I i everyone this is monica right nickel and you're listening to the nutrition diva quick and dirty that's for eating well then feeling fabulous. A lot of people are concerned that fruits and vegetables or less nutritious than they used to be because the soil may have become depleted if minerals i just didn't episode one is a couple of weeks ago but you can find in the show archives patch nutrition d about dot quick and dirty tips dot com. Whether or not this is something we really need to worry about mineral water sounds as if it might be a good idea sort of like a vitamin supplement that you can drink are their health benefits from drinking mineral water are there any risks. First you should know that you're probably already getting some mineral in your regular drinking water most tap water contains minerals. For example if you drink two liters of water a day you could be getting ten to fifteen percent of your daily calcium requirement and up to a third of your required make museum just from the water you drink. But the amount of minerals and tap water in different regions varies greatly so how do you know within your water. I talked about this an episode number sixty six which is about the safety of the water supply if you're on a public water system here in the u. s.. You should get a report every summer with details about your water quality and it includes mineral levels as well as any contaminants that have been found it's often included with your water bill now if you're a mentor you probably never see these reports and. But a lot of them are posted online an environmental protection agency is website. Checking your water quality report can give you an idea how high in certain minerals your local water supply is and in the show notes for today i posted a link to the e. p. a. =s local water quality information. No i realized that many of you are not in the u. s. and i'm sorry i don't have more information for you. If you live elsewhere your local government or your water is forty may have some answers for you and feel free to post any helpful information or links you come across in the comment section of the show notes for the benefit of other non u. s. listeners. Even a modest amounts of minerals found in regular drinking water can play a beneficial role in your house calcium ends make museum are important for strong bones of course. Make medium also helps regulate your blood pressure and in fact people who live in areas with very soft water which is low in minerals. May have a higher risk of heart disease and i probably the same thing could be true if you live in an area with very hard water also is minerals can be rough on the plumbing. So people who have really hard water often use a water softening system to remove minerals if you suspect that you're drinking water is low in minerals. Couldn't mineral water be a good thing to add to your diet. Well it might. Bottled mineral water contains up to four times as much calcium and make museum as regular tap water. In fact one study found that people who's drinking water was low and make museum were able to lower their blood pressure just by drinking of leader of mineral water every day of course there are other ways to get making easy i'm. Brown rice all men's lima beans and spinach are all examples of good food sources of make museum but drinking mineral water can definitely add to your intake of calcium make museum and other minerals. Most a mineral water we get here in the u. s. is imported from europe. The different brands come from various natural springs that are known for their high mineral content. Some are naturally carbon edit when they come out of the ground others have carbon asian outage to them and they're also on carbon dated or still mineral waters but it's harder to find us here in the u s. The mineral profile varies greatly from branch to branch reflecting the source waters that's what gives each mineral water it's unique flavor but it may also determine which one to choose if you're considering the nutritional benefits. For example this you water from france is very high in sodium. Some people love that slightly salty taste. But you should be aware that the leader of the she water blows half of your daily sodium budget perry i also from france is quite low and sodium and it has a moderate amount of calcium but it doesn't provide a whole lot of make needs him initial note i concluded charged. The shows the amount of various minerals in several common brands of mineral water. In terms of overall nutrition i'd have to pick carol steiner which comes from germany it's the highest in calcium a leader provides a third of your daily value it's also got a decent amount of make museum and it's relatively low in sodium. Sent all the green on from italy would be my second choice. But really any mineral water with the possible exception of that super salty but she water it's a healthy way to get your fluids and a bit of extra nutrition as well for more and how much water you need to drink check out episode number six. Somebody's i've written communique us to ask whether mineral water might be bad for you for example one reader wondered whether drinking carbon heated water might harm to send them all. The card the nation in mineral water whether it's natural or added does make mineral water slightly more aesthetic than regular tap water so to as you know can be very hard on to the name all but that's really a factor of the sugar. And to the extreme city it's not the carbon nation studies show that there's nothing to worry about with mineral water in fact the minerals may actually help strengthen your teeth. Another peter asked whether drinking mineral water could cost kidney stones. To the contrary if you are at risk of kidney stones your doctor will probably suggest that you increase your intake of fluids and to get more calcium and make museum well mineral water to the rescue. In fact one study found it drinking mineral water reduced kidney stone formation in people who are prone to get them so the quick and dirty tipped this week that mineral water can be a substantial source of minerals and it's a much healthier alternative to sweetened or artificially sweetened beverages. You'll find links to all the studies i mentioned in today's episode in the show notes ask internships dot com and while you're there send it to receive my free weekly newsletter which was more nutrition test recipes answers your questions fire. If you have a question send an email to nutrition that's for internships dot com or visit my nutrition to face the page they'll have a great week and remember anything something good ah