France is the land of mineral waters: Vichy, Badoit, Contrex, Hépar, names that are also pharmacy prescriptions. Yet the use of water as a therapeutic tool remains confused, somewhere between marketing and prescribed spa medicine. A reasoned guide requires three skills: reading a label, knowing the great families, and knowing when water is a medicine and when it is only a drink.
Reading a water label: dry residue and composition
The first line to read on a mineral water is the dry residue: the weight of minerals left after a litre is evaporated at 180°C. It is the measure of minerality.
- < 50 mg/L: very low mineralisation (light spring water, such as Volvic)
- 50-500 mg/L: low mineralisation (everyday use)
- 500-1500 mg/L: medium mineralisation
- > 1500 mg/L: highly mineralised (“medicinal” water, such as Contrex at ~2000, or Hépar)
Below the dry residue, the composition lists the ions: calcium, magnesium, sodium, bicarbonates, sulphates, chlorides. These determine the family and the use.
The great families: sodium, sulphate, bicarbonate, calcium waters
Sodium waters (Vichy Célestins, Badoit): rich in sodium and bicarbonates. Traditionally “digestive”: they relieve the liver and sluggish transit. Major contraindication: hypertension and low-sodium diets.
Sulphate waters (Contrex, Hépar): rich in sulphates and often calcium. They stimulate bile drainage and transit; Hépar is the classic answer to chronic constipation. Use: short course, not a table water.
Bicarbonate waters (Vichy, Saint-Yorre): alkalinising through their bicarbonate buffer. They relieve gastric acidity and the post-prandial “acidosis” of rich diets. This is the family tradition associates with “the liver”.
Calcium and magnesium waters (Contrex, Rozana, Hépar for magnesium): supply minerals in bioavailable solution. The calcium in a calcium-rich water contributes to meeting requirements; the magnesium in magnesium-rich waters helps prevent cramps and fatigue.
| Family | Examples | Traditional use | Contraindications |
|---|---|---|---|
Prescribing by terrain: the correspondence table
The terrain-based reading, crossing spa tradition with TCM interpretation:
- Congestive terrain / Dampness-Phlegm: sulphate waters as a short course (Hépar), light waters otherwise; avoid sodium waters that add to the “fullness”.
- Hot digestive terrain / Stomach Heat: bicarbonate waters (Vichy) that buffer acidity.
- Yin-deficient terrain / Dryness: low-mineralisation waters, regular hydration; rich waters do not replace hydration, they load it.
- Yang-deficient terrain / cold circulation: no specific contraindication, but very cold water strains a fragile digestive Fire; drink it warm or at room temperature.
- Stone-forming tendency: depends on the type of stone; calcium waters are not contraindicated in calcium stones (dietary calcium binds oxalates in the food bolus), but the prescription remains medical.
The contraindications: hypertension, stones, CKD
Three major contraindications structure the proper use of rich waters.
Hypertension: sodium waters load with sodium what the diet must spare. A litre of Vichy Célestins provides ~1200 mg of sodium, close to half the recommended intake. On a hypertensive terrain, the prescription is clear: low-sodium water. The article on hypertension in TCM details the associated terrain.
Kidney stones: depends on the type of stone. Calcium stones do not contraindicate calcium waters (dietary calcium binds oxalates in the food bolus and reduces their absorption); the prescription depends on the stone’s composition and remains medical.
Chronic kidney disease: a failing Kidney can no longer handle mineral loads. Rich waters become a burden the kidney cannot excrete; on a CKD terrain, minerality is prescribed, not chosen.
Hydrating without drinking: high-water-content foods
Hydration is not only liquid: a significant share of daily water comes from food. High-water fruits and vegetables (cucumber ~96 %, courgette ~95 %, watermelon ~92 %, citrus ~88 %) provide a “structured” water that the body absorbs slowly, at the pace of digestion.
In TCM terms this is “Yin” hydration: water that arrives with substance rather than water that is drunk. On Dryness or Yin deficiency terrains, hydrating food complements drinking; soups and stews hydrate as much as water itself.
FAQ: mineral waters
Should you drink mineral-rich water every day?
No: highly mineralised waters (>500 mg/L) are course waters, not daily hydration. Everyday water is low- to medium-mineralised; richness is reserved for courses with a precise aim.
Are sodium waters dangerous in hypertension?
Yes: a litre of Vichy Célestins or Badoit provides ~1000-1200 mg of sodium, half the recommended intake. On a hypertensive or low-sodium terrain, these waters are contraindicated for daily use.
Which water for chronic constipation?
Magnesium-rich sulphate waters (Hépar, Contrex) as a short course: sulphate and magnesium stimulate transit. This is a therapeutic use to discuss with the doctor, not a permanent habit.
Is sparkling water worse than still water?
Not in itself: the gas is CO₂, with no significant effect in healthy subjects. Some naturally sparkling waters are also sodium-rich (Badoit); the problem is not the gas, it is the composition.
Water as a tool, not a habit
Mineral water is the most French and most misused of therapeutic tools: it is chosen by taste or advertising when it should be chosen by dry residue, ionic family and terrain. Old spa medicine knew what marketing has blurred: a water is a prescription, not a drink. To locate your terrain: the Yin Shi energy test maps your profile in a few minutes.
To go further
Yin Shi ecosystem resources directly related to this article.
Which water for your constitution?
The CCMQ questionnaire locates the terrain to steer the water prescription towards.
Take the test →Prescribing water according to terrain
The lesson guides the prescription of mineral waters according to the patient's terrain.
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