The Truth of Water - Answers

Anna from Wyoming Writes:

Hi, we get our water from a well and we use a water distiller for our drinking water. I am totally confused if this is the best water for us or not, because I am concerned about the water not having any minerals in it. Right now I add colloidal plant minerals to add some minerals, but please let me know if you have any better suggestions, the internet makes me scared with all their claims that distilled water leaches minerals out of your body!

Hi Anna, thanks for the question.

Two things happen to water when it passes through an R.O. membrane or a distiller:

1. The removal of minerals.  Water is the worlds most universal solvent, which is why you find naturally occurring minerals and metals in water.  Once these minerals are removed, it does allow for very fast ion transfer from a source of high ions (the minerals) to low or no ions (the “pure” water).   Think of it like heat - if you have one room at twenty degrees and another room of equal size beside it at ten, eventually both will be fifteen degrees.  This can suck dissolved minerals from your body and pass it into your urine, which can be a problem, assuming you have a major mineral deficiency in the first place.
2. The formation of carbonic acid.  With the minerals gone, the H2O is free to combine with the carbon dioxide in your water, forming carbonic acid. This will bring the pH of the water down to around 6.

The real question is will this do any long term damage.  The internet supports a lot of sensationalists that like to do fear mongering.  Fear mongering gets attention, and traffic, which is what webmasters like.  Creating this unfounded fear also drives sales for products that are not needed or just plain do not work, for the profit of these unethical business people.

I have not run across any sufficient long term studies stating if this lack of minerals is truly harmful or not.  The concept of “pure” water being harmful is a relatively new one and long term study is required.  However, there is no doubt that pure water is in reality an fairly aggressive and effective solvent.  That is scientifically valid.

My own personal thoughts are that if you are in good health, and have a healthy, balanced diet, there shouldn’t be any problems.  However, if you are very young (infant/toddler), very old, weak, infirm, or have or are at risk of having osteoporosis, than ingesting de-mineralized water might be a risk for you, a risk that you might not want to take.

Personally, I drink and cook with the municipally treated tap water available from my taps.  As a member of the municipal treatment industry, I am familiar with local and federal regulations as well as industry wide standards and have every confidence that I am getting safe water.

If you do feel that your distiller is no longer working for you, I would be happy to help point you in the right direction of other effective water treatments for your well water. But for now, happy drinking!

Mark from California Writes:

For many years I’ve used a sediment/carbon/ro/DI filter, to take my 390 PPM city water to zero PPM for drinking. Been drinking it for a decade, water indoor plants with it, feed it to pets, cook and drink with it, and have no problems. Now i read all over the net, the dangers of drinking ultra-pure RO/DI water.  We like the taste, and have had no health problems we know of.  Is ultra pure water safe - if one has a multivitamin daily?

Hi Mark, thank you for the question.

I’m not a health professional so I cannot tell you specifically how it’s affecting you, based on the amount you drink, your multivitamins or your current diet.  I am a water professional, and I can tell you the properties of DI/R.O. water and why it is considered dangerous to your health.

For many years, DI/R.O. was considered the best water for you.  The rational was that if nothing was in the water except water itself, then this must be the best for you.  Nothing but water and nothing could hurt you.

Today we know this is not true for two reasons:

1. Natural water is a perfect source for vitamin and mineral absorption by the body
2. Ultra pure water is actually a very aggressive chemical.

I’d like to deal with the first point, of course, first.  One of my areas of expertise is the precise addition of chemicals to water.  If a dosage is called for, I get it there down to the tenth of a mg/L.  In order to precisely dose a chemical, to have it best integrate, mix, and dissolve in the water, it must be in a liquid format.  This is true to the point where if I have to deal with a powder or other solid chemical or a gaseous chemical, I dissolved it into a liquid solution with make up water before dosing it into the process.

In the same way, the minerals already dissolved in natural water supplies integrate far better into the body than do your multivitamins in pill form, and that is because of point two.

Water is called a universal solvent for very good reason.  It will dissolve just about anything over time. That’s why it has needed minerals dissolved in it like calcium, magnesium and Iron.  By removing those minerals and bringing it to an ultra pure state, you are creating a corrosive chemical.

Think of ultrapure water like a sponge. This water needs and craves minerals, and will get them from wherever it can.  Water likes to be in whats known as an “ion balance”.  The ions in the water that is in your body will move to fill the void by the new water without ions in it.  The result will be a lower amount of ions in the water in your body as a whole.  This works just like heat, which will move from higher heat to lower heat, leaving the whole reduced in temperature as a whole.

This also works in reverse. If your body has a lower concentration of dissolved ions, water with a higher concentration will impart some of it’s ions by this ion balancing process.

What all this means is that DI/R.O. water can be a problem, but it is not an acute problem, like high doses of arsenic in your water or certain pathogens would be. It is a chronic problem and can affect you when taken regularly over longer periods of time.  This is especially true for women who are at risk for or are suffering from osteoperosis.

I hope I’ve helped you understand why DI/R.O. water is considered a chronic risk.  I understand your liking of the taste, that is a personal preference that you share with many people. I encourage you to seek a medical professional to discuss this with them, and to see if your multivitamins and diet can help you keep the proper amount of minerals in your body.

If you need further clarification or want to ask another question, please don’t hesitate to write in again.

Mr. Barraza from California writes:

Is distilled water safe to drink?

The answer is yes and no.

Distilled water is very similar to reverse osmosis water.  Both techniques leave nothing but pure H2O behind, for the most part.  What happens then is because the dissolved minerals are gone, the dissolved CO2 is allowed to combine with some H2O to form carbonic acid, bringing the pH of the water down to about 6.

The other thing is that water is an excellent solvent.  It will dissolve trace amounts of just about anything given the opportunity, like a sponge.  Think of your tap water like a sponge full of minerals that cannot take any more.  Distilled water is like a dry sponge looking for minerals.

When the distilled water enters your body, the water in your body with a mix of dissolved minerals will pass some over to the distilled water to balance the ratio.  It works very much like air temperature, where warm air will pass its energy onto colder air until an equilibrium is reached.

Eventually, drinking too much of this water over a long period of time can deplete your body of much needed minerals and electrolytes.

While drinking the occasional glass of distilled water won’t harm you, but it can be a chronic problem if drank repeatedly over a long period of time, especially to women who are at risk for or suffer from osteoporosis.