Since fruits and vegetables aren’t everyone’s favorite foods, potassium is so under consumed in the typical American diet that it has become a major health concern.
Mineral water is a more natural way to supplement with potassium than supplements are, so we have compiled a list of mineral waters high in potassium. You will also learn why potassium is so healthy and how little of it your tap water contains.
What are the Health Benefits of Potassium?
According to research (ref 1):
- Potassium can lower our blood pressure by almost as much as drugs can do, both for people with high and normal blood pressure.
- It reduces our risk of stroke, partly because of lowering our blood pressure, but also in people whose blood pressure is already normal.
- It prevents lethal irregular heart rhythms in people with heart disease.
- It helps to maintain healthy bone mineral density and bone strength, especially for those over the age of 50.
- It protects against kidney stones and kidney disease.
- It promotes glucose tolerance and thereby protects against diabetes.
What is the Recommended Daily Intake for Potassium?
In 2005, a report written jointly by the Institute of Medicine and the Food Nutrition Board substantially increased the daily recommended intake of potassium to 4,700 mg. They discovered that a lower intake was associated with poor health outcomes.
The Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee submitted to the United States Department of Health and Human Services concluded that potassium was so under-consumed in the typical American diet that it was a public health concern, with only three percent of Americans actually consuming enough of it to avoid adverse health outcomes.
Based on their discovery that the average American consumes only 2,591 mg per day, it is clear that extra potassium in water is not just welcome, but actually essential.
The National Institutes of Health has not set a maximum intake beyond which potassium becomes dangerous to healthy adults. One study they cited gave its participants 15,600 mg per day without negative health effects.
As you saw above, even mineral water with TDS scores above 2,000 PPM contains fairly little potassium, so you don’t have to worry that your high-potassium mineral water will become dangerous, even if you drink 12 glasses per day.
How Much Potassium Does Tap Water Contain?
In a review conducted by the World Health Organization, researchers found an average of 2.5 mg/l in British tap water and 1-8 mg/l in Canada. Saskatchewan with its 51 mg/l drives up the average due to being the country’s main producer of potassium chloride that then leaks into the water.
American cities report equally low levels, with New York City between 0.4 and 2.5 mg/l, Chicago 1.2-1.4 mg/l, and San Francisco 0.8 mg/l.
Therefore, if you aren’t keen on fruit and vegetables and consume a typical American diet with only 2,591 mg of potassium per day, potassium-rich mineral water is definitely beneficial.
Which Water Contains the Most Potassium?
All the brands on the list are brands of fully natural mineral water. Legislation in both the European Union and the United States defines mineral water as being acquired approximately unaltered from a known underground source that is geologically and physically protected, with a consistent mineral composition and a TDS score of at least 250 PPM.
Water labeled as spring or artesian contains minerals too, but their mineral composition may differ from one site or occasion to the next and are thus excluded here.
Also read about brands of mineral water high in magnesium here.
Nutrient enhanced and alkaline water all have minerals. They are usually tap water that is first purified after which alkaline minerals like potassium are added. But ingredient reports are available for almost none of these brands, and they don’t contain as many minerals as natural mineral water does because their producers want a neutral taste.
Or what about making your own potassium-rich water at home. Buy potassium citrate or potassium bicarbonate and add it to your tap water. But if you add as much as in natural mineral water, your tap water will taste funny.
That’s why this list focused on natural mineral water because they are the stars of the potassium water show.
Let’s jump into the list of potassium-rich mineral water.
14 Brands Of Mineral Water High In Potassium
Very few water brands contain high amounts of potassium, which explains why the entries on this list might not be easy to find. But because of the health benefits of potassium, it is well worth the effort.
1. Radenska Kraljevi Vrelec
Radenska Kraljevi vrelec is a natural Slovenian mineral water that is acquired from a spring in the Pomurje region and has 79 mg/l of potassium.
It is a carbonated water with an unbelievable TDS score of 3,181 mg/l and an acidic pH of 5.9. It also contains 230 mg/l of calcium.
If it is not available from Amazon, European readers can try europamarketca.
2. Vichy Catalan Mineral Water
From the Spanish region of Catalonia, Vichy Catalan is the best option for those who want their potassium in an alkaline source. It has a pH score of eight and a potassium content of 51 mg/l.
unusually for mineral water, it contains more potassium than calcium (14 mg/l) and magnesium (6 mg/l). Most of its 2,900 mg/l of TDS come from sodium (1,097 mg/l), so it is perhaps not the greatest choice for people with high blood pressure, notwithstanding its high potassium scores.
3. Uludag Premium Sparkling Natural Mineral Water
This is a Turkish brand (available on Amazon.com) that was established in 1912 and that has a beautifully balanced set of minerals with 125 mg/l of potassium.
All other healthy minerals are also between 80 and 200 mg/l, so there is nothing that dominates completely.
4. Apollinaris Classic Sparkling Mineral Water
As the first German entry on the list, Apollinaris is owned by Coca-Cola and travels through volcanic rock from which it picks up its minerals. With 2,767 mg/l of TDS and 20 mg/l of potassium, we can see that it definitely works.
Its calcium content is 100 mg/l and even its magnesium score of 130 mg/l is impressive.
5. Saint-Géron Sparkling Mineral Water
Another entry from the springs in the Auvergne region in France, Saint-Géron’s Water flows through underground rock formations for a thousand years before emerging with 18 mg/l of potassium.
With 79.1 mg/l of calcium, 53.7 mg/l of magnesium, and 28 mg/l of silica, it provides tons of healthy minerals. Because of being carbonated, it has an acidic pH of six.
6. Socosani Natural Mineral Water
From the Socosani Valley region in Peru, Socosani is either still or sparkling and contains 16 mg/l of potassium.
This water starts as snow on the peak of a 20,000 feet high volcano, from where it melts and flows through the underground rocks to emerge at springs in the Socosani Valley.
With 140 mg/l of calcium, 64 mg/l of silica, and a pH of 6.5, it is an appealing water option.
7. Gerolsteiner Sparkling Mineral Water
With 2,527 mg/l of TDS, Gerolsteiner includes 10 mg/l of potassium, 40 mg/l of silica, 108 mg/l of magnesium, 119 mg/l of sodium, and 347 mg/l of calcium, making it an especially well-balanced mix of minerals.
It filters through rocks in the Volcanic Eifel region of Germany, after which it gathers in aquifers 600 feet below the ground from where it is pumped to the surface.
8. Badoit Mineral Water
With its 10 mg/l of potassium, Badoit still or sparkling is relatively scarce outside France, but you can buy it on Amazon at a fairly extravagant price.
Its minerals are nicely balanced with 190 mg/l of calcium, 85 mg/l of magnesium, and 150 mg/l of sodium.
9. Chateldon Sparkling Mineral Water
With 41 mg/l of potassium, Chateldon is a French brand that is available on Amazon UK for delivery to the United States. Fewer than 1 million bottles are produced per year, so it beats most brands on exclusivity.
It has been bottled since 1650, uninterrupted by wars and political changes, in the Auvergne region of France.
Naturally carbonated, it can show off with 240 mg/l of sodium, 49 mg/l of magnesium, and 355 mg/l of calcium.
10. Vytautas Sparkling Mineral Water
Outside a Lithuanian town called Birstonas, you will find a massive protected natural space from which Vytautas is pumped. Amazon UK also delivers this to the United States.
Together with 34 mg/l of potassium, it also has 552 mg/l of calcium and 240 mg/l of magnesium, which makes it a powerhouse of healthy minerals.
But it also contains huge amounts of relatively unhealthy stuff, like 1,727 mg/l of sodium and a low acidic pH of 5.4.
11. Pedras Salgadas Sparkling Mineral Water
Delivered only across the UK and Europe, Pedras Salgadas (Link to Aqua Amore) is a Portuguese brand that contains 29 mg/l of potassium. It is naturally carbonated and has been collected from springs in northeastern Portugal since 1871.
Like almost all carbonated water, it is acidic with a pH of 6.1 and a TDS score of 2,807 mg/l. it is also a good source of calcium with a total of 102 mg/l.
12. ROI Roitschocrene
ROI Roitschocrene is directly purchasable from two retailers in the United States and Europe, and with a TDS value of 7,481 mg/l, it should not be surprising that it is extremely high in most minerals.
With 24 mg/l of potassium, 1,600 mg/l of sodium, 1,300 mg/l of magnesium, and 2,100 mg/l of sulfate, it is probably something you should enjoy only occasionally and when mixed into other drinks, in case the sodium and high dose of magnesium have negative health consequences.
It has been continuously collected from the same springs in Slovenia since 1647 and it is known as the most mineral-rich water in the world.
13. ORO Luxury Water
The word ORO means gold, and because it is not sold online at all, this brand of mineral water is much harder to come by than gold. It hails from a spring above the Macedonian Alps and contains 50 mg/l of potassium as part of its 2,900 mg/l of TDS.
It is impressively rich in magnesium at 310 mg/l, calcium at 65 mg/l, and it is also unusually low in sodium at only 40 mg/l, making it a good choice for people who want to increase their potassium intake without simultaneously consuming too much sodium.
It regularly wins prizes at the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting Competition and at the International Fine Water Tasting Competition, so it is a winner if you can get hold of it.
14. Vidago Sparkling Mineral Water
Naturally carbonated and alkaline with a TDS score of 2,853 mg/l, this brand contains 47 mg/l of potassium.
Vidago in northern Portugal has been tapped for water since 1873 and you can visit the Vidago Palace Hotel where it is pumped and taste it straight from the source.
It is available from Aqua Amore and delivered across the UK and Europe.
References:
1. He, F.J. and MacGregor, G.A., 2008. Beneficial effects of potassium on human health. Physiologia plantarum, 133(4), pp.725-735.
