Bioavailability and Natural Mineralization

Why laboratory analysis alone does not reveal the whole truth about healthy water.

In the beverage industry, the quality of water is often defined by the sheer quantity of dissolved minerals (the so-called TDS value – Total Dissolved Solids). However, from the perspective of human physiology and cell biology, what matters is not how many minerals are present in the water, but in what form they exist. The key term is bioavailability.

Deep water that has been filtered through the rock layers of the Austrian Alps for centuries exhibits a molecular structure that artificially treated or industrially remineralized water simply cannot replicate.

Hydrogeochemistry: Molecular Structure and Bioavailability

For the human body to absorb minerals such as calcium or magnesium through cell membranes, they must be dissolved in water. Due to their dipole moment, water molecules (H₂O) arrange themselves specifically around the ions, forming what is known as a hydration shell (solvation).

• Artificial remineralization: The subsequent dissolution of salts in technically purified water often results in disordered, energetically unfavorable hydration shells. The cellular ion channels require additional metabolic energy to break down these artificial complexes.
• Geogenic deep water: Through decades of contact with clastic sediments and carbonate rock under high lithostatic pressure, thermodynamically stable, perfectly ordered hydration shells are formed. The minerals exist in a form that can be directly absorbed by the organism without any additional energy expenditure.

The Principle of Air Exclusion

Deep water and artesian springs have been located underground for centuries or millennia – hermetically sealed from the atmosphere. In this state, no free atmospheric oxygen is dissolved in the water. In hydrogeology, this is referred to as a reducing environment.

The water rests in a kind of "primordial state." Since no oxygen is present, no oxidation processes can take place. The water remains chemically absolutely stable and pure over vast periods of time.

Silicic Acid (H₄SiO₄): A Hallmark of Alpine Springs

Another often overlooked characteristic of premium waters is their content of dissolved silicic acid (silicon). While artificial waters typically only add table salt, calcium, and magnesium, deep waters dissolve natural silicic acid as they pass through primordial rock (such as quartzite or granite).

Scientific studies show that dissolved silicic acid in drinking water plays a significant role in the body:

• It supports collagen synthesis (connective tissue, vascular elasticity).
• It is capable of binding potentially neurotoxic aluminum ions in the gastrointestinal tract and promoting their excretion.

Conclusion for the Global Market

Those who export water intercontinentally are not merely exporting a liquid, but a biophysical system. The natural mineralization of artesian water is the result of time, pressure, and geology. It provides a soft mouthfeel (texture) and maximum cellular absorption without gastrointestinal strain – it is living geochemistry.