What is the best form of water to drink?: A Comprehensive Nutrition Diet Guide

October 7, 2025 •

4 min read

According to the World Health Organization, tap water is often regulated to be safe for drinking in many developed countries, but bottled water consumption continues to rise globally. Understanding what is the best form of water to drink depends on your personal health needs, budget, and environmental concerns.

Quick Summary

This guide examines the pros and cons of various water types, including filtered tap, mineral, spring, purified, and alkaline, to determine the optimal choice for your hydration needs.

Key Points

Filtered Tap is Often Best: For most people, filtered tap water offers a superb balance of affordability, safety, and environmental responsibility compared to other options.
Natural Isn't Always Better: While mineral and spring waters contain natural minerals, a balanced diet is a more important source for these nutrients, and bottled water has a higher environmental cost.
Purity Has a Trade-off: Highly purified or distilled water removes all impurities but also strips away beneficial minerals, making it less ideal for regular consumption.
Alkaline Claims Lack Evidence: There is limited scientific support for the superior health benefits of alkaline water for most people, and it often comes at a higher price.
Check Your Local Water: The quality of tap water can vary significantly by location, so checking your local water report is a smart step before deciding on a filtration method.
Maintenance is Crucial: For filtered water, proper maintenance, including regular filter replacement, is critical to prevent bacterial buildup and ensure continued safety.

Evaluating Water Quality: Beyond the Bottle

When it comes to staying hydrated, the options can feel overwhelming. From the tap to a dazzling array of bottled choices, each has a different profile influenced by its source, treatment, and packaging. The 'best' water is not a one-size-fits-all answer, but rather a decision based on personal priorities related to health, taste, and the environment.

The Case for Tap Water

For many people in regulated areas, the healthiest water to drink comes right from the faucet. In developed countries, municipal tap water is rigorously treated and regulated to meet safety standards. This makes it an incredibly affordable and accessible option, as well as the most environmentally friendly, since it eliminates the plastic waste associated with bottled water. However, the quality and taste of tap water can vary depending on your location, the water source, and the age of local plumbing. Concerns about aging pipes leaching contaminants like lead or the presence of chlorine are common. The best way to know for sure is to check your local water quality report.

Benefits of Filtered Tap Water

Using a home water filtration system can be an excellent middle ground, offering a balance of safety, cost, and environmental responsibility. Filtration systems, such as a pitcher, faucet-mounted filter, or under-sink reverse osmosis system, work to remove additional impurities and chemicals that affect taste and odor, like chlorine.

Improved Taste: Removes chlorine and other chemicals, leaving a cleaner, fresher taste.
Enhanced Safety: Can reduce harmful contaminants like lead, bacteria, and PFAS ('forever chemicals') depending on the filter type.
Sustainability: Reduces reliance on single-use plastic bottled water.
Cost-Effective: A one-time investment in a quality filter is much cheaper long-term than buying bottled water regularly.
Protection for Appliances: Certain filters can prevent limescale and corrosion buildup, which is beneficial for appliances.

The Appeal of Natural Spring and Mineral Water

Spring and mineral waters are sourced from protected underground formations and often contain naturally occurring minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium. These minerals can contribute to a different taste profile and some potential health benefits. For example, the magnesium in mineral water has been linked to potential cardiovascular and bone health benefits. However, the amount of minerals varies significantly between brands, and most health experts agree that your diet is the primary source of essential minerals. The main downsides are cost and the environmental impact of bottling and transportation.

Purified and Distilled Water: Purity vs. Minerals

Purified water (often from tap or groundwater) undergoes treatment like reverse osmosis to remove almost all impurities, including chemicals, bacteria, and dissolved solids. Distilled water is the purest form, created by boiling and condensing steam, which removes virtually everything—both contaminants and minerals. This process leaves the water with a very flat, bland taste. While safe for drinking, regularly consuming demineralized water is not recommended for everyday hydration as it removes beneficial minerals. Distilled water is best reserved for medical equipment or specific applications where mineral-free water is essential.

The Alkaline Water Debate

Alkaline water has a higher pH level than standard tap water (typically above 7) due to added minerals or an ionization process. Proponents claim it can neutralize acid in the body and offer various health benefits, but scientific evidence supporting these claims is very limited. Your body has a natural, effective system for maintaining a stable blood pH regardless of the water you drink. While generally safe, alkaline water is often more expensive and lacks strong, evidence-based advantages for most healthy individuals. In rare cases, excessive consumption could alter stomach acidity.

Comparison of Water Types


Feature	Tap Water	Filtered Tap Water	Mineral/Spring Water	Purified/Distilled Water	Alkaline Water
Source	Municipal supply	Tap water	Natural underground source	Tap/groundwater	Tap/ionizer
Purity	Regulated, but varies by location. Potential pipe contamination.	Enhanced purity (removes chlorine, lead, etc.).	High purity at the source, but can be susceptible to bottling issues.	Very high purity (removes virtually all impurities).	High purity, adjusted for pH.
Mineral Content	Varies by location; can be significant.	Retains beneficial minerals, removes some impurities.	Contains natural, beneficial minerals (e.g., calcium, magnesium).	Little to no minerals.	Contains added alkaline minerals.
Taste	Can have a chlorinated or metallic taste depending on location.	Improved, cleaner taste due to impurity removal.	Varies depending on mineral content; often preferred by some.	Flat taste due to lack of minerals.	Can have a different, sometimes 'silky' taste.
Environmental Impact	Very low	Very low (uses reusable filter system).	High (plastic bottles, transportation).	High (bottled plastic, manufacturing).	High (bottled plastic, manufacturing).
Cost	Very low	Low (initial filter cost, then low replacement cost).	High	High	High

Conclusion: Making the Right Choice

There is no single best form of water to drink for every person. The ideal choice is a personal one, weighing factors like local water quality, health priorities, cost, and environmental impact. For the average person living in an area with safe municipal water, opting for filtered tap water is arguably the most sensible choice. It is affordable, environmentally responsible, and provides an excellent balance of safety and taste. For specific dietary goals or if you live in an area with questionable tap water quality, bottled options like mineral or purified water might be considered, though it's important to account for their higher cost and environmental footprint. Ultimately, the most important aspect of any nutrition diet is simply staying adequately hydrated with safe, clean water, regardless of the source. For further details on national drinking water standards, consult the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Visit the EPA for more information on drinking water standards

Frequently Asked Questions

Not necessarily. In many regulated areas, tap water is just as safe as bottled water, and often undergoes more rigorous testing. Many bottled waters are simply purified tap water, and the bottling process creates significant environmental waste and cost.

It is not recommended to drink only purified or distilled water for regular hydration. The purification process removes essential minerals like calcium and magnesium, which are valuable for your health. Distilled water is best used for specific purposes like medical devices.

Even if tap water is safe, a filter can improve its taste and odor by removing chlorine and other chemicals. Higher-quality filters can also provide an extra layer of protection against contaminants that may enter the supply.

While alkaline water is generally safe to drink, claims of significant health benefits like neutralizing body acid are not supported by strong scientific evidence. Your body effectively regulates its pH balance naturally.

Mineral water contains valuable minerals like magnesium and calcium. However, the mineral content is highly variable, and a balanced diet remains a much more significant source of these nutrients.

Plain sparkling water is a good alternative to sugary drinks and can help with hydration. However, its lower pH level makes it slightly acidic, and some studies suggest it may potentially damage tooth enamel, though less so than soda.

Yes, a major drawback of bottled water is its negative environmental impact. The production and disposal of plastic bottles consume vast amounts of energy and contribute to plastic pollution in landfills and oceans.