Did you know water naturally contains beneficial minerals like heart-healthy potassium, muscle-supporting magnesium, and bone-strengthening calcium—just to name a few?

And that without those minerals, what’s left is depleted water that’s been described as “tasteless,” “flat,” and “dead”? 

So not only are they beneficial for your health, these minerals are beneficial for your tastebuds, too… 

But your body can’t make them on its own, which means you have to get them from food, supplements, or—surprise!—water. And yet, many filtration systems blindly remove them from your water. 

We dive into all of the details below, but first, let's talk about how these healthy minerals end up in your water…

• Water naturally contains healthy minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium—and your body can't make them on its own.
• Roughly half of Americans don't get enough calcium. When you fall short, your body pulls the calcium it needs from your bones.
• Your body may absorb magnesium, the "calm mineral," better from water than it does from other sources.
• Many Americans take in less potassium than recommended, even when also taking supplements. 
• Clearly Filtered's Affinity® Filtration Technology is the only filtration technology proven to protect you from up to 386+ contaminants without targeting healthy minerals.

They come from the ground...

Rain and snowmelt soak into the soil and move slowly through layers of rock. Some of those layers are naturally rich in the very minerals your body needs. For example, limestone and dolomite carry calcium and magnesium. Feldspar and mica, the speckled minerals in granite, hold potassium.

As water works its way through these rocks, tiny amounts of these minerals dissolve into it… 

Think of it like steeping tea: the water passes through and pulls out what's inside.

That same mineral-rich water fills private wells and feeds the rivers and reservoirs that supply most American cities with tap water. 

Point is, nature puts these minerals in your water. Everything that happens between the ground and your glass decides whether they stay in it. 

The standard water treatment your city performs before sending water to your tap doesn't remove these minerals, and why would it?

Treatment plants are built to take out what doesn't belong in your water, like bacteria and sediment, not calcium and magnesium.

After all, your body needs all three:

• Calcium builds strong bones and teeth. On top of that, it helps your muscles contract, your blood clot, and your nerves carry messages between your brain and the rest of your body.
• Magnesium plays a role in more than 300 processes in your body, supporting everything from muscle and nerve function to energy production and blood sugar control.
• Potassium helps keep fluid balanced inside and around your cells, and adequate intake is associated with lower blood pressure.

That may not sound like much, but it’s not hyperbole when we say that we can’t live without these minerals. And, unfortunately, a lot of us fall short on all three… 

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in your body, yet a 2024 analysis of federal health survey data found almost half of Americans don't get enough of the mineral based on estimated average requirements (EARs). Worse, that same analysis found the average American's calcium intake has been dropping since 2009… 

Supplements aren't solving the problem, either. Even counting the calcium Americans get from supplements, 44% still fall short of the recommended amount.

Why is that shortfall such a big deal?

The calcium in your blood keeps your heart beating, your muscles contracting, your nerves firing, and your blood clotting. And because that calcium is so important, your body pulls from the calcium stored in your bones to fuel those processes whenever you don't take in enough.

That's why, over time, a shortage in calcium can lead to thin, weak, and brittle bones. And eventually, osteoporosis, also known as the "silent disease."

Osteoporosis can lead to fractures, often in the hip, spine, or wrist. In serious cases, the National Institute on Aging says a minor bump or a cough is enough to break a bone.

So why remove calcium from your water when we're already so short on it?

Tired? Run down? Muscles cramping? Magnesium might be the issue. After all, 48% of Americans ingest less magnesium from food and beverages than their respective EARs… 

Meanwhile, magnesium powers more than 300 processes in your body, and it's been linked to better sleep, calmer nerves, and relaxed muscles. That’s why some call it the "calm mineral."

When you run low, fatigue and weakness tend to show up first, with numbness, tingling, and muscle cramps following behind.

You can probably blame food processing for the shortfall…

Processed foods tend to contain far less magnesium than they used to. For example, a review of cereal processing research found that refining wheat into white flour strips out about 80% of the mineral.

All that brings us to your water…

Your body may absorb magnesium from water better than it does from other sources. Researchers who tracked magnesium through the body found healthy young women absorbed about half of the magnesium from the mineral water they drank, compared with roughly 30% of the magnesium they take in overall. In other words, a little magnesium in your water can go a long way.

Like calcium, most of the magnesium you get is from food. But you could be getting it from your water, too.

Potassium is the mineral we may fall the shortest on of all…

National Institutes of Health (NIH) says most Americans take in less than the recommended amount, even after adding in supplements. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) recommend 3,400 mg a day for men and 2,600 mg for women. Americans average less than 2,500 mg a day, which lands below the recommendation for both genders.

That's concerning because potassium keeps fluid balanced inside and around your cells, which is a big part of staying hydrated. It helps your muscles contract, including your heart. And it keeps your nerves firing the way they should…

On top of all that, potassium also helps your body clear out extra sodium, which is why adequate potassium intake is associated with lower blood pressure. Of course, most of us have the opposite problem: too much sodium and too little potassium.

Fall short on potassium long enough and NIH notes it can raise blood pressure, pull calcium from your bones, and increase your risk of kidney stones.

While water tends to carry far less potassium than calcium or magnesium, there's no reason to filter out the little you get—especially when so many of us are running low. 

On one end of the spectrum, you have mainstream water filters that rely on basic carbon technology to target as few as 5 of the 324+ contaminants found in tap water… 

Sure, they don't target minerals, but they also don't target cancer-linked PFAS, brain-damaging lead, hormone-disrupting fluoride, and hundreds of other common dangers. 

On the other end of the spectrum, you have reverse osmosis technology that tends to blindly remove virtually everything from your water, including the healthy minerals you just read about.

That’s why so many RO users end up paying to put those minerals back after filtration. 

So if ordinary water filters protect you from as little as 2% of what's in your water, and other filters remove the good with the bad, what do you do?

You shouldn't have to choose between cleaner water and healthier water. With Clearly Filtered, you don't have to… 

Our proprietary Affinity® Filtration Technology is the only filtration technology on the planet proven to protect you from up to 386+ common contaminants—without targeting healthy minerals.

The result is great-tasting water that's as healthy as it is clean. And regardless of which Clearly Filtered system you choose, you never have to worry about remineralizing your water.

In other words, we always put your health and safety first… 

Pour a glass from our best-selling NSF Certified filtered water pitcher, let clean water flow from any fridge or sink, or bring it along on every adventure with an eco-friendly filtered water bottle.