A process for the manufacture of a beverage for human consumption having beneficial effects relating to countering the effects of oxygen depletion in the human body, and the beverage produced by the process, which includes the steps of conditioning potable water to remove hardness, filtering the water to remove inorganic and organic matter, ozonating the water to purify it and to increase the level of dissolved oxygen in the water to at least 6 mg/l, adding potassium gluconate and immediately sealing within a container.