Drinking water is vital to human health and survival, a fact well-known to all. Its purposes have long been recognized- from helping to regulate our temperature and bodily functions, to protecting our spinal cord and lubricating our joints, even boosting the health of our largest organ, our skin. As we breathe, sweat, tear up and digest, we lose that water and need to replenish it to maintain its balance.

As the demand for drinking water has risen over the past decade, bottled water has become one of the top three largest categories in the U.S. beverage market. Drinking water from springs and glaciers have been retrieved and bottled, alongside water that undergoes what seems to be complex filtration and purification processes. A dizzying array of bottled water brands are now available for consumers to choose from, so where should one start?

While some water drinkers argue that “water is just water”, and will make their decision based on price or convenience, others have taken the time to research, test and compare the multiple aspects that each brand of water is composed of. While subjective notes, such as taste are included, the more objective facts of retrieval and processes of being bottled are also analyzed. Recently, pH levels have become the “make or break” points in determining which brand to purchase, as well as provide insight into the amount of contaminants in the water.

The mention of pH may bring back memories of science class experiments with the color-changing paper (litmus paper). That is exactly what is being done by many in their DIY bottled water tests, with everyone hoping for but not always getting those greens- the color that indicates a neutral pH balance, as opposed to the acidic reds and yellows or high alkaline blues and purples. With water that reads as green, (around 6.5-8.5 in value) studies have determined it to be the most safe, unlikely to be polluted, and most similar to the pH balance of the human body (about 7.4 in value), therefore the best to intake in helping to promote the equilibrium of our bodies.

This past June, 7-Eleven Hawai’i introduced Ocean Pure- deep ocean water harvested from the depths off the Kona coast on the Big Island and bottled in Kapolei, O’ahu. Ocean Pure has a pH balance of 7.6, and is desalinated and packed with nutrients and minerals. This deep ocean water is dense and cold, closer to the bottom of the ocean at a depth of over 3,000 feet. No light reaches this part of the ocean, therefore no life, bacteria, viruses or waste can thrive and be supported. Our partner, Hawai’i Deep Blue, uses patented technology and a state-of-the-art process to retrieve the water from these depths and have them bottled and delivered straight to Your Neighborhood Store.

Swing by and enjoy this special gift from the ocean, the purest form of hydration.