水的秘密丨一探究竟

Scientists surveyed 5,604 people aged between eight days and 96 years old from 23 different countries.Drinking the recommended eight glasses of water per day may be too high for our actual needs, according to them.

科学家们调查了来自23个不同国家的5604名年龄在8天到96岁之间的人，发现每天喝够8杯水可能超出了人体的实际需求。

The actual required water intake is around 3.6L per day. Since most foods also contain water, a substantial amount of water is provided just by eating.

人体实际需要的取水量大约是每天3.6升。大多数食物含有水，因此仅仅进食就能提供大量的水。

调查人员之一，威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校的Dale Schoeller说：“科学从来没有提倡“每日八杯水”的旧理论为指导方针。这种理论混淆了水周转量*和饮料中的水，而且人体中的很多水分还来自于进食。”

译注：水周转量(water turnover)是人体每天摄入、流失的水分总交换量，在一定程度上能反映个体真实的需水量。

For many, water is simply water. As long as it’s potable, any eight glasses a day is the same as another. But anybody who has paid a modicum of attention to the water they drink knows that not all water tastes the same. Tap water in some cities may taste clean while tap water in others may taste chemical, and some bottled water brands might really be worth the price.

对许多人来说，水就是水。只要可以饮用，每天喝够任意八杯都是一样的。但是了解过的人都知道，并不是所有的水尝起来都是一样的。一些城市的自来水可能尝起来很干净，而另一些的可能尝起来像是含有化学物质。

The taste and even nutritional benefits of water boil down to its mineral content.

不仅是味道，水的营养也都源于它的矿物质含量。

“H2O with nothing else is distilled water with zero minerality, which is not good for the human body. It’s great for your car battery, it’s great for your electrical appliances, but it’s shit for the human body,” said Doran Binder, a water sommelier based in the United Kingdom and the founder of Crag Spring Water.

“蒸馏水不含其他任何物质，这对人体不好。它或许对汽车电池很好，对电器很好，但对人体来说却什么都不是。” 英国品水师Binder说道。

Binder and other water sommeliers taste water the way wine sommeliers taste wine. To them, different kinds of water have distinct tastes, and they might even choose a specific flavor for a certain occasion.

Binder等品水师品尝水，就像侍酒师品尝葡萄酒一样。对他们来说，不同种类的水有不同的味道，他们甚至会在特定的场合选择一种特定的口味。

Distinguishing between two glasses of water might seem like a difficult task, but that’s only because so much of our drinking water has been robbed of its natural taste. 

区分两杯水似乎是一项困难的任务，因为很多饮用水已经失去了自然的味道。

Distilled, purified, or tap waters are typically heavily filtered and processed to make them safe to drink. Unfortunately, that can also filter out the naturally-occurring minerals that give water its taste and health benefits. Sometimes, minerals are added back into processed water to make it more palatable.

蒸馏水、纯净水或自来水通常会经过严格的过滤和加工，确保其可以被安全饮用。不幸的是，这也会过滤掉赋予水风味和营养元素的天然矿物质。有时，为了使处理过的水更可口，还会在其中添加矿物质。

By contrast, water that is bottled at the source (often called “mineral” or “natural” water) is tested and certified to be safe to drink without processing, so it naturally contains minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, and zinc. These minerals could provide important health benefits like lowering blood pressure, improving blood circulation, strengthening bones, and promoting digestion.

相比之下，从水源就开始装瓶的水（通常被称为“矿物”或“天然”水）不经加工就可以放心地喝，所以它天然含有钙、镁、钾、铁和锌等矿物质。这些矿物质可以提供重要的健康益处，如降低血压、改善血液循环、增强骨骼和促进消化。

Binder compared a water’s minerality to the fingerprints of human beings—no two waters are exactly the same. That’s because minerality comes from “the water’s journey through the geology,” where water picks up whatever minerals are present in the earth it runs through.

Binder将一种水的矿物含量比作人类的指纹——没有两种水是完全相同的。这是因为矿物性来自于“水穿越地质的旅程”，水吸收了这趟旅程中的很多矿物质。

Natural mineral water comes from underground deposits protected from contamination. On its way there, the water absorbs minerals from the respective rock layers. The slower it passes through a layer, the more minerals it can absorb. In the end, these minerals are Depending on its mineral composition, water can taste salty, bitter, sweet, or even metallic. Water that has a lot of sodium chloride (aka salt) will obviously taste salty, while water with a lot of magnesium will either be sweet or bitter, depending on the person drinking it.

天然矿泉水来自于不受污染的地下沉积物。在到达地表的途中，水会从各自的岩层中吸收矿物质。它通过一层的速度越慢，能吸收的矿物质就越多。最后，根据矿物质成分的不同，水尝起来会有咸、苦、甜，甚至是金属味。含有大量氯化钠（盐）的水尝起来很咸，而含有大量镁的水要么是甜要么是苦，这取决于喝它的人。

Water can also feel dry, silky, creamy. Water that’s high in calcium,  leaves a dry mouthfeel, similar to biting a piece of chalk. Water that’s low in minerality also leaves a dry mouthfeel and can almost metallic taste, because it soaks up the minerals in your mouth.

水尝起来也可能有干燥、丝滑、奶油状的感觉。钙含量高的水会留下一种干燥的口感，就像咬一块粉笔一样。低矿物质含量的水也会留下干燥的口感以及带有金属的味道，因为它会吸收你嘴里的矿物质 。

Mineral water brands often put their origin and minerality (sometimes measured as “total dissolved solids”) on the label. Some of these are available in your regular supermarket, while others are rarer and more expensive. In 2010, a 750ml bottle of water encased in 24-karat gold was auctioned off in Mexico City for $60,000. It was billed to have water sourced from French and Fijian springs and some glacial water from Iceland.

矿泉水品牌经常把他们的水源和所含有的矿物质放在标签上。有些矿泉水可以在普通的超市里买到，而另一些则更稀有，也更贵。2010年，一瓶被24K金包裹着的水，容量仅仅750毫升，却在墨西哥城以6万美元的价格被拍卖。它的水既有来自法国和斐济的泉水，又有来自冰岛的冰川水。

palatable

adj. 美味的，愉快的

例句：Various other pome fruits can produce palatable drinks.

deposit

n. 存款；沉积物；订金

v. 沉积；存储；付保证金

例句：All the other candidates lost their deposits.

auction

n. 拍卖

例句：The sale is a big coup for the auction house.