Some facts about the mineral content of water

Can you read product labels? Do you really understand them? Being a consumer today is hard. Product diversity, a lack of time or taking buying decisions based on your habits might make you not pay sufficient attention to the important information written on labels. We want to help you understand how mineral content of water influences bottled water’s classification.

Mineral content of water and how bottled water is classified

Ingredients on your food and drinks make your diet more or less healthy. Sometimes, not being aware of this makes some people think two products are similar, when they are not. 

If we focus on mineral and spring water, bottled to be consumed by humans, we see that they are distinct because of the mineral and trace elements in their composition, as well as their underground origins and original purity. However, they are different because the first one presents chemical consistency. Also, they are not identical, and their different composition puts them in two different groups, which is then reflected on their labeling. 

Thus, we can find mineral water that is: 

• Weak mineralised water, that contains up to 50 mg/l of dry residue (the total quantity of mineral present in water).
• Weak mineralised or olligometallic water, if it contains up to 500 mg/l of dry residue. 
• Medium mineralised water that contains from 500 mg/l to 1500 mg/l of dry residue.
• Strong mineralised water if it contains more than 1500 mg/l of dry residue. 
• Bicarbonated water that contains more than 600 mg/l of bicarbonate. 
• Chlorinated water when it contains more than 200 mg/l of chlorine.
• Sulfated water if it contains more than 200 mg/l of sulfates. 
• Acidulated water that contains more than 250 mg/l of free CO2.
• Sodic water that contains more than 200 mg/l of sodium. 
• Water indicated for sodium-free diets if it contains up to 20 mg/l of sodium. 
• Calcic water if it presents more than 150 mg/l of calcium.
• Magnesic water that presents more than 50 mg/l of magnesium.
• Fluoridated water that presents more than 1 mg/l of fluorine. 
• Ferruginous water if it presents more than 1 mg/l of bivalent iron.

The label will also indicate if it’s mineral natural water fit for children’s meals, if it’s diuretic or if it may have any laxative effects. 

Knowing the mineral content of water will simplify your choice of picking the right water for you or your family. This is important not only for hydrating, but also because the mineral content of water can have direct positive effects in your organism.

What characteristics make Eden Springs mineral water stand out?

Geological layers preserve water’s purity: as the saying goes, “nature knows best”. Eden takes care of your health by carefully selecting springs and respects the environment by practicing local distribution, among other things. 

At Agua Eden, water comes from six springs: 

• Orontana spring, in Artana, Castellón (Spain). This offers a weak mineralised water, indicated for sodium-free diets. The quality of this water was awarded the Spanish Mineral Water contest in 1995. 
• Albarcín spring in Sierra Nevada, Granada. This is a very balanced water, with great microbiological purity, rich in trace elements and presents a weak mineralisation. 
• Aiguaneu, Sobreiros, Saceo II and Fonte de Fraga springs, in Espinelves (Spain), Coruche (Portugal), Folgoso de la Ribera (Spain) and São Vicente da Beira (Portugal) respectively. These offer weak mineralised water that makes it appropriate for sodium-free diets.

The food pyramid from the NAOS strategy recommends drinking between 1 and 2 litres of water per day, and considers it essential for nutrition. If nature provides mineral water with unique taste and contents and, depending on its origin, makes it have unique characteristics, why not choose to drink the most natural water?