Bottled water

[kc girl]

I have just found the best bottled water.

Other than mineral waters with real minerals in it, I often mused at the deluge of bottled waters with basically no technical use except maybe carrying to Mexico or hiking or little league games, etc. where water is basically scarce. Or flavored bottled waters. (Course Sparklettes home delivery is good, but their store bottled water does not have the same fresh flavor.

However, I bought SMART WATER by Glaceau and love it. First, it has ELECTROLYTES in it. That means better hydration when losing all your water and salt when sweating alot (Like in Gatorade - that was invented way back in 1968 by a doctor for the Florida pro football team). Then I read the label and laughed out loud.

"vapor distilled + electrolytes: side effects may include being callled nerd, dork, geek, dweeb, braniac, know-it-all, smarty pants, smart-aleck, bookworm, egghead, four-eyes, einstein, or being mistaken for the I.T. guy.

"may induce sudden and inexplicable aversion to all less intelligent forms of water. apply liberally and frequently to dry people."

Obviously makes for funny marketing, but this stuff has eletrolyes in it. And, I don't know of any others that do.

[Samo]

But how does it taste?

(I am partial to Fiji, though San Francisco tap water is awfully good.)

(I live in Los Angeles. The tap water is very unpleasant.)

[kc girl]

The plain water tastes really clean. And, the texture is softer and smooth. I guess that's from the electrolyte mixture. Not thick, just soft. I find Gatorade feels kind of thick and gets warm really fast. This doesn't. And, its not carbonated or anything. It has a distinct flavor, though. Very, very slightly. Just a freshness, not a flavoring.

I didn't know there were flavored kinds. I think I will seek them out since Gatorade is a little sweet for me.

[shoo-bee-doo]

I think it's great also. I buy it as a special treat or whenever I feel dehydrated.

Glaceau also put out some flavored "smart" waters like watermelon, honeydew melon, etc.

When I was going through 6 months of chemo last year, I'd buy a bunch of both the flavored and unflavored.
It did the trick.

[kc girl]

Good to know. Are they very sweet or just slightly flavored?

[sistert]

A little of both from what I can tell. Not sugary sweet but not like you poured a bunch of water in a glass that use to have orange juice in it either. I'm not a big straight water fan so the Fruit Waters (and the Vitamin Waters) work great for me.

[shoo-bee-doo]

There is no sugar nor artificial sweetener. The flavors are essences. It makes them very refreshing.

[joe]

if anyone is seeing this movie check out the first scene with the deer.

[Joe Moryl]

Maybe you really enjoy the flavor of this water.
But with all due respect, the stuff they claim about their water being a special kind of "electrolyte" is just marketing crap. "Vapor distilled" - yes, distilling involves turning water into vapor and condensing it. This is the stuff you can buy for your iron at $0.99 a gallon in any supermarket. Distilled water is very pure but tastes blah because of the lack of dissolved minerals. Now an electrolyte is just a chemical, that when added to water, dissociates into positive and negative ions. The most common example is table salt, sodium chloride, but there are thousands of examples, including the dissolved minerals that are in natural sources of water.

I've heard that sports drinks like Gatorade are not markedly more effective than plain water when it comes to rehydrating the athelete. In fact, I've heard that the sugar in these drinks actually inhibits water uptake in the gut. This reminds me of a pro soccer game I once saw where one of the teams was sponsored by Gatorade. The game was being played in scorching heat and the players were gulping liquids from squeeze bottles with a prominent "Gatorade" logo. In closeup shots it was obvious that this was a clear liquid; in fact some players poured it over their heads. Must have been Gatorade lite.....

Cheers,
Joe Moryl

[kc girl]

Yeah, you're probably right.
And, it does just have chemicals in it. Calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, and potassium bicarbonate.
And, I thought it woud replace the salt! I don't see the work sodium on their list. But, it does have that "softness" like a sodium bicarbonate would make it. Mmmmm.

[Joe Moryl (NY/NJ)]

The chemicals you mention simply add some of the same ions that exist in 'hard' water. When you see a pipe or teapot that has scale from hard water what you are looking at are slightly soluble minerals like calcium carbonate (in nature as limestone, chalk, oyster shells, etc.) and magnesium carbonate. So what they are doing is making artificial hard water. This may be their goal - my parents house has very hard water from a well and it tastes great!

Cheers,
Joe Moryl

[mojo jojo]

what types of chemicals are there in bottled water? I need to know for a science project so please answer soon!!!! Thank you very much

sincerely,
Mojo Jojo*