Advantages and disadvantages of bottled water

All human settlements have been close to water, which shows that this vital element is essential for the development of any society. We must thank God that the rain falls from the sky and is free for all, nevertheless, the water for human consumption is not.

We live in a time when bottled water is fashionable, because it is associated with healthy and natural life, and this has resulted in an explosive increase in the consumption of this water in our country, in all its formats. On the other hand, we have all the drinking water companies associated with a campaign for the consumption of "tap water", but are there really any differences? I will try to answer this question.

Bottled water is sold under 3 figures in our country: a) Mineral Water, which is the one that sprouts from the soil and does not come from water or rivers, and which is presumed to have beneficial properties for health due to its content in certain mineral salts. Here we have the two big brands that have been leading the market for many years and our chilliña Piri, among others. b) Purified water, which is tap water whose concentration of mineral salts has been adjusted to meet the manufacturer's parameters. Here we have several of the brands that have appeared in recent years. c) Flavored Water, which is any of the above but with a mild fruit flavor.

In the world, there have already been campaigns to let the population know that tap water is not significantly different from bottled water, and we witnessed our own campaign, but I want to present to my readers my vision as a food engineer and as a human being

The advantages of bottled water are the safety of its quality and its easy transportation, although this last advantage is really its packaging and not the water itself. I do not see advantages in health issues. The advantages of tap water are its low cost, which is approximately the same for all social strata, access in almost any urbanized place and its good quality in most of the country.

The disadvantages of bottled water are its high cost, between 1,000 and 10,000 times greater than tap water, the pollution associated with its consumption (disposable plastic bottles) and the consumption of energy and raw materials that it takes to produce it. On the other hand, the water diet benefits and disadvantages are that the supply is sometimes cut off and that it is also very rarely contaminated with soil, algae or other substances.

I met some French people who could not drink tap water because they got sick. It is quite true that tap water contains small amounts of microorganisms that have been killed by chlorination, although some may survive or be incorporated from the tap. These microorganisms are not present, neither alive nor dead, in bottled water, but this difference has two sides: although bottled water will not expose us to these microorganisms, it is also true that our organism can "get used" to several microorganisms in the environment so that they do not cause you harm. It is called the immune system and it defends us so that we are not forced to live in a bubble. The incidence of diseases due to water consumption in Chile is very rare because our immune system is used to our water and also to our air, our skin and our hair, common sources of many microorganisms, but I have seen people in Chile that have been manufactured a small bubble drinking only bottled water, disinfecting the air they breathe with lysoform, cleaning with alcohol the handles of the doors, tables and all surfaces before touching them, not looking at the face in a conversation so as not to receive the breath of the other person, etc. This behavior is called germanophobia and is considered an obsessive-compulsive disorder. but I have seen people in Chile who have made a small bubble drinking only bottled water, disinfecting the air they breathe with lysoform, cleaning with alcohol the handles of the doors, tables and all surfaces before touching them, not looking at the face in a conversation so as not to receive the breath of the other person, etc. This behavior is called germanophobia and is considered an obsessive-compulsive disorder. but I have seen people in Chile who have made a small bubble drinking only bottled water, disinfecting the air they breathe with lysoform, cleaning with alcohol the handles of the doors, tables and all surfaces before touching them, not looking at the face in a conversation so as not to receive the breath of the other person, etc. This behavior is called germanophobia and is considered an obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Several studies in the world indicate that excess hygiene is leading humans to weaken their immune system, which has already caused an uncontrollable global increase in allergies, and could continue with more complex diseases. The problem is that if we hide from our body the reality that we live in a world full of microorganisms, one day these will reach us and our body will not be ready to repel them. Nor can we think about ending all microorganisms, because several of them help us to biodegrade our garbage and waste, collaborate in the feeding of all living beings and are part of the ecosystem as a whole. In addition, although we wanted to eliminate them, they are extremely resistant, and every day they become more resistant to our antibiotics.

My opinion is that the human being managed to multiply and reach the 21st century without the need for bottled water, but the people who have always taken it become dependent on it. I prefer that my life depends less on technology and the market and no more, therefore, I will take water from the tap as long as possible.

But you can not ignore that there are areas in our country where the water of the key leaves much to be desired. We Southerners find the water of Santiago in bad taste, and even people from Santiago can find the water of the Atacama region in bad taste. There you need to improve the water quality of the tap.

In short, bottled water has no health benefit that does not also have tap water. Bottled water is thousands of times more expensive than tap water and also its process is polluting, consumes energy and produces non-biodegradable waste in the short term. If the consumption of bottled water in Chile is to be massified, we should prepare ourselves to effectively use the recycling bins for the bottles and rethink how we will approach the hygiene of our environment.

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