbs less than it does of a natural mineral. If you're eating lots of fruits and vegetables then your getting enough minerals and needn't be concerned about the content in water.
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Re: Bottled Water

Post by STEVE G »

I found this on the net about the source of Thai bottled water:

1. From Tap water.

Yes, many producers use tap water for their bottled water. In fact, good portion of drinking water producers use tap water for their bottled water. I don’t have statistical data to back up, but I think at least 60% of bottled water consumed each day is manufactured using tap water.

There are a few large water producers use tap water as their material. They have invest million of dollars on sophisticated and high-quality purification facilities to produce good quality water. There are a few big names in this category, such as Sprinkle, Nam Thip (Manufactured by Cola-Cola), Cystal (Manufactured by Pepsi) and some plants of Singha drinking water (sister company of Singha Beer). These brands are good and their water is very safe to drink.

Some producers really care less about people’s health. They use low quality purification facilities to produce bottled water. Normally they are local unknown brands or the brand that have not registered with department of Department of business development and never processed through Food and drug administration. It is quite easy to spot this low quality water. Its bottles are normally made from high-density polyethylene, white in colour, and not crystal clear.

You can spot that bottled water in this category is genuine or not by reading the label (some bottled water have label printed in English). The label should clearly specify brand, name of company, and registered signed from Food and Drug administration, which look like figure below; where X is numeric.

Another tip to check the source of water is, regardless of what brand is if you can read it is manufactured in Bangkok, it is almost 100% tap water.



2. Underground water

Pumping water from underground nowadays is prohibited in Many part of Thailand. You have to have a permit from the authorities to use underground water. In Central Thailand part, almost all of underground water sources are now reserved for beverage and drinking water producers through concession.

There are 3 major sources of underground water used to produce big brands of bottled water. There are Pratumtani Province (just 200 km from Bangkok), Ayutthaya Province (Central Thailand), and Khon Kaen (North Eastern Thailand). The bands that use underground water for their bottled water are Singha Drinking water, Chang Dringking water.



3. Spring water.

In Thailand we call spring water as mineral water. There are 4 main sources of spring water in Thailand. There are Bang Pahan City, Ayutthaya Province (Central Thailand), Sing Buri Province (Central Thailand), Tak Province (Northern Thailand), and Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand). Spring water in Chiang Mai is considered to be the best in Thailand. Some of the most common brands are

Aura: THB10, THB19 for a 500ml and 1500ml bottle, respectively

Mont Fleur: THB10, THB19 for a 500ml and 1500ml bottle, respectively

Minere: THB8, THB15 for a 500ml and 1500ml bottle, respectively

Nestle PureLife: THB8, THB15 for a 500ml and 1500ml bottle, respectively

Aqua: THB7, THB20 for a 500ml bottle

and Tesco (only available in Tesco).




(It's from 2012 so those prices will be out of date.)
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Re: Bottled Water

Post by J.J.B. »

We drink bottled water and also use it for cooking. I'm far less concerned about mineral content (pure water would contain none) and only bothered about not ingesting any of the 'nasties' in tap water - I dread to think what's lurking in our tanks. I'm fairly certain I can get all required vitamins and minerals from my food and would supplement them with tablets if I was at all worried.
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Re: Bottled Water

Post by PeteC »

404cameljockey wrote: Fri Sep 01, 2017 9:10 am
prcscct wrote: Fri Sep 01, 2017 8:50 am
404cameljockey wrote: Fri Sep 01, 2017 7:50 am Sorry to ask, but do you mean IS of the mineral-free distilled variety?
No clue what you're asking? :? Pete :cheers:
Should be clear enough. I'm asking if you meant to say:
"I'm more or less confident that the bottled water we drink here is of the mineral free distilled variety"

i.e. there are no minerals in it because it's been distilled. :)
I said and meant....."is not of the mineral free distilled variety"..... Then I go on to ask if the purifying process used does anything to deplete minerals.....etc. If the water was distilled we wouldn't have a thread as it would be clear already that there are no minerals in what we drink. There is also some indication that RO removes some minerals but we have an engineer on here (Terry) who has indicated in a previous thread that the big bottle (18L) companies who have "reverse osmosis" on their labels really don't use true RO.

I still don't think any distilling is used at all with the exception of those products for special use that should be clearly marked as "distilled water". Drinking only distilled water over time can have very bad effects on the body as is clear when searching for the term.

Steve G mentions the big name brands who "have invested millions" to purify water, but still not specific if this purifying process removes minerals present or what process they use. I'll try to do some more searching to find anything more definitive but so far I can find nothing. Perhaps someone in the water business will surface later on. Pete :cheers:
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Re: Bottled Water

Post by PeteC »

One of several articles about the dangers of drinking distilled water on a regular basis......

What Are the Dangers of Drinking Distilled Water?

http://www.livestrong.com/article/37247 ... led-water/
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Re: Bottled Water

Post by Nereus »

Well, as "the bloke with the Kangaroo who has an opinion on everything", I am going to stay out of this, except to say that for more years than I want to remember I was obliged to maintain fresh water distillation plants on offshore oil rigs and ships.

Also, if you have never had a kidney stone, then be prepared for the most excruciating pain imaginable, in most cases caused by excessive minerals in drinking water.

http://www.huahinforum.com/viewtopic.ph ... is#p294343
Last edited by Nereus on Fri Sep 01, 2017 2:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bottled Water

Post by PeteC »

^ :D speak up :thumb: That's the thread I referred to above, and 5 years later I seem to be asking the same questions. :laugh: I've seen nothing in the interim period anywhere satisfying my curiosity about drinking water here. The truth is out there...somewhere!..and it will set you free! :D Pete :cheers:

EDIT: ....."Also, if you have never had a kidney stone, then be prepared for the most excruciating pain imaginable, in most cases caused by excessive minerals in drinking water."....

Yes, I agree Nereus but there has to be a happy balance somewhere, I hope. :shock:
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Re: Bottled Water

Post by Peroni »

Not sure if this clarifies or adds to the confusion but I have added a link to Singapore's "NeWater" Wikipedia article which gives concise information regarding the technologies and production of that particular brand of bottled water.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEWater

This of course does not answer the questions about individual labels on various products available in Thailand. Its does, however, give a good reference point on which to make future decisions.

John :cheers:
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