Sprinkle Drinking Water

[sugarhead]

Trying to find out which is the best choice for my family's drinking water supply in Bangkok. "Sprinkle" is marketing itself as healthy and safe (fine filtration, reverse osmosis, ozonated twice, UV treatment,...) but I'm not familiar with water quality standards. Any advise ?

[FBN]

Trying to find out which is the best choice for my family's drinking water supply in Bangkok. "Sprinkle" is marketing itself as healthy and safe (fine filtration, reverse osmosis, ozonated twice, UV treatment,...) but I'm not familiar with water quality standards. Any advise ?

No replies?

I have used Sprinkle for about 8 years now and never had any problems. Good and reliable delivery as well.

Large commercial companies usually use Ozone and/or UV treatment after the initial filtration process but I don't have any details about the processes Sprinkle uses.

[edwardandtubs]

I don't understand why anyone would choose filtered tap water (which is what all "drinking water" is) over mineral water. Better buy Minere or Carrefour mineral water.

[mauiguy90]

Trying to find out which is the best choice for my family's drinking water supply in Bangkok. "Sprinkle" is marketing itself as healthy and safe (fine filtration, reverse osmosis, ozonated twice, UV treatment,...) but I'm not familiar with water quality standards. Any advise ?

I've used many different types of water in the large 2 liter water heater/pot which I basically use for coffee. Over the years, I've found that most of the water(including Singh) I've used leaves a deposit (white dust like precipitate) at the bottom of the pot. Sprinkle is the only brand of water I've found that does not leave this precipitate. It tastes great, is delivered to my door and comes in economical 5 gallon bottles(50-60 baht). What more can u ask for?

[JAS21]

I don't understand why anyone would choose filtered tap water (which is what all "drinking water" is) over mineral water. Better buy Minere or Carrefour mineral water.

I think you are correct..you don't understand.

Be careful on your choice of filter..don't get one that softens the water. We have an amway one..it removes particles and the UV kills anything in the water.

Any idea where mineral water comes from?

[smilia]

Anything with osmosis filtering render the water of no value really.

Minerei, Volvoic and the newer Thai one Oi (sp?) all list the minderals they contain, such as magneesium, calcium etc, minerals your body needs and that would normally be found in most bottle watered overseas.

I worked with diving injuries before and this is when I learned about the problem that people even though they may have drank lots of water would still be dehydrated because the water they drank did not help with their electrolyte balance. I cant explain it medically but there is no minerals in the cheaper waters. I dont know about Sprinkle but please consider Mineral water as the best choice.

[MrSquigle]

Out of interest what is the cost of this 'mineral' water supposedly bottled at 'mineral' springs overseas and shipped into Los, surely it has to be expensive.

[edwardandtubs]

Natural mineral water is a greatly superior product to filtered tap water ("drinking water"), having undergone natural filtration, containing essential minerals and being bottled at source. Google "coca-cola water" to see what sort of crap gets sold as drinking water.

[live]

i buy Singha Drinking Water only and drink it only

[ZZZ]

Obviously "real" mineral water is better than distilled water as it contains more minerals. I guess most drinking water available in Thailand is somewhere in between the two.

My question is, does it really matter what you drink, under normal circumstances, with regard to the mineral content?

What I'm thinking is that the amount of minerals in mineral water must be minuscule in comparison to the amount of minerals in the food you eat. Will the kind of water really make a difference?

I realize that if you sweat a lot you need something extra but a bag of electrolytes will fix that problem

[ZZZ]

After writing previous entry I had a look at the mineral contents of the average mineral water.

As it turns out one apple contains many times more minerals than the amount of mineral water any person could possibly drink in one day!!!

To me this means that it does not really matter what water you drink as long as it is free of bacteria and other contaminants.

The nutritional value, of any water, is pretty much ZERO as far as I can see.

Have I missed anything here or is mineral water just a waste of money, as far as nutritional value goes??

Edited May 13, 2008 by ZZZ

[JAS21]

After writing previous entry I had a look at the mineral contents of the average mineral water.

As it turns out one apple contains many times more minerals than the amount of mineral water any person could possibly drink in one day!!!

To me this means that it does not really matter what water you drink as long as it is free of bacteria and other contaminants.

The nutritional value, of any water, is pretty much ZERO as far as I can see.

Have I missed anything here or is mineral water just a waste of money, as far as nutritional value goes??

You haven't missed anything....though I must admit that sometimes I like to drink a 'gassed water' when having a meal out.

[awakened]

Trying to find out which is the best choice for my family's drinking water supply in Bangkok. "Sprinkle" is marketing itself as healthy and safe (fine filtration, reverse osmosis, ozonated twice, UV treatment,...) but I'm not familiar with water quality standards. Any advise ?

If I recall correctly there was an article in the Bangkok Post about reverse osmosis machines being installed around Bangkok, last year. It was given the thumbs down due to leeching minerals from the body and calcium from the bones.

I purchased a home ozone machine (made in Thailand) a few weeks ago, to clean our drinking water and soon after noticed the hose was deteriorating (white particles floating on the surface and sticking to the side of the glass). It is supposed to be made from silicon NOT pvc. This is a worry. I wonder how many plastic particles I have ingested with my 'purified' water?

It would also be nice if I could find water that hasn't been contaminated with fluoride.

[awakened]

If I recall correctly there was an article in the Bangkok Post about reverse osmosis machines being installed around Bangkok, last year. It was given the thumbs down due to leeching minerals from the body and calcium from the bones.

Just tried a search of the archives but you need to be a member.

Another option which might find favour is to use distilled water, and remineralize by adding sea salt and baking soda. (Both cheap and easily sourced).

[ZZZ]

Trying to find out which is the best choice for my family's drinking water supply in Bangkok. "Sprinkle" is marketing itself as healthy and safe (fine filtration, reverse osmosis, ozonated twice, UV treatment,...) but I'm not familiar with water quality standards. Any advise ?

If I recall correctly there was an article in the Bangkok Post about reverse osmosis machines being installed around Bangkok, last year. It was given the thumbs down due to leeching minerals from the body and calcium from the bones.

I purchased a home ozone machine (made in Thailand) a few weeks ago, to clean our drinking water and soon after noticed the hose was deteriorating (white particles floating on the surface and sticking to the side of the glass). It is supposed to be made from silicon NOT pvc. This is a worry. I wonder how many plastic particles I have ingested with my 'purified' water?

It would also be nice if I could find water that hasn't been contaminated with fluoride.

A good RO system will remove fluoride and just about all other contaminants, an ozon system will only kill the bugs.

It's true that a RO system also will remove most beneficial minerals but on the other hand the amount of minerals we get from our drinking water is negliable compared to what we get from what we eat, an apple contains more minerals than about 100 liters of mineral water.

[awakened]

...the amount of minerals we get from our drinking water is negliable compared to what we get from what we eat, an apple contains more minerals than about 100 liters of mineral water.

Wow. Is this true? I could save myself a fortune not buying bottled water.

I did a search for 'an apple contains more minerals than about 100 liters of mineral water.' and various truncated versions and came up with nothing. Do you have a link?

It would be nice to find something that doesn't taste like recycled effluent.

[ZZZ]

I used http://www.mineralwaters.org/ to get the mineral contents in Minere mineral water in Thailand, listed as very good.

I used http://www.lenntech.com/fruit-vegetable-mineral-content.htm to get the mineral contents in an apple, assuming one apple is 100g.

Calcium: Minere 22mg/l, Apple 3000mg (same as 136 liters of water)

Magnesium: Minere 7.7mg/l, Apple 3000mg (same as 390 liters of water)

Potassium: Minere 1.61mg/l, Apple 129,000mg (same as 80,000 liters of water)

Figures vary from different sources but in any case I can not see that the mineral contents in the water you drink will have any kind of effect at all on your body, unless you don't eat anything.

Personally I use a RO system for my drinking water as it will remove just about anything, including fluoride (0.47mg/l in Minere)

Edited May 19, 2008 by ZZZ

[edwardandtubs]

I doubt there are 3000 mg of calcium in an apple. That's 4 times the RDA and apples are not commonly listed as a good source of calcium.

http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/healthydiet/nutr...nerals/calcium/

Edited May 19, 2008 by edwardandtubs

[awakened]

I used http://www.mineralwaters.org/ to get the mineral contents in Minere mineral water in Thailand, listed as very good.

I used http://www.lenntech.com/fruit-vegetable-mineral-content.htm to get the mineral contents in an apple, assuming one apple is 100g.

Calcium: Minere 22mg/l, Apple 3000mg (same as 136 liters of water)

Magnesium: Minere 7.7mg/l, Apple 3000mg (same as 390 liters of water)

Potassium: Minere 1.61mg/l, Apple 129,000mg (same as 80,000 liters of water)

Figures vary from different sources but in any case I can not see that the mineral contents in the water you drink will have any kind of effect at all on your body, unless you don't eat anything.

Personally I use a RO system for my drinking water as it will remove just about anything, including fluoride (0.47mg/l in Minere)

Thank you for clarifying that. I buy Aura '100% Natural Cold Spring Mineral Water'. I note on the bottle and this site

http://www.pmgeiser.ch/mineral/index.php?f...&parval=336 that it contains fluoride and chloride. My next task is to find out if this is naturally occuring or added.

I tested the PH it was 7.6-7.8

"Minerals in drinking water are more easily and better absorbed than minerals from food," according to Dr. John Sorenson, a leading authority on mineral metabolism. While a Dr. Yiamouyiannis says :- http://www.consumerhealth.org/articles/dis...=19990303222823

MINERALS IN WATER If you want to get minerals, you must get them in the proper balanced ratio. Calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and other minerals must be in a ratio that is acceptable to a living organism. Get your minerals from healthy living organisms like vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds, and if you are not a vegetarian, like meats, bones or bonemeal. Beet greens are at the top of the list as a mineral supplement. I don't recommend milk or dairy as a calcium source; cow's milk has a very different constitution than human milk.

DETOXIFICATION If you stop taking fluoride, your body will get rid of it eventually. The fluoride that gets stuck in your bones gets stuck there for life pretty much, but that is not necessarily bad. Where fluoride has adverse effects is in the soft tissues. If you take over 200 mg of vitamin C per day that is all you really need for removing fluoride. In three to six months you should have about 99% of it out which is good enough.

GOOD DIET, NOT FLUORIDE, IS NECESSARY FOR HEALTHY TEETH Many primitive societies whose drinking water contains negligible amounts of fluoride go through life without tooth decay because they eat very little sugar and other refined carbohydrates.

[ZZZ]

I doubt there are 3000 mg of calcium in an apple. That's 4 times the RDA and apples are not commonly listed as a good source of calcium.

http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/healthydiet/nutr...nerals/calcium/

You are correct.

I checked a few other sources of information and it turns out the first site I used had it wrong by a factor of about 1000

this is what it looks like from other sites:

Calcium: Minere 22mg/l, Apple 9.5mg

Magnesium: Minere 7.7mg/l, Apple 7mg

Potassium: Minere 1.61mg/l, Apple 158mg

Anyway, this is not really changing my thoughts regarding this as we are only looking at one apple compared to one liter of water. Add what you eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner and you will find that the amount of minerals you get from water is still very small in comparison. Additionally, it's very hard for your body to absorb any minerals at all from water as it lacks the necessary enzymes for this absorption to take place.

[guava]

I've been drinking Sprinkle water (delivered) for years, and consider it as good as any other local brand of bottled water, convenient, and better/cheaper/safer than trying to filter your own. I certainly don't see any need to drink mineral water. I'd happily drink tap water if it was safe here.

There's a very valid argument about the environmental costs of bottled water (both the plastic bottles/lids/labels etc, and the financial and environmental fuel/carbon costs used to transport it) and that applies much more to small bottles compared to large water cooler size bottles which are recycled and transported much more efficiently.

Importing bottled water from another country - that's just insane in my opinion, but each to their own.....

[edwardandtubs]

Additionally, it's very hard for your body to absorb any minerals at all from water as it lacks the necessary enzymes for this absorption to take place.

Scientific studies have come to exactly the opposite conclusion. It seems that minerals in mineral water are well absorbed by the body:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15365401

I agree though that what you eat is much more important but if it's a choice between a 13 baht bottle of RO water and a 14 baht bottle of mineral water I'll take the mineral water.

[jumnien]

My family drinks only rainwater as it falls.

[edwardandtubs]

Importing bottled water from another country - that's just insane in my opinion, but each to their own.....

There are some imported mineral waters in Thailand like Evian but most of the foreign brands like Minere are locally bottled.

Edited May 19, 2008 by edwardandtubs

[guava]

My family drinks only rainwater as it falls.

I have a mental picture of your family standing in the rain, mouths open to the heavens. Perhaps I'm taking you too literally

[Crushdepth]

Quality control is a big issue with bottled water. Ozone and UV treatment have to be done properly to be effective - ie. there needs to be enough ozone go through the water for long enough time to nock the bug count down. Same with UV - unless the exposure is high enough and long enough it is not effective. UV lamps commonly used for water treatment fade with time and need to be replaced on a scheduled basis to keep the dose up, but I can't see that happening in Thailand.

Regardless, even 'name' brand bottle water is often poor. At a former workplace we rejected a few boxes that were full of brown floaty stuff like algae, and I know of one other case where bottled water was found to be full of bits of spider.

[disgruntled]

Sorry to be a party pooper but drinking clean water isn't the best you can do. You could leave this polluted place and that would have a much better impact on your family's health. The air is loaded with pollutants here. You could say that your water will never be cleaner than the air you breath all the time. But it can make a slight difference I guess.

You could take in all the air a human breaths in one day then filter that through all the water you drink in a day. I wonder how clean that water would turn out. I know my idea is silly but the pollution out there is real. It's real.