Can “Copper Water” Actually Help Your Digestion?

The Trend: Long before anyone was posting their morning routine online, people were storing drinking water in copper vessels. It’s an ayurvedic practice from India, where copper was once considered a natural purifier, and it’s been making a comeback lately in the form of sleek hammered bottles all over your feed. The history checks out, but the wellness claims attached to them are a little more confusing.

What People Are Saying: Proponents say copper water helps with digestion and inflammation, but most of that isn’t backed by research. The one area where copper has science on its side is its antimicrobial properties. Studies show that harmful bacteria can be killed when water sits in copper vessels, but this takes at least 16 to 48 hours, so your on-the-go copper bottle probably isn’t doing that.

What to Know: Copper is a mineral your body actually needs, and the small amounts that leach from these vessels are considered safe. The bigger concern, however, is overexposure because storing water too long or using a bottle that isn’t fully coated can push copper levels higher than you’d want, and too much over time has been linked to nausea and stomach pain.