Mineral Water Intake
Reduces Blood Pressure among Subjects
Mineral Water Intake Reduces Blood Pressure among Subjects with Low Urinary Magnesium and Calcium Levels
BMC Public Health. 2004; 4: 56.
Published online 2004 November 30. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-4-56.
© 2004 Rylander and Arnaud; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
Ragnar Rylander 1 and Maurice J Arnaud 2
1 Department of Environmental Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University, Gothenburg, Sweden
2 Nestlé Water Institute and Nestlé Ltd, Vevey, Switzerland Received June 21, 2004; Accepted November 30, 2004.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Background
Several previous epidemiological studies have shown a relation between drinking water quality and death in cardiovascular disease whereas others have not found such a relationship. An intervention study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of water with added magnesium and natural mineral water on blood pressure.
Methods
A group of 70 subjects with borderline hypertension was recruited and consumed 1) a water low in minerals, 2) magnesium enriched water or 3) natural mineral water, in a random, double blind fashion during four weeks.
Results
Among persons with an initial low excretion of magnesium or calcium in the urine, the urinary excretion of magnesium was increased in the groups consuming the two waters containing magnesium after 4 weeks. A significant decrease in blood pressure was found in the group consuming mineral water at 2 and 4 weeks.
Conclusion
The results suggest that minerals taken in water are significant for the body burden and that an intake of mineral water among persons with a low urinary excretion of magnesium or calcium may decrease the blood pressure. Further studies should investigate the extent of mineral deficiency in different populations and the efficiency of different vehicles for supplying minerals, particularly magnesium and calcium.
