Kona Deep, the brand of bottled deep ocean water, has received a boost after a human hydration study conducted at the University of Arizona found that it helped to hydrate consumers twice as fast as some rival products.
The naturally electrolyte-rich mineral water “shows promise as an optimal rehydrating source over a carbohydrate-based sports drink and a mountain spring water”, the researchers confirmed.
The study also found that subjects demonstrated significantly improved recovery of lower body muscle performance following rehydration with Kona Deep compared to the sports drink and mountain spring water. The study, which was published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, evaluated the impact of post-exercise hydration with desalinated deep ocean mineral water on exercise performance and rehydration.
Kona Deep provided samples of its bottled deep ocean water for the purposes of the study. In their concluding remarks, the US-based researchers admitted that it was “not known whether Kona enhances exercise performance under non-dehydrating conditions”, indicating that further research would be needed to determine if this was the case.
And the number of subjects used in the study – eight, only six of whom were included in the deep ocean water and bottled spring water experimental groups – makes the findings potentially vulnerable to scrutiny.
But Kona Deep chief executive officer Patrick Turpin claimed that the research provides valuable validation for the bottled deep water category.
He said: “Kona Deep is a great option for those who want their water to work harder, naturally. We already knew that Kona Deep delivers an extraordinary taste and hydration experience, but it’s very exciting that a new study quantified deep ocean water’s impressive rehydration benefits.”
Kona Deep comes from melted glacial water, which sunk to the ocean floor more than 1,000 years ago, creating a deep ocean current that still flows today. This infinitely renewable source absorbs naturally occurring electrolytes and minerals, which are crucial for hydration and body balance, along its journey across the ocean floor and along volcanic fissures.
While deep ocean water has traditionally been difficult to access, the brand said, the coast of Kona, Hawaii provides an ideal location to source and bottle the water because the ocean floor falls sharply to more than 3,000ft below the surface. At this depth, near-freezing cold conditions and prolonged darkness create a pure water that is protected from light and surface ocean water.
Once brought to the surface, the water is desalinated and bottled at the source with a total dissolved solids (TDS) content of 250, described as “the perfect balance of performance and taste”.
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