We have all been where I am standing. 1 a.m., hovering over the kitchen sink in wild anticipation of some hydrating relief. I love my water because I know that herbicides, chemicals and byproducts are removed from it before it enters my body. I also prefer to avoid bottled water, and enjoy reverse osmosis water directly from my R.O. faucet at my kitchen sink.

FamousWater

That being said, I’ve recently seen images of athletes and celebs pedaling different brands of ‘enhanced water.’ Naturally, it got me wondering how exactly water is enhanced. What does enhancement actually mean? What exactly is being added to this bottled water that makes Tom Brady a better athlete, or Jennifer Aniston more desired?

WhatWater

After doing a little smartwater research on Glaceau’s site, I learned the following:
“smartwater is made using purified water, which the FDA defines as: ‘Water that is produced by distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis orother suitable processes and that meets the definition of ‘purified water’ in the U.S. Pharmacopeia, 23d Revision, Jan. 1, 1995.’ … Water is re-mineralized by the addition of the electrolytes calcium chloride, magnesium choride, and potassium bicarbonate.”

This re-mineralization process is what interests me. Knowing how important it is to me that the water I drink is filtered, I question the motivation in adding minerals. I learned that smartwater is re-mineralized with electrolytes calcium chloride, magnesium chloride and potassium bicarbonate.

While all these minerals are generally recognized as safe and only added to bottled water to affect taste, I still prefer good ole’ dumb water.