Mineral Water: Complete Guide (Updated 2024)

In this article, we reveal everything you need to know about mineral water, including the reasons why it is good for you, the top mineral water brands, and how to add minerals to your water at home. Let's dive in!

Introduction

Slowly but surely the world is waking up to the fact that just because water is deemed “pure” doesn’t automatically mean that it’s good for you. 

Often, the process of purifying  water involves stripping it of essential minerals that the human body not only craves, but needs. The good news? We can put these minerals back fairly easily using a number of convenient methods. Read on!

In this article we discuss the following:

• What is Mineral Water?
• Mineral Water Benefits 
• Is Mineral Water Good for You?
• Mineral Water vs Normal Water
• Mineral Water vs Spring Water
• Mineral Water Side Effects
• The Best Way to Incorporate Mineral Water Into Daily Life
• Sparkling Mineral Water
• Mineral Water Brands
• Topo Chico Mineral Water
• San Pellegrino Mineral Water
• Perrier Mineral Water
• Badoit Water
• Best Mineral Water
• Adding Minerals to Water
• Importance of Remineralizing Water
• Important Minerals to Add to Water
• How to Add Minerals to Water
• Mineral Drops
• Trace Minerals 
• Dr Berg Trace Minerals 
• Himalayan Salt
• Mineral Filters
• Alkaline Water Bottles and Pitchers
• Copper Water Bottles and Pitchers
• Activated Charcoal 
• Green Powders
• Mineral Stones 
• Maifan Stones
• How To Use Maifan Stones
• How To Clean Maifan Stones

What is Mineral Water?

Simply put, mineral water is water that is rich in naturally occurring chemical compounds that have nutrient value when absorbed by any living entity. Usually, this water is derived from a natural spring and has absorbed minerals due to frequent contact with rocks that offer various minerals, salts and sulfur compounds. 

The most common minerals found in natural water are magnesium, calcium, sodium, and zinc. Studies have shown that consuming these minerals through one’s daily water intake is a relatively sound way of boosting the mineral levels of the body. We need all of these minerals to survive, and it is of great benefit to be able to get them directly from our drinking water, as opposed to having to take supplements.

So, what qualifies as mineral water? According to the FDA standard, for water to qualify as “mineral water” it needs to contain a minimum of 250 parts per million of ‘total dissolved solids’ that originated from a geological, physically protected source of water located underground. Since the FDA regulates all water that is bottled and sold, they have set the bar for mineral water retailers in the west. 

Mineral Water Benefits

It’s easy to understand the magnitude of the benefits of mineral water when one considers the fact that it contains most if not all of the minerals that the human body needs, but can’t make itself. In other words, without an external, frequent source of calcium, magnesium, zinc etc, our immune systems would be at risk. 

When asked what they feel is the biggest benefit of drinking mineral water, most individuals confidently state that it is peace of mind. Knowing the mineral content of your body at any given time is near impossible. You’re either deficient, or sufficient; the latter being the more preferable state. Making an effort to replace all water intake with a mineral water source means that you’re likely to be in a state of sufficiency more often than not, which brings peace to the mind. 

One can go years being deficient in certain minerals before that deficiency begins to physically manifest itself as health problems. This can also be a double-edged sword, as certain illnesses and diseases can actually cause or contribute to mineral deficiency when left untreated. It all comes down to being in tune with your body and what it needs, and accepting that said needs may be very different compared to that of the person sitting next to you. 

Is Mineral Water Good for You?

In short, mineral water may be the only water that is genuinely good for you. For many this can be a tough pill to swallow, especially since so much time and money is put into getting us to consume “affordable” and supposedly “purified water” in bulk. 

Look at mineral water as a supplement alternative that also hydrates your body in all the necessary ways. Since you’re hydrating daily anyway (we hope!), you may as well be doing so with mineral rich H2O that can provide long term benefits to your overall health. 

Bone and digestive health have been closely linked to mineral water since it first became a subject of interest. Mineral water has proved to be a better source of calcium rich compounds than any other food-source, and certainly far greater than any animal-derived calcium. Further studies have linked mineral water with the ability to lower blood pressure, as well as promote health of the heart and surrounding cavities. Magnesium takes the credit for this, as it is an essential mineral for promoting sustainably clean blood. 

Mineral Water vs Normal Water

Make no mistake, regular tap water that is pumped through cities and towns also has a mineral content of sorts. The source of tap water depends largely on where it is located, and most tap water is derived from dams, lakes and rivers. 

While these sources might be geologically and physically protected in accordance with FDA standards, they do not qualify as “water located underground”, and therefore cannot be deemed to be ‘mineral water’. The mineral compounds are also rarely or never above that of 250 parts per million, which is the minimum as per the aforementioned requirements. 

Because water from these open aired sources is being pumped into the homes of millions of people, their quality has to be strictly regulated and treated. Normal water is put through a meticulous system of filtration and disinfection in order to ensure that no parasites, bacteria or viruses have any chance of survival. The disinfection process involves adding different types of chlorine or chloramine to the water in order to kill off any such things. 

At this point, normal water becomes void of any real nutritional benefits, as even the trace amounts of existing minerals are overshadowed by the acidity of the chlorine. Once this water enters the body, our systems receive little to no mineral benefit and a lot of harmful fluoride and chlorine. 

Mineral Water vs Spring Water

Mineral water and spring water are really one and the same thing. The source of origin of all mineral water is an underground spring that is considered geologically and physically protected. 

At the source, this water is already rich in minerals which it has absorbed from  the Earth. The mineral content of the water depends largely on where the spring is located. Some water may be higher in sodium, for example, while another source might be richer in magnesium. 

All spring water that is bottled and sold as mineral water is first treated for potentially toxic substances like arsenic. This is a global standard for the bottling and reselling of spring waters, due to mass contamination that has affected communities in the past. 

Mineral Water Side Effects

There has been little need for deeper research into the negative side effects associated with drinking mineral water. This is because the benefits tend to outweigh even the most evident disturbances that can occur in the body. 

Certain mineral waters can be higher in sodium content than others. Individuals who suffer from high blood pressure are advised to consume water that is low in sodium. Bottled water will usually state the sodium levels somewhere on the packaging. However, by simply seeking out mineral water with a low sodium content, you can hydrate with water that can actually work to lower your blood pressure, which is a great outcome. 

Carbonated mineral water is high in carbonic acid, which can bring on hiccups as well as bloating. This is a common side effect with most carbonated beverages and is generally not considered negative per se. And, in any event, you can avoid this problem by seeking out mineral water that is not carbonated.

The true threat of carbonated mineral water lies in its ability to fool the body into feeling ‘full’, despite having only consumed a fraction of one’s daily dose of food and water. Some people end up dehydrating themselves because it is difficult to drink large amounts of carbonated water and because it can leave you with the illusion of feeling as though your thirst has been quenched when it really has not. 

The Best Way to Incorporate Mineral Water Into Your Daily Life

While mineral water may be the superior choice when it comes to daily consumption, purchasing bottled mineral water does more harm to the environment than consuming normal water. It’s great that there are businesses out there who are making quality, mineral rich water accessible to the masses, but there appears to be little to no consideration for the planet in the process. 

Big brand mineral water is usually treated and bottled at the source. This involves an incomprehensible amount of single-use plastic and packaging that can facilitate the easy distribution of the water around the world. 

The plastic epidemic is something that should be of much greater concern to all those who call the Earth home. Another significant concern is the way that plastic can over time leach contaminant chemicals into the water contained in it, which can then have negative health impacts on those who drink it.

Plastic contains a harmful chemical known as BPA. When leached into water and consumed by humans, the BPA mimics estrogen and wrecks havoc on the body — especially in women. It is therefore worthwhile to ask whether drinking bottled mineral water is worth it, given that you are potentially putting yourself at risk of cell mutation and hormonal dysfunction over the long term.

So, what is the solution to this problem? The answer is simple: invest in a quality, reusable water bottle.Using a reusable water bottle means you’ll be able to resort to drinking normal water that has been filtered but then enhanced with Earth-derived minerals through a variety of fascinating methods that we will discuss later on — stay with us!

Sparkling Mineral Water

Sparkling mineral water, or carbonated mineral water, differs from the sparkling waters and club sodas you’re likely already familiar with. 

Sparkling mineral water is naturally carbonated from the spring it came from; one can observe the carbon dioxide gas bubbling up throughout the water source before it is touched by human hands. Regular, store-bought sparkling water is water that is carbonated by adding carbon dioxide to it in its still state. 

Unlike regular sparkling water, sparkling mineral water contains all of the beneficial minerals one gains from drinking spring water. This makes it the superior choice when deciding between both types of sparkling H2O. 

Sparkling mineral water usually has a more appealing flavor when compared to regular carbonated water. The minerals give it a more balanced body, making the bubbles less aggressive when they hit the palate and nose. One could say that sparkling mineral water is slightly ‘softer’ than water that has been artificially carbonated. 

Mineral Water Brands

The FDA’s regulation of mineral water works to make it nearly impossible for manufacturers to sell regular water with a mineral label. Brands now need to declare the mineral contents clearly on their packaging, and adhere to the minimum of 250 parts per million standard of total dissolved solids at the time of extraction. 

Some brands opt to further enrich their product with additional minerals prior to bottling and selling. This brings their mineral counts up, making their water more nutrient rich and therefore more desirable to consumers. In this section, we reveal the top mineral water brands.

Topo Chico Mineral Water

Topo Chico is a naturally carbonated water that comes from a spring in Monterrey, Mexico. The spring is called Cerro del Topo Chico, and has been used as a source of mineral water since 1895. 

The purification process of the Topo Chico water does cause the water to lose a bit of its natural carbonation. For this reason, some carbon dioxide is added post purification to restore the balance of the ‘fizz’. In spite of this, Topo Chico mineral water is known for being one of the most gentle sparkling waters on the market, and nowhere near as fizzy as its counterparts. 

Religious drinkers of Topo Chico mineral water report that this particular sparkling water is also significantly less salty than most carbonated mineral waters. 

Legend has it that the Topo Chico mineral water was found when an ancient Aztec princess was ill and in dire need of healing. The priests within the kingdom lead her to a far away northern land, where the Cerro del Topo Chico spring was hidden. 

After spending some time drinking and bathing in the mineral dense water, the princess was apparently cured of her disease entirely, and word of the healing properties of this water was passed down from generation to generation. 

San Pellegrino Mineral Water

If there’s one thing the Italians value, it’s quality food and drink, including quality drinking water. The natural terrain of Italy is abundant in underground springs that offer mineral rich H2O to all who can reach it. 

San Pellegrino is one of the most recognizable brands of bottled mineral water around the world. Its attractive flavor has made it a much loved brand of naturally sparkling water, leading to exports from Italy to the furthest corners of the globe. 

San Pellegrino is sourced at the San Pellegrino Terme, which is in Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy. This water starts its life at the top of the Dolomite Mountains, and it flows over rocks and valleys for 30 years before finally settling in the catchment area. 

The bottling plant currently facilitates 50,000 bottles of San Pellegrino water per day. Up until the early 1900s, San Pellegrino was actually a still water brand. Carbon dioxide was added to the spring by the plant, as they found it caused the water to better retain minerals during the distribution process. 

San Pellegrino contains 459 milligrams of sulfates per liter, making it one of the top mineral waters consumed by biohackers. Biohackers are individuals who make frequent, incremental changes to their diets and lifestyles with the goal of obtaining better health and well-being.

Perrier Mineral Water

The only country to take water more seriously than Italy is France. France has received global admiration for their advanced water filtration systems that deliver purified drinking water for public consumption in city centers. The French take water very seriously. 

Perrier is up there in recognizability with San Pellegrino, particularly in the Americas and Canada. At present, it is enjoyed in 140 countries, over 5 continents. Perrier is bottled at a spring in the South of France, in a place called Vergèze. 

The natural sweetness of this water makes it easy to drink by the gallon, in spite of its carbonated texture. This mineral water is carbonated prior to collection, and is not naturally this way. This brand also found that carbonating the water worked to better retain the minerals during the storage and distribution process. 

Perrier has been praised for incorporating glass bottles into some of their manufacturing processes. Interestingly, Perrier purchased in Europe is likely to be contained in glass, while Perrier purchased in the USA is more likely to be contained in plastic; this speaks volumes about the ethical and health preferences of the consumers in question. 

Badoit Water

In France, Badoit is a much loved, highly sought after mineral water. It comes from the Saint Galmier region, and is bottled at the source of the spring. It is a unique water with a very refreshing body; some say that drinking it “feels like health”. 

Badoit only bottles 69 million gallons of water per year, which makes this a rare product. Badoit used to be managed by the Evian group, but it was passed over to Danone in recent years. 

In 2019, citizens of the United Kingdom noticed an increasing shortage of Badoit mineral water on their shelves. It was later announced by Danone that the brand would no longer be exporting the water into the UK. The ever increasing demand for the product in this region was not something that the natural spring could facilitate, and Danone wanted to honor the capabilities of the source and not exploit it. There have been significant droughts in the Saint Galmier area over the past few years, putting immense strain on the spring.

Best Mineral Water

If you have to look critically at bottled mineral waters around the world, it becomes very difficult to identify a single one as superior to all others. 

One mineral water may benefit you more than another, simply because your blood pressure is higher than that of the average person. Likewise, one particular mineral water may be best for you as it falls within your personal budget. There are a lot of factors that come into play. 

From the perspective of the average person, we love everything about Fiji mineral water. This nutrient dense mountain water was found on the Fiji Islands in the South Pacific, at the Yagara Valley on Viti Levu Island. 

Fiji is unique as it is not just a mineral water, but also an artisanal water. This means that it was formed in an aquifer, which is an underground pressure chamber enclosed by layers of volcanic rock. This is arguably the most untouched water on the planet, right up until you crack the cap open to take a sip. 

Fiji water is exceptionally smooth thanks to a significant presence of silica in the mineral compound. We also like that the water is bottled in recyclable, BPA free plastic bottles, posing far less risk to the health of the consumer. That said, it is still better for the environment to switch to using a reusable water bottle and fill it with your own homemade mineral water. More on that below!

Adding Minerals to Water

We maintain our firm stance on reusable water bottles being the smarter, more environmentally conscious choice as opposed to using single-use bottles every time one needs to hydrate. 

But, how exactly do you go about adding the necessary minerals into regular water so that one can reap the benefits of mineral water during daily consumption? Luckily, it’s a lot easier than it sounds. 

Remineralizing water can be achieved through a number of methods, and health-conscious companies are uncovering more as research continues. The following are the methods that best help achieve the goal of bringing the quality and mineral content of regular water up to the industry standard levels of commercially marketed mineral water. 

Importance of Remineralizing Water

Firstly, one needs to consider why one should even bother going through the effort of remineralizing drinking water. After all, this is not something that is simply done once and for all; it’s usually a repeated practice that needs to be adhered to for every glass of water that flows down your throat — it requires dedication!

Take a minute to consider, instead, how much dedication and effort, not to mention money, is required to react to the onset of illness and disease in the body. Viewed from this perspective, it makes sense to dedicate yourself to a health regimen that helps avoid the necessity to deal with health problems later in life. 

The fact remains that, as humans, we are incapable of producing certain basic minerals of our own to keep our bodies in tip top shape. One way or another, these minerals have to come from an external source of some kind, and if we don’t want to put our health at risk and end up taking 20 supplement tables per day later in life, we should do what we can to ensure that our bodies are consistently receiving these minerals throughout lives. We can do this by simply remineralizing our water — starting now. 

Important Minerals to Add to Water

According to the World Health Organization, there are 11 essential minerals that humans need to consume every day. They are: iron, zinc, copper, iodine, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, fluoride, sodium, potassium and chloride. 

Getting any or all of these from one’s drinking water can be seen as a small daily victory. However, not all of these minerals are as easily accessible as the rest, and most spring-sourced mineral waters contain a compound of calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, bicarbonate, iron and zinc. Phosphorus, fluoride, copper, iodine and chloride aren’t as commonly occurring, although trace amounts are expected. 

Interestingly, each of these different minerals is used to carry out different functions within the body. The body needs zinc, for example, to be present in each and every cell of the body as a means of combating viruses and diseases. Similarly, the body uses a healthy dose of potassium to ensure that all nerve endings are able to fire properly. 

There is no way to avoid the fact that minerals are what make our internal worlds go around. Those of us who have not been getting them from our water have likely been getting them from our food, but this route is never a truly reliable source as we cannot always be sure about the mineral contents of the foods we eat, especially if we are unclear on their source. 

How to Add Minerals to Water

We’ll now dive deeper into exactly how you can go about adding minerals to normal drinking water in order to convert it into mineral water. We encourage all who are interested in consuming more nutrient dense water to invest in a reusable water bottle of their choosing to store and carry their mineral water, ideally one that is plastic-free and therefore most friendly to the environment and your body. 

The water bottle market is ever-growing, with many plastic-free options to suit every individual. Some of our favorite reusable water bottles are made from stainless steel, copper, and even glass. 

Adding minerals to larger vessels of water, such as a full water bottle, is far less time consuming and tedious than remineralizing individual glasses of water every time one needs a drink. Most remineralization methods require a period of standing time during which the process can take full effect, so creating larger  batches at a time is definitely recommended and will make the process much more time effective.  

Mineral Drops

To make the process of remineralization really simple, some wellness brands have come out with products known as ‘trace mineral drops’. As far as remineralizing water goes, this is one of the easiest ways of doing so, albeit arguably one of the least effective. 

Mineral drops come as a highly concentrated bottle of liquid, fitted with a dropper for convenience. The user is instructed to add a few drops of the solution into each glass or bottle of water that they drink. 

The drops contain trace amounts of all of the minerals recommended by the RDA. A half a teaspoon of mineral drops is said to contain the equivalent mineral intake of half a cup of seawater with 99% of the sodium removed. 

With regular, repeated consumption of mineral drops in every glass of water you consume, you can build up quite a lot of nutrients within your body, boosting your immune system and offering other long term health benefits. Just 2 to 4 drops per glass is the recommended dose. 

Mineral drops are only able to offer the micro trace minerals; macro minerals are not included in this method of remineralization. Read on to learn the difference!

Trace Minerals 

To better understand what is meant by ‘trace minerals’, one first needs to understand macro minerals. Macro minerals are the minerals that we need larger quantities of as a daily requirement, as they are present at larger levels within the body. Essentially, the body is more intensely dependent on macro minerals. 

Macro minerals include calcium, chlorine, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and sulfur. One needs to make a conscious effort to get enough of each of these from a basic diet and hydration regime. 

Trace minerals are the counterpart to macro minerals. They are the minerals found in much smaller quantities within the body, and while still incredibly vital, one doesn’t need to consume as much in order to replenish the body’s levels when they become depleted. 

Trace minerals include iron, manganese, copper, iodine, zinc, cobalt, fluoride and selenium. Most of us get all of these simply by eating a wide variety of foods in our diets. 

There are certain medical conditions that result from a lack of trace minerals over an extended period of time. Different types of thyroid disease can be directly linked to a lack of iodine in the body, which is something that goes easily unnoticed for years before materializing as a physical ailment. Iodine is a mineral found predominantly in sea vegetables. 

In an effort to associate itself with trace minerals, one company in the industry has named itself “Trace Minerals”. This company produces a wide variety of supplements and vitamins, as well as mineral supplement droplets that can be added to your drinking water. Their most popular product is a bottle of concentrated mineral drops that they recommend adding to all of the water you drink in order to mineralize it and support your body’s needs.

Dr Berg Trace Minerals 

Of course, one doesn’t have to adopt remineralization of their drinking water as their daily fix for trace minerals. There are a plethora of effective trace mineral supplements on the market, and instead of making your water more mineral rich you can simply pop a capsule every morning and call it a day. 

Dr Berg’s trace mineral supplement is the preferred daily dose for a lot of people who have noticed trace mineral deficiency in their diets or bodies. Each capsule contains the RDA (recommended daily allowance) of all trace minerals, and users have the option of taking a capsule either once or twice throughout the day, depending on the severity of their situation. 

This supplement is relatively affordable and makes a great addition to an existing healthy lifestyle. 

Himalayan Salt

Himalayan salt is a mineral harvested from the foothills of the Himalayas in the Punjab region of Pakistan. It is considered the purest salt on Earth, and has for centuries been praised for its multitude of health benefits. 

Regular table salt is fortified, and therefore contains little to no nutritional benefits other than basic sodium. Himalayan salt is rich in iron oxide, which gives the salt its distinctive pink color. It is also naturally saturated with iodine, a trace mineral in respect of which many people suffer a deficiency. 

Saturating drinking water with Himalayan salt forms something known as ‘sole water’. Sole water is simply electrolyte dense brine; the electrolytes make it far easier for the body to absorb other minerals for healing benefit. 

One doesn’t have to drink salty water just to reap the rewards of positive electrolytes . In order to remineralize water using Himalayan salt, you’ll need to find a generously sized glass jar with a plastic lid (as salt can erode metal). 

Fill the jar about a quarter of the way with Himalayan salt (course or fine), and fill the rest of the jar with water. Leave this to stand overnight and in the morning assess to see that all of the salt has been successfully dissolved. If salt residue remains in the bottom of the jar, leave it for a few more hours until it disappears. 

Once that happens, the jar is now mineralized and you can use the solution in all drinking water for the foreseeable future. Mix one tablespoon of the solution into every glass or bottle of water that you drink. Himalayan salt is rich in 84 trace minerals and consuming it in the form of sole water means you’ll easily absorb most of them. 

Mineral Filters

Water filters are a great addition to any health conscious household. They allow users to safely consume tap water, as most of the chlorine can be removed by the filter itself. 

Because water filters use rocks and sand as filtration aids, many assume they are adding Earth minerals back into the water in the process. However, this is not always the case, and only water filters equipped with reverse osmosis ability are able to remineralize water. Certain water filter brands will have cartridges available that possess the ability to add minerals to drinking water. These cartridges can treat water with a pH value lower than 6.5, and are relatively inexpensive to invest in for long term use.

Alkaline water filters are another form of mineral filters. They work to transform existing water into water rich in alkalizing compounds, including calcium, silica, potassium, magnesium, and bicarbonate. These are all highly beneficial minerals to the human body.

Copper Water Bottles and Pitchers

By Copper H2O

Another way to add minerals back into normal drinking water is to store your water in a copper vessel, such as a copper water bottle or copper pitcher.

Over 5000 years ago, teachings were documented by the Ancient Indians in scriptures known as the Vedas. This is where the secrets of Ayurvedic living were first recorded, and the importance of minerals within the human body started to become understood. 

In Ayurvedic teaching, humans are encouraged to wake each morning and drink water from a copper vessel that has been sitting overnight. Our understanding of this practice has come a long way in recent decades, as scientists have discovered the undeniable health benefits associated with copper enriched water. 

Copper is one of the essential trace minerals that we need as part of our RDA. Copper deficiency has been linked to anemia, arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. In milder cases, individuals lacking in copper may experience chronic fatigue, hair loss and pigmentation. 

When using a copper water bottle in addition to other remineralization methods, you can produce some of the most nutrient dense water available for public consumption.  

Activated Charcoal

Another ancient technique for remineralizing water dates back to the 17th century in Japan. This is where the benefits of activated charcoal were uncovered, most notably as a way of purifying contaminated water. 

Activated charcoal is formed by burning either wood, coal, coconut shell or bamboo without any oxygen in order to create char. The char is then burned at incredibly high temperatures in order to create a porous substance. 

The porous nature of the charcoal attracts the contaminants found in compromised water. It pulls them out and makes the water safe for human consumption. It is during this process that trace minerals are put back into the water by the charcoal. 

Activated charcoal can be expensive to maintain, as the sticks or cubes need to be replaced roughly every three months. They also need to be regularly sterilized to release all accumulated contaminants that have been pulled from the water sources.  

Green Powders

There is a lot of debate surrounding whether or not green powders are worth the hype. Almost all green powder brands on the market promise to, in one way or another, “deliver key minerals and vital phytonutrients”. 

If you were to break down green powders in a lab, you’d find they are little more than broken down vitamins, minerals and green fruits and vegetables. They are essentially a nutrient dense meal, but without the physical fibers. 

Adding green powder to your water is a safe and effective way of adding minerals that might not otherwise be present. That being said, not all green powders are safe to consume in large quantities.  As a result, you might want to limit your consumption of green powders to only one or two glasses of water per day. 

Green powders are also not a replacement for eating actual green fruits and veggies. The dietary fiber that comes from eating these foods is irreplaceable and vital to healthy gut activity; one needs to honor this and maintain a balanced diet in addition to consuming green powders. 

Mineral Stones 

At this point, you’re probably wondering about just adding mineral-rich stones directly into your drinking water, and forgetting about some of these other more complicated alternatives. You’d be absolutely right. 

A new trend is emerging worldwide where health conscious individuals are opting to bring natural alkalizing stones and rocks directly to their personal water sources. By adding the right mineral stones into your existing water purifier or storage container, one can rest assured that consistent amounts of calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc will be present in said water, provided that the stones are left in the water long enough. 

Maifan Stones

The most effective mineral stones we’ve found to aid in water remineralization is Maifan stones. These stones have been used in ancient Chinese medicines for centuries, and only now are we discovering how beneficial they are when present in drinking water. These stones have also been widely present in fish tanks due to their powerful filtration abilities. 

Each Maifan stone is made up of a combination of plagioclase feldspar, orthoclase feldspar, hornblende and biotite, as well as numerous other silicates and minerals. These compounds make them rich in almost all of the minerals that our bodies need, including calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, copper and selenium. 

In addition to minerals, the stones also offer beneficial metals including molybdenum and silicon. For centuries, these stones have been used as alternative forms of healing to aid in improving the metabolism of the human body, to assist blood circulation, and to treat chronic gastritis, rheumatism, high blood pressure and  an array of skin conditions. 

In addition to offering all of these nutrient benefits, Maifan stones also iodize the minerals in question, making them far easier for the human body to assimilate. 

How to Use Maifan Stones

To reap optimum rewards from a single Maifan stone, we recommend investing in a decently sized water vessel  of your choosing, and keeping one or more  Maifan stones inside of it at all times. By doing so, you ensure that your drinking water is perpetually cleaned and charged with the minerals that Maifan stone has to offer. 

There is no real limit to the mass of water that a single Maifan stone can alkalize. One can just as effectively place the Maifan stone in a central water container, such as a 20 liter kitchen dispenser, and drink from this source as needed. That being said, storing a singular Maifan stone in a smaller water vessel makes for a far more nutrient dense water supply. 

It is understood that a Maifan stone begins remineralizing water roughly 8 minutes after the water and stone make first contact. 

How to Clean Maifan Stones

In comparison to all other remineralization methods, the Maifan stone is definitely the one with the least maintenance. 

Unlike other mineral stones and activated charcoal that has to be regularly sterilized, you only have to remove your Maifan stone once every 6 months. At this time, simply boil the stone in clean water for 20 minutes. 

It is likely you will only start to see erosion of the Maifan stone after about 1-3 years, depending on the frequency of use. At this time, you’ll need to invest in a new one, as the stone will start to lose its filtration abilities quite rapidly. 

Depending on the chlorine levels in your drinking water, your Maifan stone might show significant signs of erosion sooner than 3 years. Some look at this as a sign of a weak stone, or a product lacking quality, when the reality is actually the opposite. 

When it comes to Maifan stones, and water filters in general, signs of erosion are to be applauded. They show the stone has worked against some tough contaminants up until this point, and that, had they not been present, the same decay and erosion may have occurred inside of your body instead. 

Conclusion

We hope you have enjoyed this complete guide to mineral water and how to make it yourself, including through the use of mineral stones. If you want to super-charge your drinking water, considering using maifan stones in conjunction with a copper water bottle or copper pitcher. Copper vessels such as these have been shown to kill viruses and bacteria present in the water while also naturally increasing the alkalinity of the water. To learn more, click here!

About the Authors: This article was collaboratively written by our team of researchers and writers with the benefit of all available scientific studies and other relevant literature. Our team of researchers and writers include experienced health researchers. Please note that information in this article is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

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