During nearly 19 years of clinical practice I have had the opportunity to observe the health effects of drinking different types of water. Most of you would agree that drinking unfiltered tap water could be hazardous to your health because of things like parasites, chlorine, fluoride and dioxins.
Many health fanatics, however, are often surprised to hear me say that drinking distilled water on a regular, daily basis is potentially dangerous.
Paavo Airola wrote about the dangers of distilled water in the 1970's when it first became a fad with the health food crowd.
Distillation is the process in which water is boiled, evaporated and the vapor condensed. Distilled water is free of dissolved minerals and, because of this, has the special property of being able to actively absorb toxic substances from the body and eliminate them.
Studies validate the benefits of drinking distilled water when one is seeking to cleanse or detoxify the system for short periods of time (a few weeks at a time).
Fasting using distilled water can be dangerous because of the rapid loss of electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride) and trace minerals like magnesium, deficiencies of which can cause heart beat irregularities and high blood pressure. Cooking foods in distilled water pulls the minerals out of them and lowers their nutrient value.
Distilled water is an active absorber and when it comes into contact with air, it absorbs carbon dioxide, making it acidic. The more distilled water a person drinks, the higher the body acidity becomes.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, "Distilled water, being essentially mineral-free, is very aggressive, in that it tends to dissolve substances with which it is in contact.
Notably, carbon dioxide from the air is rapidly absorbed, making the water acidic and even more aggressive. Many metals are dissolved by distilled water."
The most toxic commercial beverages that people consume (i.e. cola beverages and other soft drinks) are made from distilled water. Studies have consistently shown that heavy consumers of soft drinks (with or without sugar) spill huge amounts of calcium, magnesium and other trace minerals into the urine.
The more mineral loss, the greater the risk for osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, hypothyroidism, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and a long list of degenerative diseases generally associated with premature aging.
A growing number of health care practitioners and scientists from around the world have been advocating the theory that aging and disease is the direct result of the accumulation of acid waste products in the body.
There is a great deal of scientific documentation that supports such a theory. A poor diet may be partially to blame for the waste accumulation. Meats, sugar, white flour products, fried foods, soft drinks, processed foods, alcohol, dairy products and other junk foods cause the body to become more acidic. Stress, whether mental or physical can lead to acid deposits in the body.
There is a correlation between the consumption of soft water (distilled water is extremely soft) and the incidence of cardiovascular disease. Cells, tissues and organs do not like to be dipped in acid and will do anything to buffer this acidity including the removal of minerals from the skeleton and the manufacture of bicarbonate in the blood.
The longer one drinks distilled water, the more likely the development of mineral deficiencies and an acid state. I have done well over 3000 mineral evaluations using a combination of blood, urine and hair tests in my practice. Almost without exception, people who consume distilled water exclusively, eventually develop multiple mineral deficiencies.
Those who supplement their distilled water intake with trace minerals are not as deficient but still not as adequately nourished in minerals as their non-distilled water drinking counterparts even after several years of mineral supplementation.
The ideal water for the human body should be alkaline and this requires the presence of minerals like calcium and magnesium.
Distilled water tends to be acidic and can only be recommended as a way of drawing poisons out of the body. Once this is accomplished, the continued drinking of distilled water is a bad idea.
... Disease and early death is more likely to be seen with the long term drinking of distilled water. Avoid it except in special circumstances.
Zoltan P. Rona MD MSc
REFERENCES
Airola, P. 1974. How To Get Well. Phoenix, AZ: Health Plus Publishers.
Baroody, Dr. Theodore A. Jr. Alkalinize or Die. California:Portal Books, 1995.
Haas, Elson M. Staying Healthy with Nutrition. The Complete Guide to Diet & Nutritional Medicine. Berkeley, California:Celestial Arts, 1992; p. 22.
Rona, Zoltan P. and Martin, Jeanne Marie. Return to the Joy of Health, Vancouver: Alive Books, 1995.
Rona, Zoltan P. Childhood Illness and The Allergy Connection. Rocklin, California:Prima Books, 1996.
I haven't. I don't drink bottled water. It's a nice concept for large gatherings. I saw it at an Earthdance event.
I know a woman that makes bottles with uplifting words on them. http://www.bottles-of-hope.com/ She contacted Dr. Emoto, he thought it was a great idea.
I mainly drink bottled mineral water, from glass bottles wherever possible, and never anything with a pH less than 7.4. Current brand is Highland Spring which has a pH 7.8 and is apparently from a spring on protected certified organic ground.
Shortly, though, we will be getting a water ioniser so we can generate our own acid and alkaline water from the tap.
In all my research on water I have learned that the best types of water are
Reverse Osmosis Triple filtered Ionized water
and Spring water
I drink spring water because I haven't bought the filtering system. Reverse osmosis filters out practically everything. Even the minerals however so its good to add drop of minerals to the water. Getting clean water is one of the worlds biggest issues I believe. Even the spring water comes to us in plastic bottles which has its own issues. Distilled water is not that good. Please research it some more. Alkaline water is one of the answers to great health. Mineral rich pollutant free ionized water. Its great for your skin and in my opinion helps prevent many diseases. Do some more research and you will see and learn more about this.
My family has a reverse osmosis set up in the kitchen, so I fill up a liter reusable water bottle when I'm at home and take that with me wherever I go.
We have been using Jupiter Melody ionizer for a while now. Can't live without it :) There some good high pH bottled water out there as well (Essentia, Trinity, Penta, etc.). Buying bottled water just doesn't seem sustainable to me. So I avoid it as much as I can :)
Some filtered ionized water with pH drops is very alkalizing and energizing. Feels good. Perhaps some water directly from some unpolluted (if there is such a thing :) spring far away from everyone and everything would be better, but by the time the water makes it to the city it is perhaps dead water. I'm no expert. It just feels this way :)
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