Sometime BC (before children), my husband and I drove across the mountain to a larger city.  I needed to stop, so he pulled into a convenience store.  When I got back into the car, I said to Joe, “You’re not going to believe what I just saw!  There was bottled water FOR SALE!  Can you believe someone would buy water when it’s FREE?”  That seems decades ago…well it was decades ago; my how things have changed.

The United States has some of the safest water in the world.  Treatment centers test the water prior to allowing it into the public for consumption, yet the population at large purchases bottled water.  Other countries in the world are certainly not as fortunate to experience clean water, but we can actually drink ours from our kitchen or bathroom sink.

According to the Beverage Marketing Corporation, in 2014, the U.S. bottled water market neared 11 million gallons and Americans consumed 34 gallons of water per person.  By the end of the decade, bottle water is expected to be the largest beverage category by volume in the United States.  Water is free from calories, artificial ingredients, and our body needs this important substance for health.  Are you wondering why I’m discussing water yet?  What most people don’t realize is all water is not equal.

Dasani and Aquafina are manufactured by Coke and Pepsi, respectfully. Both have a pH under the optimal standards of 6.5 – 8.5.  We want to be as close to a pH of 7.0 as possible.  When the pH falls below 6.5, there is an acidic attack going on in our mouth.  This attack disrupts enamel and root surfaces raising the incidence for cavities and gingivitis.  Soft drinks have a pH range from 2.38 to 4.75.

Below is a table that lists the pH of some of more popular waters sold:

           BRAND                                pH

• Vitamin water 3.4

• Propel Zero 3.5

• Aquafina 4.0

• Dasani 4.5

• Perrier 5.5

• Poland Spring 5.8

• Crystal Geyser 6.0

• Deer Park 6.3

• Smart Water 6.5

• Great Value Walmart 6.5

• Arrowhead 6.8

• Evian 7.0

• Fiji 7.5

As we get older, our mouth becomes drier.  The tendency is to drink water to “wet our whistle.”  Medications can make the mouth very dry as does smoking.  When the mouth is dry, bacteria stick to the teeth.  Many people will drink water to help the dryness, but what choice we make can be a difference in our health.  To fight off disease, our bodies need to remain more alkaline.  The typical American diet sets us up for an acidic body, and then we drink some acidic bottled water.  The body is then ripe for disease to take place.  If bottle water is what you do, then here a few tips to bring it back to basic.  Place a half teaspoon of baking soda in the water or squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the bottle.  Both will raise the pH to be more basic and healthy place. The best choice, in my opinion, it to purchase a good-quality, stainless steel or glass water bottle and fill it from either the sink or filtered refrigerated water.  Water used to be free, but we have turned the corner here in American, making water one of the best selling beverages.  No wonder Coke and Pepsi wanted in on this market.

Heath bite:  Not all bottled water is equal.