Whether it is healthy to drink boiled tap water or pure water and mineral water has always been a widely discussed topic among the public. Some people think that the purification process of the water plant is not thorough and that tap water contains some "pollutants" and is not as safe as bottled water.
However, some people think that bottled water sold in supermarkets may not contain the mineral components needed by the human body and is not as healthy as mineral water.
Today, we will introduce you to the knowledge about drinking water.
Does drinking tap water have any impact on your health?
Many people think that tap water is extracted from underground, processed and transported to thousands of households. In fact, it is not the case. The main sources of tap water are rivers, and various groundwaters (mainly surface water). After extracts the water, purifies and disinfects the water, thereby making it into water that meets people's drinking standards. Then it is transported to thousands of households through water pipes .
Therefore, purified tap water fully meets drinking standards at the moment it leaves the factory. Generally speaking, it does not contain so-called harmful substances, let alone heavy metal ions. Those so-called "tap water contains heavy metal elements , which will cause water poisoning after drinking" are unscientific and imprecise.
It is worth noting that although tap water has been purified and disinfected at all levels before entering thousands of households, this does not mean that tap water is absolutely safe. It may be that due to the disrepair of the pipeline or other reasons, some microorganisms will be mixed into it during transportation.
Therefore, the prerequisite for tap water to be harmless to the human body is to boil and boil so that the tiny organisms in the water can be completely killed and avoid potential adverse effects on human health.
In daily life, we must grasp the time for boiling water. It should not be too long, so that it keeps boiling in the kettle, nor too short. Once it boils, turn off the heat immediately and try to keep it boiling for three minutes.
Because tap water contains halogenated hydrocarbons (tap water is often disinfected with chlorine), when the water is still cold, it contains 53 micrograms of halogenated hydrocarbons per liter of water; when the water temperature reaches 90 degrees Celsius, the content of halogenated hydrocarbons rises to 191 micrograms per liter, far exceeding the national standard.
Excessive halogenated hydrocarbon content will have a series of adverse effects on the human body, such as may cause damage to the central nervous system, limit the metabolism of body cells in minors, and affect their physical development ( this requires long-term accumulation , it does not mean that one or two times will cause harm ).
When the water temperature reaches 100 degrees Celsius, the halogenated hydrocarbon content drops to 110 micrograms. If boiling is continued for three minutes, the halogenated hydrocarbon content will drop to 9.2 micrograms, reaching safe water standards. Therefore, it is recommended that you boil the water for a while after boiling to reduce the content of harmful substances. But don’t cook it for too long.
We all know that if the kettle used to boil water is not cleaned for a long time, it will lead to the production of scale , and the main ingredients of scale are calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate . The disadvantage of these substances is not that you will get stones after drinking them, nor will they affect the body's ion balance. The main disadvantage is that they affect the taste, and they are really difficult to digest.
Although boiling tap water for long-term drinking will not have adverse effects on the body, some people have pointed out that the mineral content in tap water is very small, and just drinking tap water to replenish minerals is not enough. We also need to drink some mineral water to maintain the water and sodium balance in the body.
So, does this statement make sense?
What will happen if you drink mineral water and purified water for a long time?
Many people in society now say that "purified water and tap water lack various minerals needed by the human body, and drinking it is not good for the body." From the perspective of the production process of pure water, pure water is mainly prepared through filtration, reverse osmosis, and distillation. After these two processes, the water originally rich in various ions contains almost no minerals.
Therefore, it is reasonable to say that pure water lacks minerals, but it is nonsense that long-term drinking is not good for the human body. .
Because the purpose of drinking water is to replenish water, not to replenish nutrients and minerals. Nutrients and minerals can be replenished in food.
Some people say that drinking pure water for a long time may break the acid-base balance of body fluids and affect the safety of organs. First of all, the water you drink does not directly enter the body fluids, but must be absorbed by the stomach, intestines, kidneys and other organs before entering the body fluids and starting circulation. When the water is absorbed, the minerals in the food will also be absorbed, which means that it will not cause a change in the pH of the body fluids at all.
Unless you drink a lot of purified water in a short period of time, it may indeed cause an imbalance in ion concentration. But if you drink a lot of water, tap water and mineral water also have this risk. Therefore, the statement that long-term drinking of purified water will cause ion imbalance in the body feels more like a marketing ploy by merchants.
After talking about tap water and purified water, let’s take a look at mineral water.
Long-term drinking of mineral water is harmful to the human body, mainly starting from these three points:
- Statement 1: Drinking too much mineral water will cause acid-base imbalance in the human body.
Because the carbon dioxide in mineral water is in a free state, it will regulate the acid-base balance after entering the human body. But when too much mineral water is stored in the body, the carbon dioxide contained in it will affect the normal operation of the stomach and hinder the secretion of bile.
- Statement 2: Mineral water contains a large amount of trace elements needed by the human body. Drinking too much will increase the risk of stones
- There are many minerals. Drinking some in moderation will supplement the needs of the human body. But drinking too much is often counterproductive. For example, excessive calcium intake can lead to hypercalcemia, excessive iodine can cause alopecia, and excessive iron intake can increase the risk of liver cirrhosis and diabetes.
Excessive mineral salts will stimulate the kidneys and bladder after entering the human body, thereby increasing the burden on the kidneys and bladder, and increasing the incidence of bladder stones and kidney stones .
- Statement 3: Mineral water contains substances harmful to the human body, such as mercury, cadmium, lead, etc.
Some people say that mineral water is extracted from the ground. Although it contains many minerals, there are also many harmful mineral substances. Drinking too much mineral water will cause these harmful substances to accumulate in the human body and cannot be completely discharged from the body for a while, which may cause a certain degree of harm to the body. These three statements of
seem to be correct in principle and clear in point of view, but in fact they are confusing concepts and deliberately causing panic .
The first point is that the solubility of carbon dioxide in water is very low. How high can the carbonic acid content formed in water be? Moreover, the acidity of carbonic acid is lower than that of acetic acid . If does this, it will affect the secretion of gastric acid in the stomach. Could it be that the vinegar put in when cooking every day is also harmful to the body?
The second point is that it will increase the risk of stones, which is also a false proposition. Talking about the effect regardless of the dose is itself a hooligan. Let's take calcium, which often forms stones, as an example. Calcium is one of the most abundant elements in mineral water, but the calcium content in mineral water is 0.4 mg/100 ml, while that in milk is about 104 mg/100 g.
In other words, needs to drink 52 bottles of 500ml mineral water to equal the calcium content of a cup of 100ml milk, let alone other minerals. (400 micrograms = 0.4 mg. When converting, it is assumed that the density of milk is the same as that of water.) So, do you still think that drinking mineral water for a long time will cause stones?
The third point is that you don’t have to worry. As long as the mineral water we buy from regular merchants, the content of harmful substances is very low and it meets the standards for human consumption.
In summary, as long as mineral water, tap water, and purified water are legal and compliant, there is basically no harm in long-term drinking. On the contrary, unscientific drinking habits are the culprit of how to cause physical damage.
So, let me introduce you to the correct way to drink water.
How to drink water safely and scientifically
Bottled water such as mineral water and purified water only has certain quality assurance when it is sealed. It is best not to store it for too long after opening the sealed package for drinking. Finished. Therefore, unopened water will come into contact with various substances in the air to a certain extent, and will deteriorate if not treated in time.
Some people may also say, "Isn't the shelf life of bottled water and bottled water both several months or even a year?" In fact, , the shelf life of water on the label is relative to the sealed state, , for open water Water is of little significance, especially now that the weather is getting hotter and hotter, air molecules are becoming more active, and bacteria will spread faster, so it is best to drink the water the same day after opening it.
Also, for mineral water, it is not recommended to boil it for drinking, because the sealed packaged mineral water sold on the market has been purified. It can be drunk directly, preferably cold or slightly warmed.
Boiling may cause most of the minerals in the mineral water to precipitate and lose its value. Moreover, the calcium and magnesium in mineral water are in a free state. Drinking it directly is easier for the human body to absorb. Boiling will cause calcium and magnesium, which have a certain hardness in the mineral water, to precipitate in the form of scale. This not only reduces minerals, but also affects the taste.
In addition, drinking a glass of mineral water after exercise can replenish an appropriate amount of electrolytes; metabolism during sleep at night will cause the body to lose some trace elements. Drinking a glass of mineral water after waking up in the morning can replenish water and minerals.
Purified water is the same as mineral water. The water quality has been processed and can be drank directly. However, pure water lacks trace elements, so it is perfectly fine to drink it after boiling it.
For tap water, do not drink it directly. Boil it for three minutes before drinking it. And before boiling water, you should observe whether the tap water is turbid and smelly to avoid deterioration of the water.
Conclusion
Whether it is boiled tap water, or bottled water such as purified water or mineral water, as long as it is produced by a regular manufacturer and does not suffer secondary pollution, it actually has little impact on health. It is basically impossible for
to say that it destroys the acidity and alkalinity of the human body, causes stones, and contains heavy metal ions. What type of water you drink does not actually have a big impact on the human body. Whether you can drink water scientifically is the biggest threat to human health.
For example, after sweating a lot, you should not drink water vigorously, you should drink mineral water as soon as possible after opening it, and you should not let the water boil for too long, etc.
Reference:
1. "What is the difference between boiled tap water, mineral water and purified water?" Which is healthier to drink in the long run? 》 Voice of Health 2021-4-26
2. "Is it harmful to the body to drink boiled tap water often? There are these 4 common misunderstandings about drinking water" Medical Federation Media 2022-1-03
3. "You need to know the dangers of drinking mineral water" Popular Health Network 2021-8-21
