The
most common question asked about distilled water is about the apparent
"lack of minerals" in the pure distilled water.
Our
body needs minerals, but they most be special minerals, processed by
the plant or food cycle. Our body then absorbs these minerals through
the chelation(pronounced key-la-shun) process, when combined with specific
amino acids in our body.
Minerals
found in water are inorganic---simply pieces of rock, stone and dirt
dissolved in water. Science tells us that only plant life can absorb
inorganic materials and subsequently convert these to usable minerals
which can in turn be absorbed by our digestive system.
Therefore,
we obtain our mineral nutrients from fruits, vegetables, plant and animal
life. The medical and scientific experts quoted on the preceding pages
give adequate testimony to this fact.
Occasionally
we find sincere, but badly misdirected authors making statements to
the contrary. For example, Dr. Martin Fox, in his recent book "Healthy
Water for a Longer Life" recommends an "ideal" drinking
water which contains 170 milligrams per liter of rock lime(calcium bicarbonate),
is alkaline and contains large amounts of salts, metals and other dissolved
debris unusable by the body.
I
doubt that few if any individuals who are kidney patients would follow
such a water diet, inasmuch as these "ideal" amounts of lime
and salts would block their kidneys and perhaps become life-threatening.
We
need to learn from even this simple example that if the body did use
the minerals in water, these kidney patients wouldn't have to worry
about what type of water they used for drinking and/or dialysis.
On
the contrary, tens of thousands of kidney patients are living and walking
testimonials to the fact that the body does not absorb these inorganic
minerals and salts from tap or even "spring" water.
Refer
to "Is Mineral
Water Good for You" for additional information on this subject.
Some
detractors of distilled water claim that distilled water is "flat",
it contains no oxygen, and has no taste. Distilled water may taste "flat"
compared to water containing chlorine or other chemicals. The objective
of a water purifier is to remove chemicals and foreign materials from
tap water.
If
a water purification system is ineffective in this job, a "taste"
remains---a taste you can smell or an aftertaste which stays in your
mouth. Distilled water leaves no aftertaste because it contains none
of the chemicals and impurities which create the "taste".
Good
tasting drinking water also contains oxygen. Pure water, H2O, contains
two molecules of hydrogen and one molecule of oxygen. For those who
say that distilled water contains no oxygen, we remind them that without
oxygen, water cannot exist as water, it is simply two molecules of hydrogen.
Additionally,
dissolved oxygen is also found in all types of water, including distilled
water. Several milligrams of dissolved oxygen normally are found in
water. Oxygen can be added by various means to distilled water, spring
water or even reverse osmosis by various techniques.
See
our page on "Oxygenated drinking water
" for more information on this subject.
One
type of purified water we do not recommend for drinking is "deionized"
water. "Deionized" water is processed by highly reactive chemical
resins which extract positive and negatively charged ionic particles
such as calcium, sulfate, magnesium, iron, etc.
Without
very exacting and near continual monitoring of deionizer water purifiers,
this method of water processing may leave the deionized water highly
reactive. This type of reactive water is excellent for cleaning semiconductor
chips, but we do not recommend it for use in food and drinking water
applications.
Industry
uses a considerable amount of deionized water in manufacturing and computer
chip assembly areas but sternly warns it's workers not to drink the
deionized water. These manufacturing operations instead bring in bottled
distilled or spring water for their workers.
Yet,
most vending machines and many water stores and bottlers don't give
a second though to using this type of process in their equipments or
products.
The
deionization process does not remove toxic chemicals or bacteria. In
fact, the chemical resins used in the deionizer are notorious breeding
grounds for bacteria.
We
recommend that you read labels on bottled water (and even vending machines)
very carefully before buying any type of water for drinking purposes.
Many
labels, particularly on vending machines, may say
"...for all distilled water uses".
This
is NOT steam distilled water. It is usually water treated by either
deionization or reverse osmosis, with total solids reduced to a level
below 10 milligrams per liter. In most cases, the water purity is normally
far poorer than that of steam distilled water.
For
additional information on distilled water, in particular what medical
and government experts say about distilled water, read our article entitled:
"What the Experts Say
About Distilled Water".
Proceed to Water Treatment
System Comparison
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Distillers
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