Water Bottle

Frank II,

Sorry to hear that you're having problems. For the short term, bottled water may help you to avoid problems.

You may be able to find something like this in local stores - https://www.amazon.com/BRITA-Filtered-Bottle-Filter-included/dp/B00BG9DHD6

This will provide some ideas of the types of water bottles with filters that are available - https://www.mec.ca/en/search/?text=water+filter+bottles&org_text=water+filter+bottles . MEC always checks their products out carefully, so that's the first place I go when looking for products of that type.

You could also ask your hotel staff if there are any outdoor equipment stores in the area, or whether they have any suggestions. I'd have to spend some time searching the net.

This:

"I am happy to drink tap water but for my own health I would like to find a small water bottle that filters the water for chemicals or
minerals, not diseases which I know are not in water supply."

Caught my eye. When you refer to "minerals" in water, you're referring to ionized inorganic constituents dissolved in the water. These are not removed by filtration -- they pass right through because filters are designed to remove suspended solids (particulates) not dissolved ions. If the filter contains activated organic carbon it can remove some organic contaminants and a few inorganic contaminants, but most dissolved constituents pass through.

My advice for you, if you choose not to drink tap water, would be to look at the label on the bottled water you're considering and choose one that has the lowest level of "TDS" or total dissolved solids. Use google translate or bing translator to figure out how that is worded in whatever language used where you are. Anything below about 500 ppm, or milligrams per liter, probably won't cause you problems. Anything above 1,000 ppm, if you're not used to it, may cause some people problems, especially if it's high in sulfate, which can have a laxative effect for some people when present at high concentrations.

But don't kid yourself that bottled water is necessarily better for you than tap water. I was in Italy a few months ago and went to the trouble to look at the nitrate concentration in the various bottled water products I came across. If I recall correctly, only one that I encountered was below the U.S. EPA's maximum contaminant level for nitrate of 10 ppm. Values of 12 ppm or 14 ppm were common. Granted, EPA's value is for long-term exposure and is aimed at preventing methemoglobinemia (blue baby syndrome) in infants. For short-term exposure, the World Health Organization's recommended value is 50 ppm of nitrate.

I find the Cappucinos and fruit for breakfast that isn't my normal fare at home can cause tummy problems.

It's funny. In some areas I have problems, and others I don't.

No problem in the UK, Ireland, France, Iceland. Problems in Germany, Austria and Italy.

Or it may not be the water at all. I eat fairly light so I don't know if it's caused by food.

So you have problems with the Axis but not the Allies? Sounds like your stomach is fighting WWII!

So you have problems with the Axis but not the Allies? Sounds like your stomach is fighting WWII!

Good one Richard!

Have a look: in Austria and Germany mineral waters are highly mineralized and taste positively salty. They probably assume that if you want simple water tasting of water, you would drink from the tap. In Italy a lot of people do care about mineral content of water and buy lightly mineralized waters that are lighter than tap water. It is a common Italian wisdom that you should drink light water to keep your daily salt intake low and lower your blood pression.

For example: now I go to my kitchen and check the mineral water I drunk with my lunch. It was chosen as being the cheaper at the supermarket. The "residuo fisso a 180 °C" (that is the mineral content after boiling the water away) is 51 mg/L: you could use that water in your pressing iron without really damaging it. To get anything purer you would need distilled water. 51 mg/L is really low, but values up to 200 mg/L are still considered as being low. Not all Italian waters are so low - Uliveto, Lete, Sangemini and Ferrarelle are in the high bracket, Sant'Anna and Levissima in the very low category. You can always check the label.

As another example, I go to the website of Römerwasser, an Austrian mineral water. Only the calcium is 604 mg/L and they are advertising it as a positive feature. Then add the other minerals.

Frank II, I agree with what K said that simple filter devices cannot removed dissolved minerals. High sulfate is a common cause of GI problems when its higher than what you are normally used to, so I always look at that level before buying bottled water. Calcium and magnesium are abundant in just about any food you are consuming and are less likely a culprit.

Sorry you are having issues, it could just be a combo of everything...not just water...but Aqua Panna has a very low mineral content...you may want to try that. Good luck!

p.s. don't know if this will help but milk is much more hydrating than water... I recall reading this last year

https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/06/30/milk-and-other-surprising-ways-to-stay-hydrated/?_r=0