Fact or fiction: Is bottled water really better for you?

There are dozens of varieties of water in the world today. They range from tap water to name-brand bottled water, such as Evian, to the local grocery-store water. Water is essential for human life, and for some, choosing the right type of water can be a major decision.\nAccording to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,\nthe issue of bottled water versus tap water is still being debated.\nFor people whose municipal systems do not provide quality drinking\nwater, bottled water offers them a safe and clean alternative that is exclusively\nfor human consumption. For those who have good municipal systems,\nbottled water is not so essential. The FDA points out that Americans once only got their water from taps. But the explosive growth in the bottled-\nwater industry has placed bottled water in nearly every supermarket and convenience store from coast to coast.\nStacey Matavuli, a registered dietitian\nat Bloomington Hospital, said most bottled water is simply tap water that has been filtered, just like using a reverse osmosis filter at home.\n“There are some bottled waters that have special characteristics,” Matavuli said. “These are based solely on nutrients\nthat are added (such as Propel) or naturally occurring minerals, such as Cole’s water.”\nUnder the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, manufacturers are responsible\nfor providing safe, truthfully\nlabeled products and quality regulations,\nwhich set minimum levels of contaminants (chemical, physical, microbial and radiological) allowed in bottled water. This, of course, means that consumers of bottled water can rest assured: The FDA sets regulations specifically for bottled water to ensure the water we buy is safe.