Importance of minerals in drinking water

- Hard water provides the amount of calcium and magnesium our body needs to promote bone consolidation, help muscles and the nervous system work properly, and prevent the risk of cardiovascular disease or osteoporosis. It also participates in the defence of the human body. « The mineral elements present in tap water, by participating in the daily mineral supply necessary for the proper functioning of the body, have a definite beneficial role for health. Calcium in water could also play a role in protecting against cardiovascular disease. The role of calcium in fat elimination and blood cholesterol regulation is also recognised » (source Ministry of Health France 2006).
- Natural waters contain mineral salts, mainly calcium and magnesium (+/- 80%). These minerals are bioavailable and therefore absorbable (intestinal absorption) by the body like foods containing minerals. Studies on the subject estimate this absorption rate between 5% and +/- 25%!
- The minerals contained in natural water therefore participate between 20% and 50% * in the Recommended Nutritional Intake (RNI) of calcium and magnesium for one person (for an adult M / F: calcium requirement +/- 900 mg / d, in magnesium +/- 400 mg / d)! (* depending on the mineral content of the water and the age of the persons concerned). Calcium and magnesium are therefore useful for health. Calcium contributes to bone health, has a beneficial role in hypertension, cardiovascular accidents, colon cancer. Magnesium is involved in the activation of more than 300 enzymatic systems, fights fatigue, diabetes and coronary insufficiency as well as osteoporosis … Knowing that the average population has an average calcium deficiency of +/- 40% ( average nutritional needs) and even 70% for magnesium, it seems us essential to drink water with a mineral content of around +/- 400 to 500 mg / L! Source: Study on the absorption of calcium and magnesium in natural mineral waters, Patrice Fardellone, CHU Amiens, Université Picardie Jules-Verne, 2015
- The WHO (World Health Organization) speaks of an “optimum below 1,000 mg / liter“.
- The Superior Council of Public Hygiene of France fixes in its decrees of 1990 and 1995 relating to the quality of water intended for human consumption the quantity of dry residues, after drying at 180 ° C, at maximum 1,500 mg / liter.
- It is also important to have calcium-magnesium (components of limescale) in the water because of the rounder and velvety taste of water containing mineral salts.