Tēs Andriánas Ch. Kaliōra, Professor of Human Nutrition and Food
Water is the main component of the human body and is essential for life. It accounts for about 60 % of body weight in adult men, 50–55 % in women and up to 75 % in a newborn infant. All national dietary guidelines across European countries include recommendations for adequate water and fluid intake, set at 2–2.5 litres of water per day, with needs varying over the life‑course and between men and women.
Drinking water contains minerals, especially calcium and magnesium. Metal concentrations vary significantly depending on geography and water‑treatment processes. Drinking water that contains these minerals can contribute substantially to overall intake for certain populations or sub‑groups. Of these, calcium is absolutely essential for human health and inadequate intake can be detrimental. The calcium in our bodies, besides forming the structural framework of bones and teeth, serves as a signal for vital physiological processes, including vascular function, blood clotting, muscle contraction and nerve‑signal transmission. Insufficient intake has been linked to increased risks of osteoporosis, kidney stones, colorectal cancer, hypertension and stroke, coronary heart disease, insulin resistance and obesity. Food is the main source of calcium, with emphasis on dairy products, but also certain plant foods, including legumes and green leafy vegetables, which, however, have lower bioavailability compared with dairy. Nevertheless, available data show that, due to dietary habits, many people fail to achieve the recommended calcium intake from their diet. Drinking water can make a significant contribution to total intake of this micronutrient. ARRENA® SPRINGS water contains all the beneficial minerals for health – sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and chloride. Among others, its calcium content is such that a consumption of 2.5 L per day supplies over 10 % (in fact 13 %) of the recommended calcium intake for a healthy adult! (Magnesium, correspondingly, can cover 2 % of the recommended intake for a healthy adult).
ARRENA® SPRINGS water is soft water and displays alkalinity. It is known that dietary composition influences acid‑base balance. Foods rich in protein and saturated fats (such as meat, cheese, eggs) contribute to increased acidity, while fruit and vegetables increase alkalinity. Metabolic acidosis is an important risk factor for cardiometabolic disorders. Modern high‑protein, high‑fat diets induce a low‑grade metabolic acidosis, associated with the development of metabolic changes such as insulin resistance, type‑2 diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, bone disorders, low muscle mass and other complications. There is evidence that consumption of foods that raise pH is positively associated with anxiety and depression in severely affected patients!
ARRENA® SPRINGS water is low in sodium and can be incorporated into a sodium‑restricted diet. Although it is generally accepted that sodium is essential for human life, it has been estimated that a total daily intake of 120–400 mg will meet the daily needs of developing infants and young children, and 500 mg for adults. Sodium occurs naturally in all foods and can be added during processing. Fresh fruit and vegetables contain sodium at concentrations in the range <10–1000 mg/kg. Cheese can contain up to 10–20 g/kg. Excessive sodium intake is linked to hypertension, which in turn is linked to coronary heart disease. A striking observation is that, in “non‑Western” populations, diets are low in sodium, hypertension prevalence is very low and blood pressure does not rise with age. Sodium in drinking water makes a small but real contribution to total dietary sodium. The particularly low sodium content of ARRENA® SPRINGS water is certainly an advantage over other bottled products.
The conductivity of ArrenA® water is low. Conductivity is one of the indicators of water quality and, more specifically, a sign of pollution. The causes are waste and pollutants that enter water bodies, especially when the pollutants include ions such as carbonate or sulphate. Moreover, the nitrate levels in ArrenA® SPRINGS water are extremely low! In general, nitrate‑salt levels in our water resources have risen in many parts of the world, mainly due to the use of inorganic fertilisers and animal manure in agricultural areas. The regulatory limit for nitrate salts in public drinking‑water supplies was set to protect against infant methemoglobinaemia, but other health impacts have not been taken into account, such as the risk of certain forms of cancer, although some recent studies on cancer and related anomalies have identified sub‑populations that are susceptible to endogenous nitration. Nitrates and nitrite salts are present in fruit and vegetables, as well as preservatives in meat products, fish products and dairy. A 2017 report from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) approved an acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 3.7 mg kg⁻¹ body weight per day. However, the report also noted that individuals of all age groups can easily exceed this ADI. The contribution of ArrenA® SPRINGS water to nitrate intake is very low, considerably below the WHO‑permitted limit (<50 mg/L) and lower than comparable products!
