Gerolsteiner is a naturally sparkling mineral water sourced from a well in Germany, and it was Aajonus Vonderplanitz's single most frequently recommended water for consumption within the Primal Diet framework. It is not merely water in his view, it is a functionally distinct substance from plain water, from artificially carbonated water, and from other processed beverages, because its carbonation originates entirely from the natural geological structure of the well itself, not from any laboratory or chemical manufacturing process.

Aajonus consistently identified Gerolsteiner as his favorite water, distinguishing it above all other naturally sparkling waters because it contains the highest concentration of natural carbon dioxide of any commercially available naturally sparkling mineral water. This extremely high carbon dioxide content is so significant that Gerolsteiner actually had excess gas beyond what could be dissolved into its own water table, and was, at the time Aajonus was speaking about it, selling that surplus carbon dioxide gas to other sparkling water companies, including Perrier, whose own wells had much lower natural gas levels.

Within the Primal Diet, Aajonus's position on water consumption overall was that most people drink far too much plain water, that plain water is a solvent that leaches nutrients, dilutes digestive juices, and dehydrates cells rather than hydrating them. He recommended very small quantities of water, and when he did recommend water, it was almost exclusively naturally sparkling mineral water, with Gerolsteiner sitting at the top of that list for as long as it was available in glass bottles. He considered it qualitatively superior to plain water not simply because of mineral content, but because of the specific effects its natural carbonation produced in the digestive tract and the bloodstream.

---

Aajonus stated directly and repeatedly that naturally carbonated mineral water, including Gerolsteiner, functions as a natural hydrogen peroxide. This was not a metaphorical comparison, he described it as having literal bleaching and oxidizing properties. He demonstrated this by pointing out that if you use sparkling mineral water to clean a stain, it will remove the stain quickly and easily, and if you do not rinse it out afterward, it will bleach the fabric. He said it will put a bleach spot on tile, on untreated tile, if left without rinsing. He attributed this directly to the hydrogen peroxide activity of the naturally carbonated water.

This hydrogen peroxide activity is what makes it useful for dissolving plaque in the gums and on teeth, for neutralizing compounds in formulas, and for its broader therapeutic applications in the body.

Aajonus explained that when naturally carbonated water enters the digestive tract, it produces increased nitrogen in the intestines. He stated this helps digestibility, it enhances the intestinal environment in ways that support better breakdown and processing of food. He connected increased intestinal nitrogen to improved digestive function as a core mechanism.

This increase in nitrogen is one of the primary reasons he preferred naturally carbonated water over plain water when any water consumption was warranted.

Aajonus explained the full pathway: when the carbon dioxide from naturally carbonated water enters the intestines, it converts to nitrogen, and then when that nitrogen passes into the blood, it converts to oxygen. He stated this clearly in response to a question about how carbonated water could produce oxygen:

"When it goes into the intestines, it turns into nitrogen and the nitrogen when it goes into the blood turns into oxygen."

And: "By the time it gets to the blood it turns into oxygen."

This increase in oxygen in the blood was described as one of the primary physiological benefits of consuming naturally sparkling water over plain water. He said flat out: "It increases the oxygen in the blood."

This contrasts sharply with artificially carbonated water, which Aajonus said causes radicals and free radicals, resulting in mineral and oxygen deficiencies, the opposite effect.

Aajonus stated that naturally sparkling mineral water helps neutralize a lot of alkalinity and other toxins that could interfere with digestion. He placed this property in the context of the digestive system, that the presence of natural carbonation helps counteract overly alkaline conditions that would otherwise disrupt the digestive process.

Because of its natural hydrogen peroxide activity, Aajonus said Gerolsteiner helps dissolve compounds. In the context of dental health, he stated that the carbon dioxide in Gerolsteiner, when combined with acidic ingredients such as lemon juice and vinegar, actively dissolves plaque from the gums and around the teeth. He made it clear this was a mechanical and chemical process, the carbonation driving the dissolving action, the acids contributing to breakdown of the mineral deposits that form plaque.

He also described mineral water in general as helping dissolve and bind with toxins in the body, with blood fat or protein then binding with the mineral/toxin mass to be eliminated from the body.

Aajonus explained the geological reason for this: in a natural spring where carbonation occurs, the water sits in the aquifer and the carbon dioxide gas accumulates in a layer directly above it. There are literally two separate layers, the water table below and the carbon gas above. When Gerolsteiner harvests its water, they put two separate tubes down into the well, one drawing from the water layer and one drawing from the carbon gas layer, and shoot both into the bottle simultaneously. They are combined in the bottle, not mixed in the well.

He said the carbon dioxide in Gerolsteiner's well is so concentrated, so dense, that they only need to add approximately 20% of the gas to saturate their water fully. The remaining gas, the surplus they cannot dissolve into their own water, was being sold to Perrier and other sparkling water companies whose own wells had very low natural gas levels.

This makes Gerolsteiner, by Aajonus's account, the most carbon dioxide-rich naturally sparkling mineral water commercially available, which is why he consistently named it as his first choice among naturally sparkling waters.

---

Aajonus's recommendation of Gerolsteiner was entirely conditional on its availability in glass bottles. He was unequivocal: once Gerolsteiner was bought by another company and began packaging everything in plastic, he stopped drinking it and stopped recommending it. He stated: "I won't drink Gerolsteiner anymore."

He explained this decision clearly: water is a solvent, and as such it leaches toxins out of whatever contains it, including plastic bottles. He stated that the taste difference people noticed when Gerolsteiner switched to plastic in the US was real, they were tasting actual plastic in the water, and their taste buds were alive enough to detect it.

He confirmed that Gerolsteiner continued exporting in glass bottles to other countries while using plastic in the US market, and he expressed pointed frustration about this: "Maybe that German company does not like Americans."

Aajonus drew an absolute distinction between naturally sparkling water and artificially carbonated water, and this distinction is central to understanding why Gerolsteiner (in glass) was acceptable while other carbonated beverages were not.

Naturally sparkling water, the category Gerolsteiner belongs to, has carbonation that comes from carbon dioxide naturally present in the geological well, harvested along with the water and introduced into the bottle simultaneously, without any chemical process involved.

Artificially carbonated water, sodas, soda water used in alcoholic beverages, and waters labeled "carbonation added", use carbon dioxide produced in a laboratory through a chemical reaction. Aajonus described this as "unnatural, chemically derived carbon dioxide." He said this causes radicals and free radicals, resulting in mineral and oxygen deficiencies, sometimes manifesting as headaches. The effects are opposite to those of naturally sparkling water.

He explained how to read labels: if a label reads "carbonation added" or simply "carbonated," the carbonation is synthetic. If it reads "naturally carbonated," "natural carbonation added," or "naturally sparkling," the carbonation is natural from the well and highly charged with healthful electrolytes.

However, he also noted an important edge case: even if a label says "carbonation added," if the source of that carbonation is the natural gas from the same well as the water, meaning they are drawing the gas separately and combining it in the bottle, it is still natural. He specifically said this about some waters: "So no matter if it says carbonation added, as long as the" [the source is natural from the well]. This was in the context of distinguishing these waters from Coca-Cola and other sodas where the carbon dioxide is chemically manufactured.

Aajonus had previously recommended both Perrier and San Pellegrino as naturally carbonated. However, he noted that in the years preceding these talks, both companies had changed the wording on their labels from "naturally sparkling mineral water" to "sparkling natural water." He interpreted this label change as an indicator that they had switched to using synthetic carbon dioxide, though he stated he had tried to get confirmation letters from the companies and they had not responded. He said: "Better believe that they are", meaning adding synthetic carbon.

He later noted that Perrier had changed back: approximately two years before one of his Q&A responses, Perrier began purchasing natural carbon dioxide from another mineral spring company whose wells had excessive gas, essentially the same model as naturally sparkling water, sourcing the gas naturally even if from a different well. He confirmed this was acceptable.

---

After Gerolsteiner moved to plastic in the US, Aajonus named the following waters as acceptable alternatives, all of which he described as naturally carbonated in glass:

• San Pellegrino, named frequently, though he had concerns about label changes at points
• San Faustino, named as an alternative
• Apollinaris, named frequently; after Gerolsteiner switched to plastic, he stated he was drinking Apollinaris (spelled "Apolinaris" in some transcripts)
• Ramlösa / Ramlusa, named as naturally carbonated
• Perrier, conditionally acceptable once it returned to natural carbon dioxide sourcing
• Romulus / Ramusa, mentioned in one seminar transcript

He stated: "I'll go for something like San Pellegrino, San Faustino, Carrier, Ramlusa, Apolinaris, any one of those." And confirmed: "If it says carbonation added, yeah, if it's naturally carbonated, like those ones that I named, that's shooting the gas from the well into its water table. So that's still natural. It's not a chemically derived one."

At the time of writing in his newsletter, after Gerolsteiner switched to plastic: "Presently, if I were to sip a little water, it would be Apollinaris. Others are San Faustino, San Pellegrino and Perrier."

He also stated that the safest (chemical-free) water, if one were going to drink water, is naturally sparkling mineral water in glass, this was his standing position in the newsletters.

When Gerolsteiner water was being used in preparation of the clay poultice for burns or injuries, Aajonus gave specific instruction: if you use naturally carbonated Gerolsteiner water to wet the Terramin clay, you must first shake the water until there is no carbonation remaining in it. The reason is that carbonated waters are antibacterial by virtue of being a type of hydrogen peroxide. This would inhibit the probiotic effects of the clay, which depends on bacteria being active and alive. After 12 hours of clay application to a burn, he confirmed it was acceptable to rinse with Gerolsteiner water.

Aajonus was explicit that one should never drink any water from plastic bottles because water, as a solvent, leaches toxins from plastic. He stated people can taste the plastic in plastic-bottled water because there is actual plastic, including BPA (Bisphenol A) and other toxins, dissolved into the water. He confirmed: "Yes, the plastic BPAs and other toxins outweigh the health value negative" when asked whether the harm of plastic bottles outweighs the benefits of the water itself.

---

Aajonus did not describe Gerolsteiner as requiring a mandatory fat pairing in the same way he described raw meat or other foods requiring fat buffers. However, he consistently used Gerolsteiner as a carrier or mixing medium for formulas that included fats, coconut cream, dairy cream, honey, lemon juice, and other ingredients, and he was clear that water alone was problematic because it lacks the nutrients (specifically the ionic bonds) necessary for cellular absorption of H2O.

When he did drink water, including Gerolsteiner, he frequently described adding fats and other nutrients to make it more usable by the body. In one example from his own experience when he had no milk available: "I took that water, and from the rains, the rains had come, lots of bacteria in my home. So I took about a cup and a half of that water, I put coconut cream in it, I put dairy cream in it, I put honey, I put a little lemon juice in it. And cucumber, peeled a cucumber, and blended that all together."

This reflects his broader principle: when water must be consumed, adding fats and nutrients makes the water more cellularly usable rather than purely solvent-acting.

The naturally sparkling character of Gerolsteiner was specifically beneficial in formulas because pouring a mixture into the sparkling water causes it to distribute evenly throughout the water, the carbonation creates turbulence that blends the mixture uniformly. He stated this principle explicitly and repeatedly: "You don't pour the water into that mixture, you pour the mixture into the water. Why? Because if you pour the water into the mixture, it's going to separate and not distribute evenly and everywhere. If you pour that mixture into the sparkling water, it's going to react and mix in pretty evenly."

---

As detailed above in the Therapeutic Protocols section, Gerolsteiner is used topically in the mouth via a water pick device. The naturally sparkling water, combined with vinegar, lemon juice, and coconut cream, is jetted onto teeth and under gums to dissolve plaque. This is not an internal consumption, it is a topical jetting application to the gum line and tooth surfaces.

The mechanism at the topical level: the natural hydrogen peroxide in the Gerolsteiner, amplified by the acidic action of vinegar and lemon juice and the fat-based dissolving properties of coconut cream, physically dissolves the mineral calcium deposits that form plaque. This avoids the need for dental scraping procedures, which Aajonus stated damage the gums and the tooth surface.

Aajonus described the natural hydrogen peroxide action of Gerolsteiner operating on physical surfaces as well: it removes stains from fabric quickly and easily. He noted that if you use it for cleaning and do not rinse it completely out, it will bleach the fabric or surface, including creating a bleach spot on untreated tile. This external bleaching property is a direct demonstration of the hydrogen peroxide activity present in the water.

---

Aajonus documented his own water consumption in detail across multiple sources:

• During summer and spring/summer: up to a couple liters of water per week (approximately one cup per day)
• During fall and winter: as little as one cup of water per week
• At certain periods: "half a cup a month" or "a cup a month, maybe"
• At his lowest periods of water consumption: "this last week I've had about two ounces of water"
• When in Asia without access to milk: up to two cups of naturally sparkling water per day

He summarized: "The summer and the fall and winter I may drink one cup a week. One cup of water a week. During the summer and spring and summer I may drink a couple liters of water a week which makes about a cup of water a day. What kind of water is it? Gerolsteiner."

For people on the Primal Diet who are newer to it or who need more water: potentially up to a half cup to two cups per day, sipped rather than consumed all at once. He stated: "everybody in here might need a half, two, even a whole cup a day. And you need that for a while. Long while, probably. But you sip it."

He was also clear that "on my raw Primal Diet, drinking more than about ½ cup water daily leaches and dilutes nutrients in our digestive tracts and dehydrates cells rather than hydrates them."

This was stated as an absolute rule for any fluid, including Gerolsteiner: "You don't gulp any fluids, no matter what." The reason: gulping sends the liquid rushing to the kidneys, which then discharges it, leaving the cells without the H2O they need and robbing the nutrients of their carrier. Sipping allows the liquid and any nutrients it carries to be distributed throughout the body.

For the formulas specifically: "no more than two sips at a time, which is a, of that drink, every 10 to 15 minutes at the closest."

Aajonus stopped consuming Gerolsteiner entirely after it switched to plastic in the US, he stated he had not consumed any bottled water in three weeks at the time of writing one newsletter. He was drinking approximately ½ cup of Apollinaris per week as an alternative in that period.

---

Gerolsteiner's primary culinary application in Aajonus's framework is as a mixing base that distributes other ingredients evenly due to its carbonation turbulence. The carbonation causes a reactive mixing effect when other ingredients are poured into it, distributing fats, juices, honey, and creams evenly throughout the liquid without the separation that would occur if plain water were used.

The instruction was consistent across all formulas: pour the blended mixture into the sparkling water, never pour the sparkling water into the mixture.

The sport formula versions (detailed above) use Gerolsteiner or equivalent naturally sparkling water as a mixing component alongside cucumber puree, tomato puree, vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice, coconut cream, dairy cream, honey, and eggs. This is blended together and sipped throughout the day as the primary hydration strategy for active people or anyone needing hydration support.

The lime juice, lemon juice, honey, and coconut cream formula poured into Gerolsteiner is described as "quite delicious" and functions as an on-demand energy drink for fatigue states.

Aajonus described the anti-parasite formula foaming up like a float when the mixture is poured into the sparkling water, requiring a large glass because of the foam. This effervescent quality is part of the experience and function of using naturally sparkling water in these formulas.

---

This is a derivative use in the commercial sense rather than a personal consumption product: Aajonus documented that Gerolsteiner, due to the extreme concentration of carbon dioxide in its well, harvests more gas than it can dissolve into its own water. It then sells this surplus natural carbon dioxide to other companies, specifically Perrier was named, whose own wells have very low natural gas levels. This means that when Perrier returned to using "natural" carbon dioxide (approximately 2 years before one Q&A response), it was likely using natural carbon dioxide purchased from suppliers like Gerolsteiner rather than generating it from its own well at the same concentration.

---

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) gave Gerolsteiner an "F" rating in a 2011 water quality report. The question was submitted to Aajonus with apparent concern. His response was direct and detailed:

"Gerolsteiner received an F, because it does not treat its water at all and does not remove any bacteria that naturally exists in its completely natural water."

He explained that the EWG's framework defines bacteria in water as bad, and therefore gave Gerolsteiner its lowest rating. But Aajonus pointed out: "No other water in the world can foster agricultural growth like bacteria-rich rainwater." He was pointing out that bacteria in natural water is a feature, not a flaw, and that the EWG's framework itself was fundamentally wrong.

He also noted that the major reason for the F was that Gerolsteiner did not disclose on its label that it was untreated and might contain bacteria, a labeling/disclosure issue, not a safety issue by his standards.

He then issued a sharp criticism of the EWG itself: "Any company, calling itself Environmental Working Group, that gives its safest water endorsements to 3 of the most polluting food companies in the world (Gerber, Nestle and Penta), must have its values scrutinized and its roots should be tracked to those" [companies]. He was implying that the EWG's "safest water" endorsements went to highly processed, corporate-controlled water products, while the organization attacked one of the most genuinely natural, untreated water products commercially available.

Aajonus documented the switch of Gerolsteiner to plastic packaging in the US market and attributed no positive interpretation to it. He encouraged people to contact Gerolsteiner directly and noted that at least one person in his community had sent the company a message stating they would no longer use the product because of the switch to plastic. He confirmed that Gerolsteiner continued to export in glass to other countries while using plastic in the US, which he found notable.

Aajonus provided extensive historical context for why Americans were conditioned to drink large amounts of water, including bottled water. He stated that the bottled water industry began in the late 1960s to early 1970s, and that doctors were hired, initially by Coca-Cola according to one version, by the water industry according to another, to issue literature claiming everyone needed eight glasses of water daily. This marketing created the bottled water industry's profitability.

He contrasted this with his childhood memory: "I remember when I was in school in the 50's we took three sips off of the fountain a day. We drank milk or soda pop." And: "Do you remember as a kid at the water fountain, maybe you took two sips a day. You had milk, you had Coca-Cola and other soda pop, mainly milk."

He also noted that deliberate contamination of tap water (including fluoridation) served the additional purpose of driving people away from tap water toward bottled water, creating a captive market. He stated: "They started contaminating the water so that people wouldn't drink the tap water so they'd drink bottled water. So it's one system after another. Intentionally."

Aajonus documented that Perrier at some point changed from naturally carbonated to artificially carbonated water, which is why he stopped buying it and switched to Gerolsteiner in bulk. He noted that Perrier's label changed from "naturally sparkling mineral water" to "sparkling natural water", a subtle word reordering that he interpreted as a signal of the change in carbonation source. He stated he tried to get letters from both Perrier and San Pellegrino confirming whether they had switched to synthetic carbon dioxide, but they did not respond.

Later, approximately two years before one Q&A response, Perrier returned to using natural carbon dioxide by purchasing it from another mineral spring company with excess gas. He confirmed: "Yes, Perrier began buying natural carbon dioxide from another mineral spring company whose wells had excessive gases. That was about 2 years ago", making Perrier conditionally acceptable again.

---