Does Distilled Water Leach Minerals
from the Human Body?

Does distilled water leach minerals from our bodies?

No, in fact, just the opposite has been found to occur in cellular research studies. It is a mistaken belief that drinking pure distilled water reduces valuable minerals from living human tissues.

ORGANIC MINERALS VS. INORGANIC MINERALS

There are two types of minerals, organic and inorganic. Human physiology has a biological affinity for organic minerals. Most minerals for body functions are absorbed from dietary plant foods. A growing plant converts the inorganic minerals from the soils to a useful organic mineral. When an organic mineral (from a plant food) enters the stomach it attaches itself to a specific protein-molecule(a process called chelation) in order to be absorbed, and then it gains access to the tissue sites where it is needed. Once a plant mineral is absorbed within the body, it is utilized as a coenzyme for composing body fluids, forming blood and bone cells, and the maintaining of healthy nerve transmission.(Balch & Balch 1990)

Without a healthy organic mineral balance inside and outside the cells of muscle, blood, and bone substructures, the body will began to spasm, twitch and cramp, eventually deteriorating to a full "rigor complex", and/or complete failure. Minerals can be likened to the key to your car: it is a small component, but nevertheless an essential one. And a small amount of inorganic minerals are needed(like sodium), but food is still the best source.

INORGANIC MINERALS FROM TAPWATER ARE "BAD NEWS".

Tap water presents a variety of inorganic minerals which our body has difficulty absorbing. Their presence is suspect in a wide array of degenerative diseases, such as hardening of the arteries, arthritis, kidney stones, gall stones, glaucoma, cataracts, hearing loss, emphysema, diabetes, and obesity. The minerals available, especially in "hard" tapwater, are poorly absorbed, or rejected by cellular tissue sites, and, if not evacuated, their presence may cause arterial obstruction, and internal damage.(Dennison 1993, Muehling 1994, Banik 1989)

ORGANIC MINERALS ARE PREFERRED

It is no wonder that the body prefers the richest source of minerals, from organic foods, instead of the hard-to-absorb minerals in tap water. Even if human tissue suddenly developed the ability to absorb inorganic minerals from tap water, it would take an enormous amount of tapwater to supply the bare minimal mineral quantities for proper life functions. If(for example) the ample inorganic mineral content of the tap water in Reno, Nevada were modified so that it would convert the daily Calcium requirement(RDA) from its inorganic calcium solutes, one would have to drink 7.4 gallons of their tap water.

DISTILLED WATER ACTUALLY ENHANCES MINERAL ABSORPTION RATES

Yes, and this is correllated to the ability of hard water to conduct electricity. Distilled Water will not conduct electricity(even when 2 parts per million inorganic minerals or less are present). Water with 5 parts inorganic content per million parts water(or more) will conduct electricity, completing a simple circuit and lighting a tester bulb. The higher the inorganic content is in a per million count, the less effectively water transmits organic minerals to tissue sites. Bottled water, tapwater, reverse-osmosis filtered water, and carbon-block filtered water(when tested) will conduct electricity, substantiating that these are not the best carriers for mineral-transport and mineral-absorption(Muehling 1994). Tapwater in the USA has been shown to contain 19 "inorganic metals of concern"(1994 Safe Water Drinking Act), for which maximum contaminant levels have been set.(Tone 1994) Most American tapwater tested falls between the ranges of 350 parts per million to over 1000 parts per million total contaminants.(Colgan 1993)

REPEAT THE QUESTION PLEASE...

Does drinking distilled water leach minerals from the body? No, quite the opposite. If inorganic minerals (and other substances like chlorine, heavy metals, bacteria, etc.) are removed from tapwater, by converting it into pure distilled water, the result is improved absorption of all nutrients, including minerals, and improved elimination of wastes at the cellular level.

Want to know about water quality issues in your area?
Click here for excellent Purdue University survey of available documents for all of USA.

REFERENCES

Muehling EC, "Pure Water Now: Its Time For Action," 2cd Ed., Pure Water Inc., Lincoln, Neb., 1994:1-42.

Dennison C, "Why I Drink Distilled Water", Reprint Form 6300, Pure Water Inc., Lincoln, Neb.,1993.

Tone J, "Your Drinking Water-How Good Is It?", National Testing Laboratories Inc., Cleveland, Ohio,1994:21.

Banik AE, "The Choice Is Clear," ACRES USA, Metaire, Louisiana, 1989:37.

Balch JF, Balch PA, PRESCRIPTION FOR NUTRITIONAL HEALING, Avery Publishing Co., Garden City, NY, 1990:17.

Colgan M, OPTIMUM SPORTS NUTRITION, Advanced Research Press, New York, NY, 1993:23-24.

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03:02 AM ET 03/30/99

Some Bottled Water Said Not Pure

 Some Bottled Water Said Not Pure

 By H. JOSEF HEBERT=

 Associated Press Writer=

           WASHINGTON (AP) _ It's advertised as pure and healthy and every

 year is in greater demand. But bottled water in some cases may not

 be any purer or bacteria-free than water coming from your tap, an

 environmental group says.

           In a four-year test of 103 brands of bottled water, the

 environmental advocacy group Natural Resources Defense Council

 found that a third of the tested brands contained bacteria or other

 chemicals exceeding the industry's own guidelines or the most

 stringent state purity standards.

           The study being released today acknowledged that most bottled

 water ``is of good quality'' but that industry is left largely to

 self monitoring because of weak federal and state enforcement.

           ``Just because water comes from a bottle doesn't mean it's any

 cleaner or safer than what comes from the tap,'' Eric Olson, one of

 authors of the NRDC report, said.

           The report was being released today as Sen. Frank Lautenberg,

 D-N.J., planned to introduce legislation that would require

 stricter labeling requirements on the bottled water industry and

 that the product meet the same standards for bacterial and chemical

 contamination as tap water.

           ``There may be bottled water that's cleaner than tap water and

 some that's dirtier, but now there's no way for consumers to tell

 the difference,'' Lautenberg said.

           Americans drink an estimated 3.4 billion gallons of bottled

 water annually _ about 12.7 gallons per person _ and the numbers

 have been increasing nearly 10 percent a year, according to the

 industry. It's sold as mineral water, spring water or distilled

 water, or just plain tap water that has gone through additional

 filtration.

           The International Bottled Water Association said the NRDC was

 ``trying to scare consumers'' with its report. The industry group

 noted that the report acknowledges that most of the water the NRDC

 tested was ``of good quality'' and contained no detectable bacteria

 or chemicals of concern.

           ``For the past 37 years there have been no confirmed reports in

 the U.S. of illness or disease linked to bottled water,'' the

 association said in a statement.

           But Olson noted that bottled water companies market their

 products for their purity and health benefits as compared to tap

 water, while often little is known of the content. ``Bottled water

 is essentially regulated on the honor system in most states,'' he

 said. ``Unlike tap water suppliers, bottlers need not disclose to

 consumers known contaminants in their products.''

           The NRDC tested more than 1,000 samples of 103 types of bottled

 water purchased in California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Texas

 and the District of Columbia. It found:

           _ One-third of the samples exceeded the California standard or

 the industry's own purity guidelines, or both, for a chemical or

 bacterial contaminant.

           _ Nearly one in four samples (22 percent) contained levels of

 cancer-causing synthetic compounds such as arsenic that exceeded

 the California limit, which is the most stringent.

           _ Nearly one in five samples (17 percent) contained levels of

 bacteria higher than the voluntary industry guidelines. There are

 no federal mandatory standards.

           _ About one in five samples contained industrial chemicals, and

 some samples contained arsenic, nitrates or other inorganic

 contaminants. In both cases the levels generally were below state

 or federal standards.

           While bottled water is regulated as a food by the Food and Drug

 Administration, the NRDC study said it is subject to weaker

 standards when it comes to a wide range of contaminants than

 ordinary tap water which comes under the Environmental Protection

 Agency.

           Bottled water, they said, is required to be tested less

 frequently for bacteria and chemical contaminants; has no

 requirement to be disinfected or tested for parasites; and it may

 contain some fecal coliform,

           And enforcement is often lacking, the NRDC study said, with many

 states dedicating few if any people to bottled water regulation.

 The study suggested a penny-a-bottle fee on bottled water to pay

 for tighter regulation, testing and enforcement.

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Does Distilled Water Leach Minerals from the Human Body?

Does Distilled Water Leach Minerals
from the Human Body?