Health: This is what happens when you drink tap waterWater is a must – but how much do you need to drink a day?? The question can now be answered: What matters, how much is enough and how we really drink healthy.
H 2O is hip, of all things. Water, the basis of all life, has become a lifestyle product in recent years. The reason: More and more people are attaching importance to a healthy lifestyle, and drinking water is considered healthy. Some people even pay as much for an elaborately designed bottle of water as they would for a visit to a restaurant. Not all water is the same: taste and quality vary depending on origin and treatment.
Much wave for nothing or does water actually contribute to our "wellness"?? If so, how does it work, and what is "good water" actually? And what role tap water plays: Good for your health and your palate?
Fluid balance: This is how much the body really needs
First of all, clearly, the human organism needs fluids to function. Water accounts for up to 70 percent of the body, depending on age and gender. Water dissolves nutrients from food. Transports it to the cells. It helps us regulate body temperature through perspiration and eliminate metabolic waste products through urine.
Drinking water is important. How much we should drink a day depends on age, physical activity or diet
When the body doesn't get enough water, it tells you. Then we are thirsty. To keep our fluid balance in equilibrium, we need to drink about 1.5 liters of water a day, according to the German Society for Nutrition e. V. More if it's particularly hot or you've been exercising; less, if necessary, if you take in a lot of fluid in other ways, for example via fruit or soups.
If we do not drink enough, water is extracted from our ties and blood. The consequences can be fatigue, headaches and a decline in concentration and performance. Without food, we can survive for a few weeks; without water, we can survive for just two to four days.
Quality check: this is how clean drinking water should be
So adequate water consumption is essential for our well-being. But what actually makes good water? The German-Swiss company Hytecon specializes in products that enable private households to treat water themselves to the highest quality standards. Four years of Hypro Water develops. The device uses ultraviolet light, "the latest UVC LEDs," explains Jorn Lohmann, managing director of Hytecon: "This makes it possible to safely eliminate all viruses and bacteria that may be present in the water – within seconds." This is not the case with conventional water purifiers, says Lohmann. The technology is safe and also sustainable "because our LEDs don't use toxic mercury," Lohmann says.
Our technology makes it possible to safely eliminate all viruses and bacteria that may be present in the water
So the most important criterion for good water is cleanliness. This applies to tap-. Mineral Water. There are strict regulations for both products in Germany. The guidelines for the quality of drinking water from the tap are described in the Drinking Water Ordinance of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG).
Drinking water regulations: Not up to date
According to BMG, drinking water that comes from "reportable German supply systems" is of very good quality. However, there is a catch, or rather two: The parameters used for quality control of drinking water were last defined in 1998. Much has changed since then. For example, industry is developing new pesticides for agriculture faster than the legislature can include them in the drinking water ordinance. These chemicals can get into the groundwater.
Makes water from the tap even safer: Hytecon's Hypro Water combines advanced technologies and sustainability for better water quality at home
For example, the chemical and textile industries use a variety of potentially carcinogenic contaminants that are very persistent and difficult to remove from water. Washing clothes made of synthetic fibers also introduces microplastic particles into the water cycle, which are not filtered out by water treatment plants.
So there's no guarantee that the tap water that arrives at a building's transfer point from the utility is really safe to drink. The second problem can occur in the building itself: Water that sits in pipes for too long can become germy again.
Water from the tap: gently treated, good for the palate
The Hypro Water from Hytecon Combines UVC LED radiation and activated carbon filtration to rid tap water of pollutants. Whether pesticides or drug residues, heavy metals or microplastics, bacteria or viruses – technology separates out everything that does not belong in drinking water.
The installed LEDs emit short-wave light of 260 to 275 nanometers into the water. This UV radiation is highly energetic and damages the genetic material of bacteria and viruses so that they can no longer multiply.
A major advantage over chemical processes, as Hytecon's head of development Nikolas Sandmann explains: "Chemical disinfection of water, for example with chlorine, has the effect of negatively affecting both odor and taste. Also, harmful degradation products can be produced that are difficult to remove from the water."In Hypro Water, approximately 99.99 percent of all pathogens are rendered harmless – this is the highest industrial standard in domestic kitchens.
The technology has another positive effect on our tap water: it significantly improves the smell and taste, making it a perfect complement to all water sparklers. This is due to the filter, which breaks down chlorine, among other things. The palate can also benefit from this.
The UVC LEDs are supplemented by a chemical-free filter made from activated carbon, which is derived from plant materials such as coconut shells. Sandmann: "Unlike most conventional filters, the Hypro Water Certified to reliably filter additional substances such as medications, hormones, and pesticides from the water."UVC and activated carbon together produce water of professional quality, so to speak – "like a small waterworks for your home," says Dr. Nikolas Sandmann.
In contrast to tap water, mineral water is hardly treated at all. The raw water must come from protected sources. The quality of mineral water in the Mineral-. Table water prescription regulated. The states that it should be "protected from impurities" and "of original purity", without defining exact criteria.
Piped versus bottled: What makes climate-friendly water?
From a health point of view, both tap water and mineral water can generally be drunk without hesitation. A bigger difference is the consumption decision for the wallet. This is how water from the tap costs 0.2 cents per liter in Germany. The cheapest discounter mineral water is 13 cents per liter. So for one euro you get 500 liters of tap water. A maximum of just under eight liters of mineral water.
Tap water is not only many times less expensive than bottled water, it is also much more sustainable. One example: in Berlin alone, mineral water consumption causes 105.000 tons of CO2, according to figures from the consumer center. The emissions are mainly caused by transport, but also by the packaging and extraction of the water. If, on the other hand, only tap water were drunk in the capital as a regional resource, consumption would drop to 175 metric tons. To save this much CO2, an area five times the size of Berlin's Tiergarten would have to be planted with trees.
Our own health, global climate trends, our bank balance – how and what kind of water we drink has a surprising number of implications. H2O is hip, for good reason.