what kind of water is the best to drink.. I've read different things on different websites.. I drink Nestle at the moment and found out it has lots of minerals.. any suggestions?? Thanks!
As with so many foods, it seems that our bladders each respond to water differently. I've talked to numerous ICers about this topic and it seems that while some people never cite water as a food-based flare sources, others have real issues with it.
Mine is quite sensitive to water, especially tap water. We live near Toronto and the tap water is here (besides tasting gross) hurts my bladder if I drink more than a little bit at a time (it even bugs my IBS, too). We tried buying a Brita water filter that you put on the end of the tap, and while it did help to improve the taste a smidgen, it wasn't enough to prevent my bladder from feeling a negative affect from the tap water (still).
As a result we went back to buying bottled water. I've had mixed results with bottled water, some brands don't hurt me at all and others are real bladder burners. I've personally found the worst offenders to be Dasani (which undergoes a reverse osmosis process and has added minerals such as potassium chloride and magnesium sulfate), Aquafina, and numerous store/no-name brands (plus one from Wal-Mart, I'm sorry, I can't recall the name of the top of my head but it has a dark blue label).
I've had really good success with Evian (too bad it costs an arm and a leg!), Volvic, San Pellegrino, San Benedetto, and Fiji.
I've been pretty ok with Nestle too, but occasionally, like if I'm already flaring, it's bothered me. That said, it, paired with San Benedetto, are the two brands that (right now at least) I buy most often. Irregardless of the brand I only buy still (aka, flat) water (carbonation really upsets my bladder and my IBS). One interesting thing is that I tend to have better luck with brands where the water comes from places outside of North America. I don't know if this is just coincidental or not, but it's a large part of the reason why I buy often buy Italian and French waters.
Here are three sources for more info on different brands of bottled water:
I hope this helps you a bit, there are other options out there too such as a ton of different home filtration systems. (It costs, but..) in many areas you can get the mineral content (hardness/softness) of your home drinking water tested and sometimes take steps to correct it (such as water softeners), if it's really out of whack one way of the other.
Hugs,
Jessica
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Jessica Cangiano: ICadvice.com creator and administrator
Some waters that have and have not gotten along with my bladder
Hi Steph,
As with so many foods, it seems that our bladders each respond to water differently. I've talked to numerous ICers about this topic and it seems that while some people never cite water as a food-based flare sources, others have real issues with it.
Mine is quite sensitive to water, especially tap water. We live near Toronto and the tap water is here (besides tasting gross) hurts my bladder if I drink more than a little bit at a time (it even bugs my IBS, too). We tried buying a Brita water filter that you put on the end of the tap, and while it did help to improve the taste a smidgen, it wasn't enough to prevent my bladder from feeling a negative affect from the tap water (still).
As a result we went back to buying bottled water. I've had mixed results with bottled water, some brands don't hurt me at all and others are real bladder burners. I've personally found the worst offenders to be Dasani (which undergoes a reverse osmosis process and has added minerals such as potassium chloride and magnesium sulfate), Aquafina, and numerous store/no-name brands (plus one from Wal-Mart, I'm sorry, I can't recall the name of the top of my head but it has a dark blue label).
I've had really good success with Evian (too bad it costs an arm and a leg!), Volvic, San Pellegrino, San Benedetto, and Fiji.
I've been pretty ok with Nestle too, but occasionally, like if I'm already flaring, it's bothered me. That said, it, paired with San Benedetto, are the two brands that (right now at least) I buy most often. Irregardless of the brand I only buy still (aka, flat) water (carbonation really upsets my bladder and my IBS). One interesting thing is that I tend to have better luck with brands where the water comes from places outside of North America. I don't know if this is just coincidental or not, but it's a large part of the reason why I buy often buy Italian and French waters.
Here are three sources for more info on different brands of bottled water:
Bottled Water Brands
Fine Waters
Aqua Maestro
I hope this helps you a bit, there are other options out there too such as a ton of different home filtration systems. (It costs, but..) in many areas you can get the mineral content (hardness/softness) of your home drinking water tested and sometimes take steps to correct it (such as water softeners), if it's really out of whack one way of the other.
Hugs,
Jessica
-----
Jessica Cangiano: ICadvice.com creator and administrator
I have IC, but IC doesn't have me!