Two molecules of Hydrogen and a molecule of Oxygen bonded together make up one of the most important compounds to all living things. Water is the source of all life and while chemically it is all identical, its source determines what else it might contain and what it tastes like.

Water is your body’s principal chemical component and makes up about 60 percent of your body weight. It is a necessity and not a luxury. It is how the body gets rid of waste, regulates your temperature, lubricates and cushions joints and protects your sensitive tissue.

Water that is safe to drink and use for food prep is called potable water and in most of the world; tap water meets those standards. But it might still have some toxins or compounds that are not great for you and it might be missing necessary minerals in the right amounts that are beneficial for you. To maintain good health, we need to drink a lot of water. The quantity needed varies from one individual to the next. And the better that water tastes, the more likely you are to drink it.

Enter purified water, which is water that has been mechanically filtered or processed to remove impurities, which makes it suitable for use. Methods such as distillation, capacitive deionization, reverse osmosis, carbon filtering, microfiltration, ultrafiltration, amongst many others, are all different ways of processing. Today, combinations of these techniques produce ultrapure water.

Pure water has absolutely no taste, because there is nothing in it. If you collect water from an underground source, you get Spring water. Natural spring water is free from pollutants and full of natural goodness that is a gift from the earth.

If the water is collected from a mineral spring it becomes Mineral water. The various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds give it extra health benefits and a more palatable taste. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling according to the presence or absence of added gases.

While we only need trace amounts of minerals, their absence from our diets can dramatically affect our health. According to healthline.com mineral water can “Contain high amounts of minerals and other naturally occurring compounds, including magnesium, calcium, bicarbonate, sodium, sulfate, chloride, and fluoride.” For example, magnesium plays an essential role in regulating blood pressure, blood glucose levels, and nerve function. Calcium is necessary for building and maintaining strong bones. It also regulates the rate and rhythm of the heartbeat. And we all know that fluoride keeps our teeth healthy and strong.

Our human ancestors would travel to the source of the water to drink from it. They built baths, spas and dug wells in these locations even though they did not know why, they did know that this water was a cure for ailments and could be therapeutic. Thanks to modern manufacturing, we can now bottle the water at the source, and have it distributed for our convenient consumption wherever we live.

There is another interesting type of water; artesian. It is the result of positive pressure on a confined aquifer (a geologic layer of porous and permeable material such as sand and gravel, limestone, or sandstone, through which water flows and is stored). Wells can be constructed to access the water and humans have been doing this for centuries to access this amazing source of life-giving liquid.

The next time you are standing in a supermarket aisle looking at all the pretty bottles and wondering what the difference between all of them is, you can safely reach for a bottle of Acqua Eva. It is natural mineral water which is bottled at the source from an underground protected point of origin. Scientists have tested it and found it to be microbiologically pure and compositionally constant. Eva Rocce Azzurre water springs at 2,042 meters above sea level, in the heart of Monviso’s mountain district. Considered as Europe’s highest natural spring, it is a pristine Alpine protected groundwater at 3.7°C, far from any human settlement or source of pollution, so it doesn’t need any chemical treatment or disinfection. And since May 2013, the area where Acqua Eva water sources are located was awarded the UNESCO’s recognition of Biosphere Reserve. The low sodium water is your perfect companion all day long.

You can find Acqua Eva in supermarkets, co-ops, restaurants and roomserviceq8.com. For more information and great health tips, follow @acquaevamiddleeast. Featured image courtesy of Acqua Eva.