What Is Hard Water vs. Soft Water—and How Do Both Impact Your Hydration?
When you’re at a restaurant and the server asks you, “What type of water can I bring you?” you wouldn’t respond “I’ll take the hard water, please.” No. You’d say, “Tap water is fine, thanks.”
Of course, not all tap water is considered hard water, but you get the idea—hard water is a bit more rugged than its soft counterpart. But to the human eye, the two look exactly the same.
Hard Water vs. Soft Water: What’s the Difference?
Most people in the United States have access to clean running water. However, there are certain instances where water becomes contaminated with a bacteria or virus that causes people to become ill. That’s not what we’re talking about when it comes to hard water vs. soft water. The main difference between the two? Hard water contains more calcium and magnesium while soft water has more sodium. The viscosity and transparency of both types of water are the same.
Is Drinking Hard Water Bad for You?
No, drinking hard water isn’t bad for you. In fact, what makes water “hard” is all based on the environment around your home. Ninety percent of people in the U.S. get their water through a regulated public water system. In many parts of the country, the drinking water is naturally hard, meaning it consists of dissolved minerals. That just means minerals attach to clean drinking water as it flows over rocks and through pipes en route to your tap. (For the record, both hard and soft water can be contaminated.)
Benefits of Hard Water
There are a few reasons why hard water may be a good choice for you versus the softened variety.
Good Source of Nutrients
Because hard water naturally contains higher concentrations of two key electrolytes, as well as zinc and iron, drinking hard water gives you more bang for your buck. This is especially important for areas laden with food insecurity: Drinking hard water may help fill in communities’ nutrient gaps that would otherwise be missed in their food supply.
May Promote Heart Health
Both calcium and magnesium have been shown to support your heart, and because these two minerals are naturally occurring in hard water, it’s possible they could be doing some behind-the-scenes work that you’re not even aware of. However, the research on this theory is a bit mixed.
One older report suggests that hard water could potentially help stave off cardiovascular disease due to its mineral contents. The author theorized the higher calcium content may help reduce blood pressure, a connection that more current research also points to.
Additionally, low magnesium levels in bloodstream, which, according to the report, is “common to people living in soft-water areas” appear to be associated with heart arrhythmias. However, more current research says that while magnesium may offer benefits to the heart, its efficacy in regulating rhythm control and supporting recovery from cardiovascular events remain controversial.
The Role N-2 Water Plays
Some homes have softened water — or are in areas with naturally soft water. (FYI: Water softening is not the same as water filtration. The main way it’s done is via an ion exchange, which involves running hard water through resin that’s positively charged by sodium ions. This process essentially attracts the calcium and magnesium, removing it from your water.)
Reintroducing important minerals back into your water with N-2 Water is key. N-2 Water contains calcium and magnesium in a 1:1 ratio, as well as providing 10% of your RDA of calcium and 30% of your RDA of magnesium in each serving.
References
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “Drinking Water Facts and Stats." https://www.cdc.gov/drinking-water/data-research/facts-stats/index.html
United States Environmental Protection Agency: “Information about Public Water Systems.” https://www.epa.gov/dwreginfo/information-about-public-water-systems
USGS: “Hardness of Water.” https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/hardness-water
International Journal of Preventive Medicine: “Potential Health Impacts of Hard Water." Sengupta, Pallav. Int J Prev Med. 2013 Aug;4(8):866-75. PMID: 24049611; PMCID: PMC3775162. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3775162/
Aging Clinical and Experimental Research: “Cardiovascular safety of calcium, magnesium and strontium: what does the evidence say?” Curtis EM, Cooper C, Harvey NC. Cardiovascular safety of calcium, magnesium and strontium: what does the evidence say? Aging Clin Exp Res. 2021 Mar;33(3):479-494. doi: 10.1007/s40520-021-01799-x. Epub 2021 Feb 9. PMID: 33565045; PMCID: PMC7943433. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7943433/
Environmental Health Perspectives: “Cardiovascular Health: Hard Data for Hard Water.” Burton A. Hard data for hard water. Environ Health Perspect. 2008 Mar;116(3):A114. doi: 10.1289/ehp.116-a114a. PMID: 18335081; PMCID: PMC2265038. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2265038/
Nutrients: “Mechanisms Involved in the Relationship between Low Calcium Intake and High Blood Pressure.” Villa-Etchegoyen C, Lombarte M, Matamoros N, Belizán JM, Cormick G. Mechanisms Involved in the Relationship between Low Calcium Intake and High Blood Pressure. Nutrients. 2019 May 18;11(5):1112. doi: 10.3390/nu11051112. PMID: 31109099; PMCID: PMC6566648. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6566648/
Biomedicines: “The Role of Hypomagnesemia in Cardiac Arrhythmias: A Clinical Perspective.” Negru AG, Pastorcici A, Crisan S, Cismaru G, Popescu FG, Luca CT. The Role of Hypomagnesemia in Cardiac Arrhythmias: A Clinical Perspective. Biomedicines. 2022 Sep 21;10(10):2356. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines10102356. PMID: 36289616; PMCID: PMC9598104. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9598104/
Journal of Investigative Dermatology: “The Effect of Water Hardness on Surfactant Deposition after Washing and Subsequent Skin Irritation in Atopic Dermatitis Patients and Healthy Control Subjects." DOI: 10.1016/j.jid.2017.08.037 https://www.jidonline.org/article/S0022-202X(17)32938-X/fulltext
Clinical & Experimental Allergy: “The effect of water hardness on atopic eczema, skin barrier function: A systematic review, meta-analysis.” Zarif K. Jabbar-Lopez, Chuin Ying Ung, Helen Alexander, Nikeeta Gurung, Joanne Chalmers, Simon Danby, Michael J. Cork, Janet L. Peacock, Carsten Flohr. December 2020 https://doi.org/10.1111/cea.13797 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cea.13797