Mineral Waters: What do we talk about?
Mineral water is water from groundwater, bacteriologically healthy and contain varying levels of minerals and trace elements.
The majority of mineral waters from the waters of the atmosphere (rain and snow) that seep into the ground through cracks and burrow deep underground. The water travels very slowly and can remain underground for decades before returning to the surface.
Of natural mineral waters
The term "natural mineral water" is an appellation controlled strictly regulated by legislation.
Marketing of natural mineral waters requires an authorization to market by the Ministry of Health. These waters must meet the same standards of quality and potability of water as source and tap water.
Natural mineral water must be preserved from a source, be naturally pure water (without pollution) without microbiological treatment with a mineral composition stable and constant in time, which gives it "positive health properties." It must be bottled at the source.
In contrast, water source - which do not have a constant mineral composition - can not claim to "positive health properties."
Natural mineral waters are subject to the same limits of concentration of toxic substances (arsenic, lead, fluoride, nitrates ...) than tap water.
As for nitrate content not to exceed is 50 mg / l and mineral water for infants should contain less than 15 mg / l.
The main categories of mineral waters
The classification depends on the more classic dry residue.
The dry residue is the rate of mineral elements obtained after the evaporation of 1 L of water having been subjected to a temperature of 180 ° C:
- Dry residue> 1500 mg / l water rich in minerals;
- Dry residue between 500 and 1500 mg / l, moderately mineralized water;
- Dry residue between 50 and 500 mg / l weakly mineralized water;
- Dry residue <50 mg / l water weakly mineralized, generally characterized (suite?).
The name can be linked to prevailing basic components:
- Bicarbonate water if the bicarbonate content is> 600 mg / l;
- Sulphated water if the sulfate content is> 200 mg / l;
- Chlorinated water if the chloride content is> 200 mg / l;
- Sulphurous water if it is rich in sulfur (only prescribed spa).
The name may also be related to the mineral content:
- Water "lime" (calcium> 150 mg / l);
- Water "magnesium" (magnesium content> 50 mg / l);
- Water "fluoridated" (fluorine content> 1 mg / l);
- Water "soda" (sodium> 200 mg / l);
- Water "suitable for low sodium diet" (sodium <20 mg / l). and its associations:
- Calcium sulphate water, calcium and magnesium sulphate.
What difference is there between flat water and sparkling water?
Still waters are mineral waters that do not contain carbon dioxide and sodium intake which is negligible.
The sparkling waters can contain carbon dioxide from natural gas or that are added during bottling.
Waters may be naturally carbonated sparkling when the source contains enough natural carbon dioxide to produce bubbles. The reference is then allowed "natural sparkling water."
The sparkling waters are also often by their regasified natural gas.
Sparkling water or carbonated water is flat which has undergone treatment by adding gas (usually carbon dioxide).
Some carbonated water can contain a lot of sodium chloride (700 mg or 1700 mg / l) and should not be consumed in case of hypertension, and cardiovascular disease among people who follow a low-salt diet. Affected by the salt-free diet salt is salt or sodium chloride. The cardiovascular system is very sensitive to the amount of sodium in the diet, it is prohibited or restricted in cardiac patients. The medical consensus in 2011 limit (ideally) to 6 g / day sodium intake in the population in order to reduce the incidence of hypertension.
All carbonated water are sodium bicarbonate type (except Perrier water is calcium bicarbonate).
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