Maybe found some clues in bottled water

[Luisa22]

I think I have worked out why some bottled water upsets my IBS (D) and some doesn't.

All mineral water has some natural bicarbonate. The waters that seem okay for me, I noticed have lower bicarb levels, and the ones that can upset me have much higher levels.

I also found out that sodium bicarbonate draws water into the GI tract, and one of the side effects of , for instance, drinking bicarb of soda (baking soda) is loose stools!

But that could also help constipation in the amounts bottled water contains.

I thought it might be the magnesium content that bothered my gut, but am not so sure now. Or it might be a combination of high magnesium AND bicarbonate?

So, I took a look at five bottled waters in UK: San Pellegrino, Buxton, Tesco Ashbeck, Highland Spring, and Aqua Pura.

(mg per litre)

San Pellegrino...Magnesium 49.5, Bicarbonate 244

Buxton....Magnesium 19, Bicarbonate 248

Tesco Ashbeck....Magnesium 2.5, Bicarbonate 25

Highland Spring....Magnesium 10.1, Bicarbonate 150

Aqua Pura....Magnesium 7, Bicarbonate 55.

I was led to checking those out because I'd noticed only two on that list really suited me, one was borderline...(i.e. looser bm's sometimes but not always), and the others loose bm's more frequently. I had wondered why

The ones that suit me best are the ones with lower bicarb. and magnesium.

I'd been drinking ONLY Aqua Pura for a couple of weeks, and had pretty normal bm's more than 80% of that time! Sadly for some reason I can't get it right now!! It's suddenly become rare as hen's teeth.

But those two ingredients/minerals might not be triggers for everyone.

There are loads more bottled waters I haven't checked. But it might be worth looking into and experimenting with if you have IBS-D.

[Purplewoman]

Interesting thanks, we drink only bottled water so willLook at the bottles but seems the more expensive ones have more in ? We aim for Tesco water as the cheapest or b&M cheapest like u say hard to get at the moment !

[Judyliz]

Hello I am new to this forum and apologies if there is information already about this. Why do you drink bottled water and not tap water? I live in UK and drink tap water.

[BabsyWabsy in reply to Judyliz]

Tap water, although very safe in all areas of UK, can be very variable. Some is OK, some has a distinct flavour. In my area the water is very hard, containing a lot of minerals. I used to love it and drink a lot, but these days it seems to cause gut discomfort.

[Boxroad in reply to Judyliz]

I have not been able to tolerate tape water for about ten years, it’s the additives the water companies add to kill any bugs. I live in Essex

[Luisa22 in reply to Judyliz]

I don't like the chlorine-y taste. That can vary, and sometimes it tastes strong to me, I'm lucky that there's no fluoride added in my area. I do use tap water for everything else, cooking, hot drinks etc except having a drink of cold water. I also like the electrolytes in bottled water because on my last blood test my electrolytes were a bit out. But I just have to be careful I don't have too much of magnesium and bicarbonate.

[Mkimber]

I found water with a high pH level made my IBSD worse, such as Evian, Voss etc. I started for the health benefits they tout, better hydration etc, but they made me very sick!

[Luisa22 in reply to Mkimber]

I like a balanced ph, like 6.5...7 or something. Voss is slightly acidic at ph of 5.8

[Mkimber in reply to Luisa22]

The high alkaline really triggered me causing worse D and pain than I already have

[casares8]

Yes interesting, i always drink bottled water out of habit after living in Spain. Dont always check the mineral content so that is useful to know. As i have constipation i should drink those with more magnesium in, as obviously that would help, save me taking milk of magnesia at night 😃

[Luisa22 in reply to casares8]

And bicarbonate maybe. San Pellegrino is high in both. I hope changing water might help a bit at least?

[Daisychain127]

Thanks - that's really helpful.

[corpgov10]

Don't overthink and complicate things. It's likely a stress response our gut anticipates and so reacts accordingly which we can misleadingly interpret as "this water must have too high a this or that level".

What's worked for you before should work.

[Andann]

Might be better to get a filter for your tap water, either a special jug or a filter connected to the cold tap. I dont have any problem with water as far as I know, live in New Zealand and water content has not been mentioned by nutritionist/dietician.

[Stressedoutwoman]

I take bicarb in soda water for trapped wind I have ibs c and it doesn’t help me go at all

[Blue_81]

I have notice something similar with water. Some feel good to my stomach, while others feel awkward or even painful. It’s stressful to be always on alert and see what will sit well or be painful. Thanks for this information.

[Luisa22]

Okay, so for 5 weeks I drank no water except a low mineral content one. Aqua Pura. There are still the usual minerals in this, but at a lower level than the more popular waters.

For 5 weeks every single day my gut was almost 100% normal. Hardly any issues at all. It was wonderful. One glitch....at weekend I was constipated 2 days after a totally sleepless night (not related to IBS.)

I could eat many foods, with no problem. Even quite high fibre foods all of those weeks. I got back to being able to eat fruit with breakfast again. No bad effects.

Yesterday (with no diet change) I decided to try one of the other bottled waters

which I have a few bottles of. I was convinced it would make no difference at all. I hoped it wouldn't, because the Aqua Pura is now unavailable anywhere. But I had felt so normal, that I was sure it might be all in my head.

I drank about 500ml of a high mineral one (high bicarb. and magnesium.)

Today my gut was all wrong all day long. Sensitive, looser than normal, windy uncomfortable...etc.

I just know now that the water is having some effect. I had done no other different thing. Plus it wasn't all in my head, because I was convinced I'd be fine trying the other water.

I'd drink tap water but mine is not nice.