Reese’s Mineral Project

Why are some water brands (Fiji) more expensive than others (Ice Mountain) and what kind of

minerals are used in the more expensive water in comparison to cheap water?

Assumptions

My first assumption was that Fiji was more expensive because it is flown all the way from the island of Fiji in the South Pacific, whereas Ice Mountain gets their water from two groundwater wells in Michigan. I also thought that Fiji is more expensive because of the thickness of the bottle.

Ice Mountain

This graph shows the difference between Ice Mountain and Fiji. Although Ice Mountain has more minerals, Fiji has larger amounts of minerals that are good for you.

19 mg TDS

6.98 mg pH Factor

1.3 mg Calcium

1.3 mg Magnesium

46.1 mg Hydrogenic Carbonate

1.1 mg Chloride

0.8 mg Potassium

1.1 mg Sodium

4.7 mg Sulphates

Fiji93 mg Silica

7.7 mg pH Factor

18 mg Calcium

15 mg Magnesium

152 mg Bicarbonates

* All measurements aremilligrams per liter.

New Topic

How do the minerals in Fiji water help our body?

MagnesiumMagnesium is an essential part of your body and helps do things like transmission of nerve impulses, body temperature regulation, detoxification, energy production, and the formation of healthy bones and teeth. Lack of magnesium in the body is difficult because the kidneys limits the amount of magnesium that leaves your body, but is still possible and can lead to hypocalcaemia or hypokalemia.

Category Recommended Dietary Allowance

1-3 Years 80 mg/day

4-8 years 130mg/day

9-13 240 mg/day

Calcium

Your body needs calcium to build and maintain strong bones. Your heart, muscles and nerves also need calcium to function properly. Lack of calcium in the body could lead to osteoporosis. Osteoporosis makes bones weak and brittle. Calcium can also prevent high blood pressure, certain cancers and aiding weight loss.

Category Recommended Calcium Intake

0-6 Months 210 mg/day

7-12 Months 270 mg/day

1-3 Years 700 mg/day

4-8 Years 1,000 mg/day

9-18 1,300 mg/day

19-50 1,000 mg/day

51 and up 1,000 mg/day

SilicaSilica can help improve connective tissues in the human body, including cartilages, tendons and blood vessels walls. Silica also helps make bones stronger and reduces joint pain. Silica could cause a disease called Silicosis, which in Acute form, could lead to death.

What are the symptoms of silicosis?

Silicosis is classified into three types: chronic/classic, accelerated,and acute.

Chronic/classic silicosis, the most common, occurs after 15–20 years of moderate to low exposures to reparable crystalline silica. Symptoms associated with chronic silicosis may or may not be obvious; therefore, workers need to have a chest x-ray to determine if there is lung damage. As the disease progresses, the worker may experience shortness of breath upon exercising

and have clinical signs of poor oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange. In the later stages, the worker may experience fatigue, extreme shortness of breath, chest pain, or respiratory failure.

Accelerated silicosis can occur after 5-10 years of high exposures to reparable crystalline silica. Symptoms include severe shortness of breath, weakness, and weight loss. The onset of symptoms takes longer than in acute silicosis.

Acute silicosis occurs after a few months or as long as 2 years following exposures to extremely high concentrations of reparable crystalline silica. Symptoms of acute silicosis include severe disabling shortness of breath, weakness, and weight loss, which

often leads to death.

https://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3176.html

SuggestionsAccording to my research, Fiji is much better for you than Ice Mountain. This is because Fiji has many more healthy minerals in it than Ice Mountain. Because of this, I suggest Fiji over Ice Mountain.

Wrap-UpI had a relatively easy time doing this project, even though there were some obstacles along the way. My first obstacle was that I couldn’t find the same size bottle to compare Fiji to Ice Mountain. My second obstacle was that I was out sick for 4 days in a row and got little work done in those days.

Sources• "Ice Mountain - Bottled Water of the World." Finewaters. FineWaters, LLC, n.d.

Web. 10 Apr. 2015. • "Bicarbonate." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Mar. 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. • "Top 5 Health Benefits of Magnesium." Newsmax. N.p., 01 Oct. 2014. Web. 10 Apr.

2015. • Mayo Clinic Staff. "Calcium and Calcium Supplements: Achieving the Right Balance."

Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 4 Mar. 2015. Web.

• "Crystalline Silica Exposure." Crystalline Silica Exposure. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2002. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.

• The Health Benefits Of Silica." RSS. Silalive Silica Health Benefits, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.

• "FAQs Archive - FIJI Water." FIJI Water. Fiji, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2015• "Fiji Water." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Mar. 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.