H20: What’s your flavour?

It’s the world’s most natural, healthy drink: good old-fashioned water, but now there are different takes on the humble H2O, all claiming to offer extra health-boosting benefits. From water laced with lemon or saturated with rock salt, to bottles enhanced with added essential minerals, we take a look at what is trendy in the world of water.

Spice up your water by adding fruit, herbs and berries. iStock

When it comes to getting your fix of H2O each day, what’s the first thing you do? Head to the kitchen sink, turn the tap on your bottled-water dispenser or purchase one of the multitude of watery offerings lining the supermarket shelves? These days we rarely drink water in its purest form straight from the source, so how do we really know if the liquid we are downing is any good for us?

Let us start with bottled water. In the UAE alone, it is big business. In 2013, the market was worth US$845 million (Dh3.1 billion) and is expected to break the $1 billion mark next year, according to Euromonitor International. New regulations that took effect last October now mean all bottled water sold here must carry the Emirates Quality Mark, which aims to improve water standards in terms of quality of production, processing, packaging and distribution.

“You have to be very careful as some brands of bottled water are simply purified tap water, whereby the purification process would have removed any beneficial minerals from the water,” says Dubai-based nutrition coach Suzanne Cork. “Always make sure your bottled water is labelled as ‘mineral water’ and, if possible, choose glass bottles. If there is no glass option available, opt for water that has been bottled in BPA-free PET plastic. Avoid BPA because it is a synthetic xenoestrogen which, studies have shown, exerts hormone-like properties that can lead to reproductive and fertility issues in men and women.”

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The trend for water with added vitamins may also not be as healthy as it seems. “Make sure you look at the label carefully first,” Cork cautions. “Some products are 99.5 per cent water, crystalline fructose, and sugar – that means only 0.5 per cent are the actual vitamins, and some of these are synthetically produced so the body cannot absorb them anyway. Don’t be fooled by thinking fructose is healthy either – crystalline fructose is an even more processed version of high-fructose corn syrup and should be avoided altogether.”

If you don’t like the taste of regular water, then it may be tempting to opt for a “healthy” fruit-flavoured water instead. But consumers, be warned. We should be aware of the hidden sugars in flavoured waters, which, according to a study by Action on Sugar last year, can contain more than 13.5 grams of sugar per portion. That’s more than half the World Health Organization’s recommended sugar intake of about 25 grams per person per day.

So what’s the best water you can choose? “The most healthy drink is artesian water, which is obtained directly from a well that taps an aquifer, which is basically an underground layer of rock containing water,” says Cork. “This means that bacteria, acid rain and other toxins are unable to contaminate the water, unlike spring water where the water is collected at the Earth’s surface and can be tainted with industrial and agriculture waste.”

What’s hot right now?

COCONUT WATER Madonna has ploughed US$1.5 million (Dh5.51m) into one brand and Rihanna has also put her face to the product. While people have been downing it in the tropics for centuries, the nutty liquid is now a $1 billion industry. Global demand for the water tapped from unripe young green coconuts, once discarded as waste, is now expected to reach about 350 million litres by 2020. The brand Vita Coco, which has a 40 per cent share of the United States' coconut-water market, cracks open a phenomenal 1.5 million coconuts a day. It is, of course, best drunk straight from the coconut, as certain packaged coconut waters may be heat-treated, which can kill some of the beneficial minerals.

The claim

• High in potassium and full of essential electrolytes, such as magnesium, phosphorus, sodium and calcium

• Rapid hydration

• Great natural isotonic drink post-exercise because it helps to reduce fatigue and stress, and helps maintain muscle relaxation

• Low-calorie, zero-fat

• Most brands say they have no added colourings, preservatives or flavourings

MAGNESIA WATER A brand of pure alkaline spring water sourced from the mineral-rich springs of the Karlovy Vary region in the Czech Republic. The water flows over rock that is rich in natural magnesium, an essential element in the creation of energy. So, can't we just pop a magnesium supplement instead? According to the water's producers, the amount of magnesium contained in natural sources such as fruit, vegetables and water is more easily and effectively absorbed than any taken in large doses from sources such as a tablet. The manufacturers even have a brand, Magnesia Woman, aimed largely at pregnant women.

The claim

• 1.5 litres of Magnesia water contains just over half of your daily magnesium requirement.

• Free of fluoride and any other additives, low in sodium

• Magnesium is said to have a range of benefits, including lubricating and strengthening joints, strengthening the immune system, maintaining elasticity of the skin, detoxification and helping to prevent premature birth and damage to the foetus when taken regularly during pregnancy

HOT WATER AND LEMON Downing a cup of hot water and lemon first thing every morning has become a popular trend in ­recent years. Simply warm the water and allow it to cool to a drinkable temperature before squeezing in the juice of a fresh whole lemon. This watery combination is said to combine the potent vitamin C and antioxidising qualities of lemons with the digestion-improving ability of hot water.

The claim

• Aids detoxification. Lemons can help to balance the body’s pH levels. The combination of hot water and lemon is said to wake up your liver and helps to flush out toxins

• Stimulates digestion, improving your body’s ability to absorb nutrients

• Can aid weight loss – lemon juice contains the soluble fibre pectin, which has been known to help curb your appetite and keep you regular

• Can ease bloating – the hot water cleanses your digestive system while the flavonoids from the lemon can help to reduce acidity in your stomach

SOLE WATER Sole (pronounced 'solay') is water that has been fully saturated with a natural salt, such as Himalayan rock salt. While we've been warned that too much salt can be harmful, this highly concentrated salt solution is said to have a wide range of health benefits and has been used as a natural remedy in some countries for centuries. It is not just a sprinkle of salt dissolved in water, but rather water that has soaked up as much natural salt as possible. Any old table salt won't do – it must be natural salt, which contains 84 minerals and is very nourishing for the body.

The claim

• Helps to rehydrate and detoxify by removing bad bacteria from the body

• Boosts energy, helps to reduce blood pressure

• Improves digestion by promoting food absorption and regularity

• Can help to stabilise blood sugar levels

• Can act as a natural antihistamine