Water

[Silent Answers]

I heard that the natural minerals in mineral water are inorganic (rock minerals) and are actually harmful to our bodies because we can't make use of them in that form and therefore just pass through us or in large quantities, collect in our organs to form things like kidney stones and other illnesses.

 

Also that the distilled water like you say, thunder, is dead in that it has no structure as would be provided through nature.

 

Again this is info I've heard/read I'm not saying it's 100% fact ... But I do find the taste a bit strange/flat

[silent thunder]

I heard that the natural minerals in mineral water are inorganic (rock minerals) and are actually harmful to our bodies because we can't make use of them in that form and therefore just pass through us or in large quantities, collect in our organs to form things like kidney stones and other illnesses.

 

Also that the distilled water like you say, thunder, is dead in that it has no structure as would be provided through nature.

 

Again this is info I've heard/read I'm not saying it's 100% fact ... But I do find the taste a bit strange/flat

I was taught this as well and that distilled water being devoid of minerals by the distilling process will bond with and carry these particular inorganic excess minerals away. I've heard it provides relief for arthritis.

[C T]

Thread revival with a question: Anyone tried Kangen water?

 

Originated from Japan and approved by the Japanese equivalent of the FDA, its making enough claims as a health rejuvenator for me to take notice. This is how they plug it in their website's introductory note:

 

What is Kangen Water®?

 

Kangen Water® is delicious water created from Enagic's innovative water technology. Not only do these devices filter your tap water, but they also produce ionized alkaline and acidic waters through electrolysis. These waters can be used for various purposes, including drinking, cooking, beauty, and cleaning.

 

Have been doing a bit of reading, both for and against, and am thinking of getting a system installed, so was wondering if anyone here have personal experience to share?

My main concern is that it appears to be an MLM business concept, so that immediately brought up some question marks, yet at the same time, reading testimonials and medical professionals' reviews warranted further consideration.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

[C T]

[Nungali]

 

 

So are you conscious about the water you drink? What's your favorite brand and why?

 

 

At home it comes from the river via Grander water filter, our one worked great... even a shower or bath in it had a different effect and feel.

 

My favourite is straight out of the Rocky River at my friends camp. It is full of dissolved gold ... one's urine starts to go a clear gold colour after 3 days of drinking it, (no, not that gold / yellow colour , it is distinctly different ) and then other effects kick in. It is safe, as the people there have been drinking it for 1000s of years.

 

A good watershed helps

 

[Gerard]

Metal the mother of Water. My favourite water is the one that runs amongst large rock boulders flowing directly from deep beneath the earth (spring), lots of minerals in it and the kidney will love them.

 

 

 

 

Back home I used to sip the water that was running down from some of those rocks, after a good rock-climbing session. An amazing Taoist sanctuary which is always in my heart.

 

The

(light rain, sound of the ocean and small creeks) while meditating is my favourite aid...and also small chirping birds.

 

 

[dust]

there's numerous water companies who deliver canisters of mountain spring water to your apartment.

 

Do you really think it's mountain spring water in those canisters?

 

I'm not saying it's not... just that..y'know.. it's China. Take any ingredients/origin labels with a grain of salt...

 

 

 

We're 65% water, so I can't disagree with its importance, but I think people get a little obsessive about the "quality" of the water they drink. H₂O is the important part.

 

In Beijing, I mostly drink soft drinks and coffee -- boiled tap water for the coffee, and never had a problem. If you eat in a restaurant, they're likely cooking with tap water and gutter oil, so being picky's not much of an option.

Edited October 3, 2014 by dustybeijing

[C T]

Do you really think it's mountain spring water in those canisters?

 

I'm not saying it's not... just that..y'know.. it's China. Take any ingredients/origin labels with a grain of salt...

 

 

 

We're 65% water, so I can't disagree with its importance, but I think people get a little obsessive about the "quality" of the water they drink. H₂O is the important part.

 

In Beijing, I mostly drink soft drinks and coffee -- boiled tap water for the coffee, and never had a problem. If you eat in a restaurant, they're likely cooking with tap water and gutter oil, so being picky's not much of an option.

Whats gutter oil, if you dont mind me asking? Never heard that term before.

 

Is it like old oil drained from fryers and then re-used?

[dust]

Is it like old oil drained from fryers and then re-used?

 

Yeah, but not just fryers. Lots of nasty places.

 

I don't know how common it really is, but chances are someone who lives in Beijing (or another large city) will have consumed it at some point. Can be quite toxic. I got very sick one night in 2012, ended up in hospital. Seemed like food poisoning, but I hadn't eaten any meat/eggs/etc that day -- in hindsight, I can only assume that it was gutter oil.

 

edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutter_oil

Edited October 3, 2014 by dustybeijing

[C T]

Yeah, but not just fryers. Lots of nasty places.

 

I don't know how common it really is, but chances are someone who lives in Beijing (or another large city) will have consumed it at some point. Can be quite toxic. I got very sick one night in 2012, ended up in hospital. Seemed like food poisoning, but I hadn't eaten any meat/eggs/etc that day -- in hindsight, I can only assume that it was gutter oil.

 

edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutter_oil

Hmm... the things people do for an extra few quid.

[i am]

You could be right that gutter oil made you sick, but meat/eggs aren't the only thing that will give you food poisoning. In fact I think a restaurant salad is more likely to get you sick than a steak, in the US anyways. The steak, at least, is cooked.

 

I heard about the gutter oil thing just a little before I went to China. Nasty...

[Ish]

 

 

 

Saw this a little while back... Pretty foul . They even filmed this lady & guy as they happily scoop the stuff out of the sewer.. no doubt knowing what it's going to be used for.

Edited October 3, 2014 by Ish

[dust]

I wish I hadn't watched that now

 

Linking back to the original topic: this is one of the reasons why I don't trust that bottled water is necessarily what it says on the label.. not that it's recycled sewer water or anything that bad, just that it seems unlikely that the millions of bottles of water sold every day in China all come from pure mountain springs...

[C T]

I wish I hadn't watched that now

 

Linking back to the original topic: this is one of the reasons why I don't trust that bottled water is necessarily what it says on the label.. not that it's recycled sewer water or anything that bad, just that it seems unlikely that the millions of bottles of water sold every day in China all come from pure mountain springs...

What about imported water? Are they readily available there (or at all)? Brands like Willow, Volvic, Evian, Vittel, etc.?

[dust]

On a related note, and again I haven't done research on this, I heard from a few friends that some bottled drinks, including water and Coke, are recycled bottles filled with an approximation of the original drink and with the cap fixed back on (which you can supposedly recognize as they melt the plastic back together).

 

Again, don't know how true this is. I started drinking a lot more 青岛 Qingdao when I heard about it... (can't fake that flavour!)

[dust]

What about imported water? Are they readily available there (or at all)? Brands like Willow, Volvic, Evian, Vittel, etc.?

Available, but not cheap, and not everywhere

 

 

edit: by "not cheap" I mean that on my average city salary I couldn't afford to be heading to a foreign food store or the Imports section of the local supermarket and stocking up on Evian every week! Though many foreigners make a lot more money than I did!

Edited October 4, 2014 by dustybeijing

[dust]

How easily could imported waters be "faked" in China? Or, other foods or goods that originate from...anywhere? Since there are so many "knock offs" already produced in China. Dustybeijing mentions the Coca Cola already being "faked."

 

I think imports are safe (assuming you trust the brand that's been imported!)

 

As far as pricier imported bottled waters, there isn't a big enough market to be worth it, and besides, the people who buy them are rich folk, including government officials. Nobody wants to mess with rich folk or government.

 

It's the commoners' drinks -- cheap bottled water and made-in-China coke etc -- that I'd suspect. But again, I don't know how common it really is. Always felt it was better not knowing! Can't worry about everything...

 

I came across fake Marlboro cigarettes, but they were easy to spot (apart from the horrible flavour) as they had Vietnamese written all over them...

[C T]

just discovered 2 good bottled water sites! Imagine, in Seoul they have a water bar stocking 80 different types of bottled water! I just popped an idea for a new business opportunity

 

http://finewaters.com/

 

http://www.aquamaestro.com/

Edited October 4, 2014 by C T

[silent thunder]

Funny...

Evian spelled backwards is naivE...

[zerostao]

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2012/06/18/are-the-people-of-evian-naive-enough-to-buy-evian-bottled-water-we-investigate/

 

the patagonia spring water sounds interesting. canada has some really nice waters too.

 

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/France/Rhone_Alpes/Evian_les_Bains-124500/Things_To_Do-Evian_les_Bains-TG-C-1.html

 

imagines that some rover--ing bums meet up gather round the free evian water dispenser do some qigong and then go hike the alps....

 

once long ago, i had a job in arkansas where i shot off dynamite placed underground to get seismic readings, i lost count of how many artesian wells i blasted into existence then.

im the type of bum who enjoys walking barefoot in the morning absorbing up the dew, call me naive i reckon

[C T]

Interesting finds! Let me know when you open that "water bar."

 

A crystal glass made especially for water connoisseurs?

 

One brand that I did not see on the aquamaestro site: the "cadillac" of American waters, Mountain Valley Spring Water. (From Arkansas.)

 

http://www.mountainvalleyspring.com

 

Have you ever had a glass of water with such purity that there simply was no taste to the water? MVSW is divine. Comes in green glass bottles. I think there is something to the tint of the bottles. Whenever I take out a bottle from the cupboard, it always feels a little cooler than everything else in the pantry.

yeah, im a sucker for good quality water...

 

The ones i favour are San Pellegrino and Willow, with Volvic for everyday drinking, simply because they are readily available. I dont quite fancy Evian for some reason. Choices are quite limited here, hence the idea to look into the prospects around starting a water bar. I think the timing may be good as the Irish are becoming more health-conscious and have certainly shown a willingness to pay a little more for quality consumables.

 

Willow, from the Lake District in England, is really nice... just feels right as it enters the body. Its the most expensive bottled water at the moment around these parts. Im a little surprised its not listed in the Finewater site.

 

http://www.willowwater.com/

Edited October 4, 2014 by C T

[Silent Answers]

I didn't know this thread had made a come back

 

I'm off to bed in a moment but to answer a few questions:

 

Gutter oil - yup that's what some place will serve you here... Most street BBQs will be using oil collected literally from the gutters of restaurants and then throw loads of spice over it to mask the flavour... And that's mostly rat meat that they say is lamb. Yummy!

 

As for the water canisters in China... I think there are a few companies that have bottled varieties in the shops... NongMin spring water should be ok... But their canister DOES differ from the smaller bottles - the PH was much more acidic in the canisters... But still leaning toward more to tw alkaline side (which is good).

 

Dusty, try get your hands on some KunLun Shan Shui 昆仑山。 This is hands down the best water I've ever had that is notably purer and sweeter than any other bottled water. Ph level is also near the top end of the scale...averagely an 8

Edited October 5, 2014 by Silent Answers

[dust]

And that's mostly rat meat that they say is lamb. Yummy!

 

The thing is...it IS yummy!

[i am]

Yeah I guess we just each need to decide where to draw the line.

 

Exactly! Even the stainless steel water bottles like kleen kanteen have plastic lids. But I guess it's the lighter, thinner, soft plastics which are the real problem. And usually the water isn't in contact with the lid. A fully glass travel mug with a metal lid would be best. I think they make those...

 

Last week I even bought a snapple, since it was in a glass bottle. Then I kept that bottle and refilled it with water the rest of the day.

[i am]

Kleen Kanteen is all metal interior, including the inside of the lid. No plastic on the inside.

 

Mine has an all plastic lid...

 

I'll check into those travel mugs..

 

 

Cool. Yep, I do the same when I see a drink in a glass bottle. Years ago, POM Tea used to be in these cool glass bottles. That could be saved as drinking glasses. Now they are off my drinking list, as they are in plastic bottles.

 

Yeah, one by one, it seems like all products are going for cheap and disposable. In some ways it makes perfect sense, in others it's really too bad.