Natural Mineral Water “Tichė”

I will evaluate this mineral water, like other mineral waters, based on the quantities (concentrations) of minerals it contains that the human body needs. And here it's important to establish which ions matter more to the human body and which matter less. Having studied the specialist literature, I got the impression that calcium, magnesium, and potassium ions matter more to the human body than other ions. If we take it that this is true, then determining the value of various mineral waters won't be difficult. Just as easily, we'll be able to determine which mineral water is more valuable and which is less so.

Table 1 presents the recommended daily allowances of the most important minerals (ions) for an adult (though these figures should not be taken as absolutely fixed and unchangeable).

Table 1. Recommended daily allowances of the most important minerals for an adult

Mineral (ion)	Recommended daily allowance of the mineral for an adult, mg
Calcium ions (Ca2+)	800
Magnesium ions (Mg2+)	375
Potassium ions (K+)	2000
Sodium ions (Na+)	–
Chloride ions (Cl–)	800
Sulfate ions (SO42–)	–
Fluoride ions (F–)	3,5

Attention! Specialists from the National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute report that the World Health Organization (WHO) has set new guidelines on sodium and potassium intake: adults should consume less than 2000 mg of sodium (or less than 5 g of salt, i.e., NaCl) and at least 3510 mg of potassium per day.

People who consume more sodium and less potassium than recommended face a higher risk of increased blood pressure, which in turn raises the risk of heart disease and stroke.

The World Health Organization stresses that most people consume too much sodium and too little potassium.

Sodium occurs naturally in many foods, e.g., in milk and cream (about 50 mg of sodium per 100 g of product), in eggs (about 80 mg/100 g). Sodium levels are considerably higher in processed foods, for example in bread (about 250 mg/100 g), meat products (in some cases over 1500 mg/100 g), snacks (popcorn — about 1500 mg/100 g), sauces (soy sauce — about 7000 mg/100 g), and broth or bouillon cubes (about 20 000 mg/100 g).

Potassium is abundant in beans and peas (about 1300 mg of potassium/100 g of product), nuts (about 600 mg/100 g), certain vegetables such as spinach, cabbage, and parsley (about 550 mg/100 g), and fruits — bananas, papayas (about 300 mg/100 g). Food processing reduces the potassium content of many foods.

These sodium and potassium guidelines for food products are highly important for public health and other specialists working in the field of non-communicable diseases (e.g., heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, respiratory diseases).

To reduce sodium intake and increase potassium intake across the population, and to lower the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke, measures such as food labeling (stating salt content), consumer education, the development of national dietary guidelines, and cooperation with food manufacturers to reduce the salt content of processed foods are all used.

Gediminas Pridotkas, director of the National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute, points out: “In Lithuania, as in most other European countries, too much salt is consumed. The National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute studied how much salt is found in the most commonly consumed processed foods. Based on the findings, we can say that processed foods contain quite a lot of salt. For example, Lithuanian dark rye bread contains about 1,1 percent salt, which corresponds to 440 mg of sodium/100 g of product, while boiled sausage contains 2,1 percent salt, corresponding to 840 mg of sodium/100 g of product. We eat not only too much, but also too salty.”

Prepared based on the “Būkime sveiki” supplement of the daily newspaper “Respublika”

On 2013-02-17, a 1-liter bottle of still natural mineral water “Tichė” was purchased at a supermarket.

Manufacturer: UAB „Baltijos mineralinių vandenų kompanija“. The manufacturer states that the water is drawn from a borehole 689 m deep in Telšiai district.

Information on the label:

Cl–…….46 mg/L

SO42–……..834 mg/L

HCO3–………108 mg/L

F–………..0,3 mg/L

Na+……….76 mg/L

K+…………..19 mg/L

Ca2+…………..220 mg/L

Mg2+……….73 mg/L

BM (total mineralization)……1378 mg/L

Borehole depth – 689 m., and date 2013-12-14 (this, apparently, is the product's expiry date).

Manufacturer – UAB „Baltijos mineralinių vandenų kompanija“.

Checking the concentrations of several ions found them to be close to those stated on the label.

Brief comment: this water contains mostly positive calcium ions and negative sulfate ions. So it can be said that this is a calcium-sulfate water. The concentrations of the other ions are considerably lower.

Table 2 presents information on the most important ions, i.e., it calculates what percentage of these minerals (ions) the human body would obtain from drinking one liter of the natural mineral water “Tichė”.

Table 2. Recommended daily allowance of the mineral for an adult (mg) and the share of that allowance (%) contained in one liter of the water.

Mineral	Concentration of the mineral in the natural mineral water „Tichė“	Recommended daily allowance of the mineral for an adult, mg	Share of the recommended daily allowance in one liter of natural mineral water „Tichė“, %
Calcium ions (Ca2+)	220	800	27,5
Magnesium ions (Mg2+)	73	375	19,5
Potassium ions (K+)	19	2000	0,95
Sodium ions (Na+)	76	–	–
Chloride ions (Cl–)	46	800	5,75
Sulfate ions (SO42–)	834	–	–
Fluoride ions (F–)	0,3	3,5	8,6

We can see that by drinking the natural mineral water „Tichė“, the only minerals we can meaningfully replenish in the body are calcium and magnesium. Otherwise, this is a natural mineral water of relatively low mineralization and decent quality. This water falls into the drinking water category, since its specific electrical conductivity (SEL) is considerably lower than the limit value specified in the Lithuanian drinking water hygiene norm HN24:2003, i.e., 2500 μS/cm. As a reminder, SEL is simply proportional to the concentration of dissolved minerals (salts) in the water.