The table below of Top Ten bottled waters shows the lives that might be
saved if these brands switched to springs that are naturally rich in
magnesium, or if these brands fortified their water with magnesium. Please note that WHO, the World Health Organization, now recommends that all bottled water be labeled for Mg content.
BEVERAGE WORLD Top 10
Bottled Waters of 1999
RANK
BRAND
SALES
(millions)
MARKET
SHARE
ESTIMATED
GALLONS
(millions)
MAGNESIUM
mg/liter
COUNTRY OF
ORIGIN
ESTIMATED LIVES
SAVED PER YEAR
if water had
90 mg/liter
magnesium
1
Poland Spring
$406.2
8.2%
278.8
2
US
1242 Lives
2
Arrowhead
$315.0
6.4%
217.6
5
US
937 Lives
3
Aquafina
$285.0
5.8%
197.2
22
Canada
679 Lives
4
Sparkletts
$246.5
5.0%
170.0
5
US
731 Lives
5
Evian
$219.0
4.4%
149.6
24
France
500 Lives
6
Deer Park
$167.4
3.4%
115.6
1
US
521 Lives
8
Zephyrhills
$147.5
3.0%
102.0
7
US
428 Lives
9
Ozarka
$144.6
2.9%
98.6
1
US
444 Lives
10
Hinckley Springs*
$134.2
2.7%
91.8
?
US
?
TOP 10 BRANDS
$2,216.8
44.9%
1,526.6
Estimated
8.4 mg/L
80% US
Estimated
6,308 Lives
All Brands
$4,900.0
100.0%
3,400.0
Estimated
2.7 mg/L
Mostly US
Estimated
15,032 Lives
*Formerly known as Hinckley & Schmitt NOTE: Sales figures preliminary SOURCE: Beverage Marketing Corporation
Below is a list of the most common bottled waters from around the world so
you can see how the content of calcium, magnesium and sodium varies from
water to water. [An interesting new development is Diet Coke Plus, a water-based beverage
recently introduced by Coca Cola which has a magnesium content of 167 mg/L, a very significant amount.]
Source Book 1: The Pocket Guide to Bottled Water, Arthur von
Wiesenberger, 1991.
Source Book 2: The Good Water Guide, Maureen and Timothy Green,
1994.
* Lab report.
The numbers given are in milligrams per liter (same as parts per
million). Calcium and magnesium figures were rounded to the nearest
milligram. Ca:Mg ratio was calculated before rounding.
An optimal water would have at least 90 mg/L magnesium to make up the
shortfall between the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) and actual average
intake. For adult males, the RDI is 420 mg/day,
but their actual average intake is only 327 mg/day. This deficiency
causes up to 40% of heart disease in the U.S., and causes a lot of
asthma, migraine, and cramps.
And an optimal water would have less than 10 mg/L sodium because perhaps
10% of the population is
sodium-sensitive, and can get hypertension if too much
sodium is consumed.
Adobe Springs, Noah's, hiOsilver, and Vichy Novelle are
optimal.
Nearly all waters contain some magnesium. You can either say that water
that lacks magnesium is costing lives, or you can say that water that
contains magnesium is saving lives--opposite sides of the same coin. The
FDA has been petitioned to announce these benefits, and the justification
has been laid out in great detail in our file, "FDA Petition", which you
can jump to at petition .
If every brand of bottled water would switch to springs that are
naturally rich in magnesium (90 mg/L or more), about 15,000 lives per
annum could be saved in the US. Here's the formula that can be applied to
each company, if you know the number of gallons sold and the present Mg
content in mg/L:
GAL per YR
*
.003345
*
(90 - mg/L)
*
.248 = deaths per yr
182
90
The rationale and explanation for this formula is given at calcs
(For waters containing over 90 mg/L magnesium, use 89 mg/L in the
formula.).
For a more complete listing of 1257 brands of bottled waters, surf to
Peter M. Geiser's guide to mineral waters: Mineral Waters
of the World - Sorted by Magnesium (Mg++)
[For Netscape: On the page, Mineral Waters of the World, in
the column on the left, under Fact and Fiction, select "Minerals" and
enter. Select "Magnesium (Mg++) on the right and enter. Then select "Sort
mineral waters by magnesium" and enter.]
Peter's list shows that the international magnesium content of bottled
waters averages 45 mg/L, compared to less than 4 mg/L for the most common
US brands.
Are you a bottled water victim?
If you consumed Mg-deficient bottled water for years, and then suffered a
heart attack, atherosclerosis, hypertension, or stroke, you may be a victim
of the bottled water industry.
For details, and to possibly join a Class Action lawsuit against the
bottled water industry, click on LAWSUIT. FULL DISCLOSURE:
I operate the natural Adobe Springs, which
contain 110 mg/L magnesium. I sell the Adobe Springs' Mg-rich mineral water
only to bottlers, such as 7-Up, in 6000 gallon tank-truck loads. 7-Up
bottles it under their "Noah's California
Spring Water" label, and ships it to consumers all over the US by Fed
Ex Ground. Water from the Adobe Springs is also sold in health stores as
the "hiOsilver" brand. Over 74
million gallons per annum are still available to bottlers.
Healthy Water
Association--USA