whats the real deal about DISTILLED WATER ?

[leif ericson]

i read alot online about drinking distilled water. does
anyone have a point of view on this ? my brother thinks it's
bad for you, cause (he says) it drains you of minerals !?
but,i hear MORE about how good it is, so does anyone drink it ?

                       l.e.

[becker7707]

A related discussion, Distilled water was started.

[frootbar]

distilled water, for me, for my pets.  period.
it mixes with your blood, etc., to become one, no
leaching or other nonsense.  anyone who knows
biochemistry should know fears of distilled water
is sheer idiotic babbling.
use it and live better as the one person so aptly
described above.

[SixStringer]

Most city water has to be tested on a yearly basis with a report given to the public as to its content.  Even the bottled water (that often costs more than the gas one puts in their car per gallon) is either bottled regular city tap water or (worse) has contaminants in it that shows it to be worse than regular city tap water.  If one is concerned about the water from their tap, use an inexpensive Brita or other such carbon-filtering pitcher that can be filled and put into the refrigerator on a daily basis.  This filtered water is not distilled water.  Drinking distilled water would not provide the body with the necessary minerals for optimum health that are usually found in water.  

[joethewaterpro]

I am a water treatment expert with expertise in distillation field. I have been drinking distilled water for well over 35 years now. My family is in the distillation exprt business. We sell distllers overseas, as well as in the north Amercian market. these are stainless steel units that are the best  of the best.

I have written 7 articles that have been published in the water trade journals and have made it  a point to combat the myths surrounding drining distilled water, the last article I had wriiten was called, Distilling the truth about onlune Propaganda. I have copied it here for all of you to read.: If anyone needs to reach me, email me at  ***@****

Distilling the truth about online propaganda

By Joe Letorney, Jr., CWS-VI, CI
At its best, the Internet promulgates the Information Age by allowing many people to share information on a multitude of topics. At its worst, it’s also a worldwide forum for those seeking to further their own agendas – and much of this can lead to half-truths or all-out falsehoods. Distillation is just one of many topics that come under attack.

The Internet is a great place to search for anything and everything.  In a matter of seconds, you can receive just about whatever information you desire. Getting information is easy; getting the truth is another matter.

I ran a word search on my computer, typing in the phrase "distilled water". Over 4,000,000 results popped up and, as expected, there were pages of distiller companies selling products and various articles in support of distilled water. Then, I came across some eye-catching titles such as: "Early death comes from drinking distilled water," "Physical proof that distilled water is inferior" and "Why our customers are abandoning their distillers and reverse osmosis systems"- just to name a few.

Having already written several published articles over the past 10 years dispelling myths about distilled water, the Internet bombards us with even more mumbo jumbo regarding the truth of the matter. Whenever I read derogatory, baseless and fraudulent claims about distilled water, I feel compelled to answer these quacks and inform and educate people about the truth and facts.

Truth & Fiction.

Following are five myths about distilled water sampled from the aforementioned articles.

"Harmful to your health"?

Distilled water is acidic and harmful to your health: This is partly true in that distilled water is slightly acidic and distilled water will test out around pH 5.8. Very simply, the pH scale goes from 0 to 14 where 7.0 is neutral. If the pH is above 7.0, the water is alkaline. If it’s below 7.0, it’s acidic. Look at Table 1 and compare the different beverages and see where distilled water fits.I also included battery and stomach acid for comparison.

Let’s say one was to consume a beverage or food that was acidic or alkaline for that matter. According to the Merck Manual, the world’s most widely used medical reference guide, the human body uses buffers to balance the pH. For example, if you were to consume something acidic, your blood would produce more bicarbonate and less carbon dioxide to neutralize the acidity. Likewise, if you were to consume an alkaline substance, your blood would produce more carbon dioxide and less bicarbonate to balance out the pH. Also, excess acid is excreted by the kidneys.

These Internet hucksters want you to believe that consuming distilled water will put your body in an acidic state and they recommend drinking water that is slightly alkaline (7.5pH). Don’t blame distilled water, just look again at Table 1. Millions of Americans consume coffee, tea, sodas, beer and orange juice, and these everyday beverages are extremely acidic compared to distilled water.

Even if one was to consume alkaline water, once it hits the highly gastric fluid in the stomach, its alkalinity is gone. Claims about the health benefits of drinking alkaline water aren’t supported by credible scientific evidence.

pH comparison chart
Beverages pH
Milk 6.5
Distilled water 5.8
Beer 4.0 - 5.0
Coffee 2.5 - 3.5
Orange juice 3.5
Tea 3.0
Soft drinks 2.0 - 4.0
Wines 2.3 - 3.8
Stomach acid 2.0
Battery acid 1.0






Leaches Heavy Metals

Distilled water leaches nickel from stainless steel: I read this statement from a website that mentioned a man being "poisoned" by his distiller because it was leaching nickel from the stainless steel. I’ve been drinking distilled water for over 30 years from a US-made type 304 stainless steel distiller and was curious about how to answer this falsehood.

There is about 8-10 percent nickel content in type 304 stainless steel and the higher grade of stainless steel, the more nickel content for its strength, durability and corrosion resistance. Could distilled water, because of its high purity, leach nickel from the stainless steel?

I found the answer in some tests I performed a few years ago. I had sent samples of my tap water (before) and tap water that ran through my stainless steel distiller system (after) to National Testing Labs, of Cleveland. The results were: The nickel content of my tap water was ND (none detected). The nickel content of my tap water that ran through my stainless steel distiller and was stored in the stainless steel storage tank was also ND.

Oxygen-less

Distilled water had no oxygen: I read this fictitious statement from a website that was selling "ionised" water systems that "alkalise" the water. The website claims that distilled water has no oxygen. The author’s reasoning was fish can’t live in distilled water (another fallacy) and as a result, it must be oxygen less. So, what is the truth? I think a grade science kid could answer this one. Water is made up of H20 – two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. If distilled water had no oxygen, then it wouldn’t be water. This guy probably overfed his fish.

Mineral deficiencies & high blood pressure

Soft drinks are made with distilled water: This was a statement made from the author of "early death comes from drinking distilled water.” A very strong statement indeed. The author makes numerous unsubstantiated claims against distilled water. One of them is that soft drink manufacturers use distilled water. He mentions that heavy consumers of soft drinks have significant mineral deficiencies, which are linked to high blood pressure, osteoporosis, premature aging, etc.

The fact is soft drinks are not made with distilled water but rather filtered tap water. I knew this answer from sheer common sense but, just to be 100 percent positive, contacted Coke and Pepsi directly from their toll-free numbers on their cans. Their representatives said they use filtered water, not distilled water.

For argument’s sake, let’s assume soft drinks were made with distilled water. Could you actually blame the distilled water for these health issues? What about the "other" ingredients loaded in soft drinks such as high sugar, caffeine, phosphoric acid and colouring? This myth is total nonsense.

References

1. The Merck Manual of Medical Information. Home Edition, Pg. 676, 1997: www.merckhomeedition.com/home.html

About the author
Joe Letorney, Jr. grew up in a family distillation water business. He was vice president of marketing for Durastill Export Inc. and is president of The Water Pro Inc., of Rockland, Mass. He is an authority on distillation with over 30 years experience. Letorney attended Boston College and the University of Massachusetts and earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing. He’s an author, lecturer and past speaker a WQA convention educational seminars. He can be reached at email: ***@****

[chillen_distillen]

The Importance of Pure Water
Only oxygen is more essential than water
in sustaining the life of all living organisms.
Human beings can live for several weeks without proteins,
carbohydrates, and fats but just a few days without water.
The quality of your tissues, their performance,
and their resistance to disease and injury are absolutely linked
to the quality and quantity of water you drink. Experts agree that in order to maintain optimum health
one needs to drink 8-10 glasses of water per day.
The daily cleansing of wastes from each cell,
the flushing of the alimentary canal and the purifying of the blood
are all dependent on our drinking water.
Most people get their water from the household tap.
This water originates from lakes, rivers, streams, and underground sources.
The majority of water goes through a system of cleaning
at the local water treatment plant.
However, because of a lack of funds to provide the necessary technology, many
harmful pollutants and water borne diseases are present in the finished treated water.
Our tap water is treated only to minimum standards,
by sedimentation, filtration, chemical conditioning and disinfection with chlorine.
The toxic metals, pesticides, industrial chemical,
the 50 or so chemicals used in the water treatment are present in the already treated
water, along with the dead bacteria killed by the chlorine, as are the carcinogenic
Trihalomethanes from the chlorine itself,
that are known to cause liver and corectal cancers.
Dr. Michael Colgan,
Optimum Sports Nutrition
According to the scientists from the World Health Organization (WHO)
and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), it has been estimated that between 60 to 80
percent of all cancer is caused by the chemicals in the air we breathe,
the food we eat, and the water we drink.
Cancer will afflict one out of every four people.
The NCI expressed concern over 20 years ago that increases in carcinogens in water
and our inability to remove them at the treatment plants could result in serious
exposure to the general population.
Bacteria, viruses, synthetic compounds, metals, and radionuclides are the
contaminants that become incorporated into our drinking water,
and have the potential to cause health effects ranging from low grade sub-clinical
illnesses such as colds and flue to death from cancer.
Canadian Nutrition Guide.
There are more than 60,000 chemical contaminants in water.
Any municipal water supply is likely to have at least a thousand of these.
Water authorities do what they can, but it is too great an expense
to ensure our tap water is healthy enough for us to drink.

Fifty percent of the US population uses water
that in part is made up of recently discharged wastewater.
And like the treatments for drinking water,
wastewater treatments do not remove many of the toxic substances.
Prevention Magazine
The contamination is beyond help.
More than 55,000 of the regulated chemical dumps across the nation
are leaking into the ground water.
Science News,1993
With all this in mind,
you need to know that distilled water is an excellent source of water.
In mechanized distillation, water is boiled in a distiller, which creates steam that rises
and leaves virtually all contaminants behind in the boiling chamber.
Steam is then collected and condensed into pure, clean distilled water leaving the
impurities behind to eventually flush down the drain.
Because of the heat involved in the process of creating steam,
all forms of bacteria and all water borne diseases are destroyed.
Distilled water is the only form of water,
which is free from all contaminants and impurities.
Distilled water is the only clean water.
Virtually everything is removed from the water by steam distillation.
Dr. Michael Colgan, Optimum Sports Nutrition
Distilled Water and Your Health
Do I need to tell you why drinking plenty of good quality water
is as essential to health as eating properly?
In a nutshell: one of the main activities of the body's self-healing system
is filtration of the blood, a job performed mostly
by the kidneys with a little help from the mechanism of perspiration.
Kidneys are such efficient, compact and miraculous filters that they put to shame the
dialysis machines used to maintain the patients with renal failure.
The heart, blood, and kidneys are a single functional unit that constantly cleanses
and purifies itself, removing all the toxic wastes of metabolism and the breakdown
products of harmful substances that get onto our bodies one way or another.
This purification system can operate efficiently only if the volume of water
flowing through it is sufficient to carry away the waste.

Furthermore, as good quality distilled water enters the body,
it has the ability to pick-up mineral deposits accumulated in cells, joints, artery walls,
or wherever such deposits occur and begin to carry them out.

Gallstones and kidney stones then decrease,
and it also lessens arthritic pain as joints become more supple and movable.
Dr. Andrew Weil,
Natural Health, Natural Medicine

What About Minerals?

There are two forms of minerals, organic and inorganic.

Inorganic minerals refers to non-vegetable or non-animal matter, i.e. not living.
This includes carbonate and lime compounds, calcium, iron and magnesium.
Because these components are non-living,
our bodies can not make use of these minerals and our cells reject them.
The result of ingesting these minerals is an accumulation of debris in our bodies.

Organic minerals on the other had are living, and are found in vegetables,
fruit, seeds, grains, meats, and nuts which form our daily diet.
These are easily assimilated by our cells and are essential for good health.

If your rely on water as a source of your required minerals,you are sadly lacking.
The minerals in water are inorganic, and the body cannot make use of them.
The body continually assimilates the much needed minerals from the food we eat.


Does Distilled Water Rob the Body of Essential Minerals?
No, this is physiologically impossible.

Some have been lead to believe that because distilled water is so pure,
it will leach healthy minerals and trace elements from the body.
Distilled water will do this with pipes.
In our bodies distilled water cleans out our impurities and replenishes
the essential nutrient required for human life; pure, clean, healthy water.

Our cells use the organic minerals for body growth and maintenance; however,
the impurities that the body cannot make use of are flushed out with distilled water.



Distilled water flushes out all the inorganic minerals and pollutants
which would otherwise be retained in the body and accumulate in vital organs
such as liver, kidneys, intestines and fatty tissue.

These minerals and pollutants are gradually increased by drinking impure water.
A continuous or prolonged exposure to these minerals and pollutants
may cause carcinogens to form within tissues.
The cancer may only manifest itself in months,
years or even decades after such contacts have ceased.
And often the causative agents may have totally disappeared from the tissues.


Don't take unnecessary risks, Drink Healthy, Drink Distilled.

To be Sure, several drinks of local tap water will not kill you but common sense will tell
you that your body cannot function and survive with a daily ingestion of poison.Drinking five glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by
45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%,
and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.
Distillation is the #1 recommended method to obtain safe, consumable water by multiple government agencies, such as FEMA, the AMERICAN RED CROSS and the AMERICAN WATER WORK ASSOCIATION
If you have any questions or concerns please contact me!
Jeremy Johnson
971-570-0301

[PrinceOwen]

   I have been drinking distilled water for over 25 years.  I had my blood tested by my doctor and he was a bit shocked and surprized that my blood was very very healthy.  He said that by the time people are as old as I am they have many problems with their blood ,but mine is perfect.   I get my my organic minerals from my food and the distilled water helps cleans my blood.  My sister did not drink distilled water or get the organic minerals from her food and she died at 47.  Tap water has the wrong minerals (inorganic).  When I clean the minerals from the bottom of my distiller I save it to feed people who claim they need those minerals.  I have not found one person in the last 25 years who will eat it- but they claim you should drink it.    Someone said they thought distilled water can cause kidney stones.  They were wrong.   Hard water is the cause of kidney stones and cataracts and distilled water is the cure.  My cousin had cataracts at 50 yr of age because he only drank tap water because some bimbo told him distilled water was bad for him.  He had to have cataracts removed from both eyes at 50 because he was so blind he could not see the the biggest letter on the eye chart.  I have 20/20 vision (thats no vision loss)  because I drink distilled water.

  I do not have a bad taste to the water because I keep the water in glass bottles in the refrigerator.   Many people will say it is bad for you because they want to sell you something they are into to make them rich.  I got my distiller at sears for 200 dollars so only sears makes any money if you buy one.(it looks like a coffee pot)   Some distilers cost more (like 800 dollars) but store the water in a metal tank.  These are the ones that give distilled water a bad taste and a bad name.  The metal tank contaminates the water so I would not recommend those.  

    There are doctors who are specialest in water and they have written books on the topic that explain why distilled water is good for you.   In fact all water has been distilled because it had been through the cycle of evaporation and rain but it gets contaminated when it falls from the sky and flows down the rivers into the ocean.  God gave us this cycle to clean the water to make sure it is pure.  This was so that it could do its job to clean our bodies.  We have so much pollution in the environment that we no longer get clean water from the sky so need to distill it ourselves.  

   Anyone who does not drink distilled water and claims you should not drink it either will suffer the painful results of that choice and so will you.   One fellow claimed to be a health expert and would not drink distilled water.  His face and skin were pock marked very bad from the tap water he drank.  His body was not able to get rid of the toxic inorganic posions in the water so they were sweating out from his skin.   I have no skin problems because I drink distilled water (I am twice his age).

    I hope you all figure this out before you suffer the painful results of this self proclaimed expert who refused to drink distilled water.


Owen B Prince

[leif ericson]

yeah, i'v looked into it already, they have all kinds of models
and water outputs.  what do you recomend for a couple of people ? i THINK two gallons a day would be great, just for drinking and a little cooking.     thanks          l.e.

[jaydadir1]

I believe that distilled water is the best to drink (altho I drink an occasional soda !!).  

The theory behind it (which I believe) is that the purer the water, the more it will cleanse out of one's body.  The minerals in water are not able to be used by the body and this is a common belief (which I think is incorrect).  

The stuff put into city water (fluoride, etc.) is not something I want in my body.

If you really are into it, I would procure a steam distiller as one of your replies referred to.  Waterwise in FL is the company I got mine from.

I drink distilled water and use it for cooking, making OJ, etc.

[leif ericson]

yeah, alot of good info ! thanks

but ? how much of the "good" minerals does a person get from
the water they drink ? (if they drink much water at all)
i know the tap water where i live is reputed to be one of the worst in this part of the country, so i think the distilled (still cheaper and purer than expensive bottled waters) is what i have to use !     thanks for your help, i think i can rest
on this subject now !                  l.e.

[star queen]

Whether distilled water will hurt you to drink depends on how it was distilled.  Water that has been contaminated and is boiled for 5 minutes is said to be drinkable or potable water.  The process of boiling removes the contaminates such as chemicals, dirt, bacteria, and calcium to the walls of the pot.  When this water is boiled, the steam is "caught" by a steam catcher and cooled until the steam becomes water again.  This water is distilled water; (not the water still in the pot). If it is done correctly, the water is "pure", or free of all contaminates.  This water doesn't taste very good.  It is  flat, "old",and often takes on the taste of the catcher, especally if it is metal.  It won't hurt you unless the catcher is made of metals such as copper.  Commercially produced distilled water used to be purchased for steam irons because calcium would not build up in the iron.  Commercially produced distilled water shouldn't hurt you to drink.  It will not "remove" or "strip" minerals from the body, it just doesn't add minerals like regular water does; the body needs these minerals. If you drink distilled water, you will need to take supplements to replace minerals in the body that you are losing by changing drinking water.  You really aren't doing yourself any favors by drinking distilled water over filtered or tap water, but you are incurring additional costs (water plus the cost of supplements)you don't need to. If you have money to throw away, drink up.  Hope this helps

[leif ericson]

i wanted to find something healthy to drink to replace what
i have been drinking (i kicked the soda thing) and heard from a friend the distilled was the best kind of water.  i naturaly
felt skeptical but did an internet search anyway. i found that there are "so called" benefits to drinking what was called the "purest water" you can get !  i also talked to a reverse osmosis "expert" who told me that distilled was even better than
what he was selling (he had a reverse osmosis company).  my brother told me he heard that it DRAINED the body of minerals
because it had non !   so now i was really curious.  my internet
search led me to believe that it was the best thing to drink,
for the very reason that it "did" have the ability to remove
"unhealthy" minerals form the body !  so here i am, looking for
anyone with long term experience using the water.      l.e.

p.s. i have been drinking it for over a month, i like it,
i use it for cooking and to make tea with and so on !

[leif ericson]

wow, an actually helpfull insight for a change, thank you,
i'll have to look into that stone issue for sure !    l.e.

[sk2006a]

i've heard that drinking distilled water can lead to kidney stone formation and other problems in the urinary tract.  if there is any question, i would err on the side of caution and forego distilled water.  why take a chance?

[siren of the sea]

why would you want to drink distilled water? have you tried it? go get a gallon and drink it. report back as to how it tastes and how you feel and then let us know. i dont see any great health benefits to it how can it be better than just water? there are many sites out there full of info to get people started on some new fangled food/drink/ritual to be super human healthy. i think this one is a no.

[leif ericson]

so asking a question, a simple question, is something to be made
fun of.  and twisting the meaning of someones words is what this site is all about ?   o.k.

[leif ericson]

so asking a question, a simple question, is something to be made
fun of.  and twisting the meaning of someones words is what this site is all about ?   o.k.

[leif ericson]

so asking a question, a simple question, is something to be made
fun of.  and twisting the meaning of someones words is what this site is all about ?   o.k.

[nowherechild]

I myself chuckled at "the internet can be a source of truth".  Yeah, sometimes.  Other times, it's a source of total bull.

[siren of the sea]

HAHAHHAHHAHAAHA THATS ALL I CAN SAY!

[who_dis]

You can find people saying that eating butterflies is good for you, if you look online hard enough.

Don't believe most of the whacky things you read on the 'net.  Or at least take it with a healthy dose of skepticism.

[who_dis]

Oh, well that's very different!

Huge sites would never lie or exaggerate things, NEVER!  Yes, then.  Drinking distilled water must be very, very good for you.  Drink up!  

And follow it with a chaser of Apple Cider Vinegar!

[leif ericson]

well, these are HUGE sites, not some dudes home page !  thats
the reason why it interested me ! and they are not all selling something.      the internet can still be a source of truth
when the government is NOT !             l.e.

[leif ericson]

i have, just checking for myself, i'm not going to let blind
skepticism stop me from finding a great source of healthy info !
what i've read sounded interesting, and i thought someone may
have more "INFORMATION" on the subject, not just advice on how NOT to find helpfull information !           l.e.

p.s. i would not be asking "anyone" to talk about it, if i believed only what i read online !  thats what this is all for !

[leif ericson]

so why does everyone (online sites) say it's so good ?
and isn't it the purest water available as well as being the cheapest ?   i'm looking for anyone who has used it and likes
it, to tell me why !                 l.e.