Distilled Water Debate

[Kali]

I've been doing some reading on whether or not to drink distilled water as main water source and no real answers out there.

Mercola says its bad news while Bragg says it's the only water they drink.

Any long term distilled water drinkers here to share their thoughts?

[Ponce]

Distilled water as rain water has no life of its own......my water is from a creek that I filter for it bugs and nothing else.

[Book]

What is the quality of your untreated drinking water now?

[Kali]

Tap water here is disgusting.

[Book]

Tap water here is disgusting.



Still smell/taste bad after filtering?

[skid]

When I lived in the city and drank the flouridated/chlorinated/god knows what else was in it water, I distilled it. The water always tasted great and I had no adverse health effects after several years.

I've heard that it leaches minerals out of your body, but as long as you eat healthy that shouldn't be a problem. I weight lifted when I was drinking distilled water. and set some personal best lifts during that time, so obviously my bones held up....

What was interesting was at the bottom of the boiling pot, there was always a 1/4" of water left from the cycle, and it smelled disgusting. Probably all the flouride/chlorine and other crap in the water. The city also had very hard water.

Thankfully I drink straight from the well now with no filtration at all required. Best water I have ever tasted as well.

[vacuum]

I wouldn't drink distilled water....water is actually a powerful solvent and it can dissolve many things if there isn't already something dissolved in it.

Are you talking about distilling your own water? I'd think it would be cheaper to buy distilled water than to burn all that energy and time boiling water and capturing it.

[Gaillo]

I've drank nothing but distilled water and coffee made from distilled water (and the occasional beer or 3... but that's another story! ;) ) for 10+ years now... no ill effects so far. However, I think the difference between distilled water, creek water, and (real) spring water are fairly minimal when you compare any of them to the polluted poison witches brew that is tap water though! Fluoride is the #1 destroyer of awareness and IQ in this country, of that I have zero doubt, and the primary Sodium Fluoride delivery vector is tap water.

[Ponce]

My water taste wonderful and all that I do is to change the filter under my kitchen sink about once every six months and like I said before "Destilled and rain water are dead with no physical life of its own"..... you need life to keep life.

[ximmy]

I thought natural water like spring or mountain, or even well water had minerals that were good for you... and distilled water takes those elements out.

[Ponce]

Yes ximmy, and that's why you use spring or well water on your house plats because it contains natural minerals.

[Kali]

If you say that its "better" to drink creek water then how long does it have to travel before it becomes good enough to drink?

If you are drinking right at the start of the creek from snow melt off then its really no different than distilled water.

The farther it goes down the creek the more nutrients it absorbs, as well as bad ones too.

So it really makes no sense to say water from a creek/river is better than distilled.

The water in this farming area here is contaminated...this includes the creeks, rivers, and probably every aquafer in the area.

In many areas the water from these above mentioned natural sources can often contain more bad ingredients than good. So what it boils down to is it worth drinking all these bad nutrients for the trace minerals that this well traveled water provides. You can get these minerals in other foods.

This is how I'm looking at this right now.

[Quantum]

Distilled water can be deadly for some people. It induced a heart arrhythmia in me. Many others have had negative effects. Mercola is absolutely correct.

The water molecule doesn't like to be alone - it latches onto any other mineral it can find. If that's inside you, then it fights your body for such minerals.

Distilled water is a product of a machine, and like "food" that is a product of a machine, it's not the best choice.

Rainwater is not distilled - it connects with whatever is in the atmosphere, and on the ground where it falls.

Pure spring water is the safest, and most delicious, water available for drinking.

My favorite and most trusted pure spring water is no longer in production: Trinity Springs, from Idaho. The spring is still there, but there are capitalist issues blocking resumption of production. It has a relatively high natural fluoride content, which doesn't bother me at all. Added, industrial chemical fluoride is the problem.

[Quantum]

Fluoride is the #1 destroyer of awareness and IQ in this country, of that I have zero doubt


Jewish television is #1, and industrial chemical fluoride (rat poison, NaF) is distant down the list.

[cigarlover]

Can you use a RO system and then add minerals back into the water?

[willie pete]

I've been drinking distilled water for many years, no ill effects, something weird, I don't know if it's +/-, when making tea with the distilled water I drink it comes out a nice clear light color, I used a bottled spring water one time, and the tea came our really dark (same brew time)

[jaybone]

I've drank nothing but distilled water and coffee made from distilled water (and the occasional beer or 3... but that's another story! ;) ) for 10+ years now... no ill effects so far. However, I think the difference between distilled water, creek water, and (real) spring water are fairly minimal when you compare any of them to the polluted poison witches brew that is tap water though! Fluoride is the #1 destroyer of awareness and IQ in this country, of that I have zero doubt, and the primary Sodium Fluoride delivery vector is tap water.


QFT Galio.

I drink RO water most of the time, and spring water the rest of the time,
tap water does not pass my lips unless it is an emergency.

If you have access to a pristine natural source, that is optimal, but most of us do not have that luxury.

I put a pinch of Himalayan pink salt in my purified water, it adds trace elements and minerals.
I take whole food vitamins, amazing grass, and eat pretty well, so I am not too concerned about the 'leaching minerals' thing.

As far as life in water, I tend to think that water is life. It is a unique and rather amazing molecule. I bet a simple orgone device placed near your distiller or RO unit could be used to boost life energy in your drinking water if that concerns you.

[k-os]

OK, wow. Every day I learn something new here. For eight years, I have used a reverse osmosis system (from well water) and I drink between two to four liters of water a day.

Do I need to add minerals to my drinking water?

If it matters, I eat mostly fresh fruits and vegetables, and a few times weekly one of these: chicken, fish, lobster, beef.

[jaybone]

RO/Distillation will remove pretty much all the minerals and chlorides in the water,
whether you are deficient in minerals will depend mostly on your diet, and to a lesser degree on your drinking water.
Only you and your doc can decide if you need mineral supplementation, do you feel well?

I like the Himalayan pink salt for it's purity and trace elements,
http://www.sfbsc.com/himalayan-salts

I also use it on food, and I use natural salts liberally, since I do not have any BP issues.

[Ash_Williams]

If you were to take a gallon of natural spring water and boil it down to nothing, you'd have a tiny bit of hard water at the bottom of the pot. You could scrap it off and you'd need a really good scale to measure the hundredth of a gram or it might total to. That's the potential for mineral leeching from your body that you risk by drinking a gallon of distilled over a gallon of spring water.

Personally I wouldn't be bothered by it. I think if you enjoy the water and are drinking more of it than you would be otherwise it's a win. I'd assume you eat food and drink other things too.

[k-os]

Thanks jaybone and Ash_Williams. A few weeks ago I started using Real Salt (http://www.realsalt.com/learn-about-realsalt.html) in lieu of iodized salt. Real Salt contains natural trace minerals. I don't use salt much, but I would guess the little bit I do use will help.

[Awoke]

I've been doing some reading on whether or not to drink distilled water as main water source and no real answers out there.

Mercola says its bad news while Bragg says it's the only water they drink.

Any long term distilled water drinkers here to share their thoughts?




I have been drinking only distilled water for over 8 years now, including when I do a water fast, and there are no ill effects. Experts who understand human biology (Such as Joel Fuhrman, Author of "Fasting and eating for health) all maintain that distilled water is better for you than any other form.

Some people speculate that your body will be stripped of minerals/vitamins, etc, but the readin I have done does not support that theory. Regardless, you will reap minerals and vitamins from the food in your diet.

We don't drink any water other than distilled, unless we're camping, in which case we boil our water.

[Awoke]

I've been drinking distilled water for many years, no ill effects, something weird, I don't know if it's +/-, when making tea with the distilled water I drink it comes out a nice clear light color, I used a bottled spring water one time, and the tea came our really dark (same brew time)


Shit, strange that you mentioned that. I had the same thing happen to me today, and I thought "Why does my tea look so dark??"

[jaybone]

Thanks jaybone and Ash_Williams. A few weeks ago I started using Real Salt (http://www.realsalt.com/learn-about-realsalt.html) in lieu of iodized salt. Real Salt contains natural trace minerals. I don't use salt much, but I would guess the little bit I do use will help.


be sure you are getting some Iodine,
kind of ironic that a processed salt is the major source of I for most Americans.
cheese, eggs, fish/shellfish and sea vegetables are really the only appreciable food sources.

RealSalt is good stuff, no need to get fancy, as long as it comes from the sea and is minimally processed.
I got a great deal on a 25# bag of the pink salt. I figure it does not spoil so why not get a decade supply?

[k-os]

RealSalt is good stuff, no need to get fancy, as long as it comes from the sea and is minimally processed.
I got a great deal on a 25# bag of the pink salt. I figure it does not spoil so why not get a decade supply?


I had the same idea when I made my RealSalt purchase. I bought some for use now, and a whole bunch more to store for later.

I checked the label and RealSalt says it has iodine in it. Also, I eat spinach at least once a day, sometimes twice, and I just discovered that spinach is a good source of iodine.

[Kali]

Spinach will also add mass to your biceps.

[Quantum]

Experts [sic] who understand human biology (Such as Joel Fuhrman, Author of "Fasting and eating for health) all maintain that distilled water is better for you than any other form.


Joseph Mercola, D.O. (doctor of osteopathy & physician) & Zoltan P. Rona, M.D.:

"Early Death Comes From Drinking Distilled Water"

http://www.mercola.com/article/water/distilled_water.htm

[Kali]

Mercola says one thing, Bragg says another.

http://www.bragg.com/books/wtst_excerpt.html

[Quantum]

You can trust "MegaPure Hydration Systems, Inc." - machine-made water

OR

You can trust God Almighty - spring water

Your choice...indeed.

[crazychicken]

We were in the salt business for many years. Produced salt in the Dominican Republic and Mexico.

Just for laughs please do a little research on how SEA SALT is produced.

Be thorough.

Let me know what you find.

CC

[Awoke]

Quantum, my friend, I appreciate your post there. I suppose it comes down to who you choose to believe.

Fuhrman is an expert in fasting and human biology, especially in regards to the way the human body interacts with foodstuffs. Because fasting is a serious part of my life, I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

[Kali]

You can trust "MegaPure Hydration Systems, Inc." - machine-made water

OR

You can trust God Almighty - spring water

Your choice...indeed.


God made the same water that falls from the sky before it absorbs nutrients, good and bad.

He also made the water that comes out of the machine. Its just water that has nothing in it except water.

Far from machine made.

Thanks for the chuckle.

[Kali]

Thanks for sharing your hands on experience Awoke.

I think most people simply believe what they read on this issue.

"Mercola's website sounds like it speaks with authority so it must be right".

[Quantum]

God made the same water that falls from the sky before it absorbs nutrients, good and bad.


As I've noted before, rainwater is NOT distilled.




He also made the water that comes out of the machine.....Far from machine made.


Yeah, sure...and God made the corn that is processed into MSG and corn syrup, so those must be good for us, too!

[Quantum]

I think most people simply believe what they read on this issue.


Obviously, you do. I know from experience what distilled water does to me. Mercola and other insightful and wise people echo what I know.

[Quantum]

We were in the salt business for many years. Produced salt in the Dominican Republic and Mexico.

Just for laughs please do a little research on how SEA SALT is produced.

Be thorough.

Let me know what you find.

CC


Most "sea salt" is produced domestically...Morton made a lot of it in the South San Francisco Bay for years. They used polluted Bay water, and then the residue was baked and ruined (further).

If it's not produced naturally, hand-raked, from pure stocks, it's no better than table salt.

[Quantum]

Quantum, my friend, I appreciate your post there. I suppose it comes down to who you choose to believe.

Fuhrman is an expert in fasting and human biology, especially in regards to the way the human body interacts with foodstuffs. Because fasting is a serious part of my life, I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt.


Awoke, I respect your informed decision. I disagree with you, but it's your choice.

I am of the position that "distilled = processed product," so the burden of proof is on those who advocate it. Mercola is only making their job much more difficult; it's not his job to prove it bad. Spring water is the natural form, trusted, for good reason, for thousands of years.

[optionT]

So which sea salt do you recommend?

[Kali]

I think most people simply believe what they read on this issue.


Obviously, you do. I know from experience what distilled water does to me. Mercola and other insightful and wise people echo what I know.


I don't believe anything yet...thats why Im bringing up the topic.

As far as your experience, its fine to share, but there are others that have the opposite experience so your experience is yours. It's not fact.

The water that comes out of a distiller can not be compared to processed corn syrup or other processed food items. Its h2o coming out the other end of that machine.

I can't give you any credibility anymore after making such lame statements.

I do thank you for sharing though.

[willie pete]

The reason I started drinking DW long ago, was to reduce the risk of pathogens in the water, I don't really look to water for a reasonable source of minerals

[Quantum]

So which sea salt do you recommend?


There are some good European brands. You have to research them, and ask questions, before committing to consumption. If they are not transparent about their production, move on.

[Quantum]

I don't believe anything yet...thats why Im bringing up the topic.


It's quite obvious that you do. You believe distilled water is not only safe, but preferred. You do not speak as a disinterested observer aiming to be objective.




As far as your experience, its fine to share, but there are others that have the opposite experience so your experience is yours. It's not fact.


My experience is fact. I had dangerous health effects directly as a result of routine consumption of distilled water. That others do not does not negate the fact I did. Just because someone plays Russian roulette, and hasn't blown their brains out yet, doesn't mean the game is safe. "I drink it all the time and have no bad effects" is argument based on absence of evidence. It is not proof of anything. It just means some people are either lucky or very tolerant.




The water that comes out of a distiller can not be compared to processed corn syrup or other processed food items.


It most certainly can.

HFCS is "just" fructose and glucose made from corn starch, according to "science."




Its h2o coming out the other end of that machine.


It's molecular H2O, which does not occur in Nature. Do you not get that fact? Please do not cite rainwater, since it is NOT machine-distilled water.




I can't give you any credibility anymore after making such lame statements.


I can't help you with your inability to see the obvious. You really gave me no credibility, since you believed from the beginning in distilled water, as your statements in this thread make clear.

[Kali]

You dont know wtf you're talking about.

[Quantum]

You dont know wtf you're talking about.






Please, DRINK UP! May I kindly suggest you attempt to drink two gallons of distilled water as quickly as possible. I'm sure you don't believe in hyponatremia, either.

[cedarchopper]

I've used a RO system for years. I recently acquired a new system on ebay with a final re-mineralization filter.

Link to Product (http://cgi.ebay.com/100-GPD-Reverse-Osmosis-ALKALINE-ph-NEUTRALIZER-Filter-/390196705213?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Small_Kitchen_Appliances_US&hash=item5ad98937bd)


EDIT: Changed long link to named link to prevent horizontal scrolling. -Gaillo

[striped_bear]

I used to drink spring water, but I came across some information online that explains that the minerals in spring water are not used by the body. They are inorganic minerals, and all the body does is try to get rid of them.

A urinalysis conducted by my doctor indicated that there was an elevated level of "calcium oxalate crystals" in my urine, a possible precursor to kidney stones. Yikes! I attributed this to drinking spring water for a year that had a very high level of dissolved calcium. Calcium, and other minerals, found in water are inorganic and cannot be taken up into the body and used, it will be filtered by your kidneys and passed out of your body.

I now exclusively drink reverse osmosis (RO) water. I have done so now for two years and have not experienced any adverse side effects. Quite the contrary in fact.

Here's a good explanation:
http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/minerals/organic-and-inorganic-minerals.html


Please understand these facts:

- Minerals are inorganic as they exist naturally in the soil and water.
- Minerals are organic as they exist in plants and animals.
- Only plants can transform inorganic minerals into organic minerals.
- Animals must eat plants or plant-eating animals to obtain their organic minerals.
- Inorganic minerals are useless and injurious to the animal organism.

3.4 Mineral Waters

Like mineral supplements, mineral waters cannot provide any beneficial minerals to the body. Any minerals contained in such waters are inorganic and must be expelled by the body. Should an excess of these inorganic minerals be consumed in the water, the body cannot rid itself of them fast enough and they are deposited within the body.

These inorganic mineral deposits lead to kidney and gallstone formation, hardening of the arteries, arthritis, heart trouble, ossification of the brain and other serious diseases. The unexpelled mineral matter from mineral-containing waters combines with cholesterol to form plaques. These plaques lead to cardiovascular problems, and they join with uric acid to cause arthritic and rheumatic complaints.

The body cells can use only pure (distilled) water—such as that found in fruits and plants—and they reject all inorganic minerals consumed in mineral-laden waters.

When mineralized waters are drunk, a condition known as leukocytosis occurs within the body in thirty minutes to three hours after drinking. Leukocytosis is the proliferation of white blood cells which are the body's first line of defense against foreign and harmful body substances—in this case, the inorganic minerals in the water.

Mineral waters cannot furnish the body with any needed elements other than the water itself. The remaining inorganic minerals are either eliminated through the skin, kidneys, etc., or they are deposited within the body where they may cause eventual harm.

Sea water is our "richest" mineral water, yet it is poisonous. Similarly, all other mineralized waters are simply dirty waters, contaminated with inorganic matter which is pathogenic to the body.

[Fudup]

In my opinion distilled water is for my cigar humidors and rainwater (and pure spring water) is for drinking (maybe with 100% pure grain alcohol mixed in). :)

[Gaillo]

Kali and Quantum - keep it cool, folks. It's just a water discussion, nothing to get banned over.

[greenbear]

You can trust "MegaPure Hydration Systems, Inc." - machine-made water

OR

You can trust God Almighty - spring water

Your choice...indeed.


Or you can trust the living water by the word.

Your choice...indeed.

[Awoke]

Thanks StripedBear.
That is the kind of info I was wanting to post, but too lazy to type up.

Our bodies work so hard, all the time, segregating poisons, toxins, proteins, nutrients, vitamins, etc... Dispersing them throughout our bodies, separating good from bad...
It is so hard on our bodies to be doing this constantly, and by the time your body gets just part way through this process, we are cramming more junk down our throats, filling up and starting the process again. This is the basis of a water fast: To stop working our bodies all the time with this digestive process, which is much harder on us than we assume, and allow the body to use that energy on healing, detoxifying and purifying on a cellular level.

Quantum, not to argue semantics at this point, but distilled water is water in its most natural form. It is the condition of water after it has evaporated and then re-condensed from a gas to a liquid, with zero impurities.
Truely the way the Lord intended it to be.

(After travelling on and through the planet, it picks up impurities, which can be called minerals or pollutants, depending on who is identifying it. Either way, they are foreign to the water itself. H2O. That is all. )

These minerals and metals are oftentimes not good for the body, and also bear in mind that we as a species have had no regard for our planet, so water that comes from our watertables is highly suspect, imo. (Especially China, lol, which for all you know is your "Spring water" supplier)
We are poisoning our own food sources. The earth is not as clean as it used to be, and doesn't work as an efficient filter like it used to.

[Quantum]

Quantum, not to argue semantics at this point, but distilled water is water in its most natural form. It is the condition of water after it has evaporated and then re-condensed from a gas to a liquid, with zero impurities.
Truely the way the Lord intended it to be.


This is not true. Pure, molecular H2O is not found in nature. Even rainwater is not pure. Do labs in need of absolutely chemically-pure water use rainwater? No. Distilled water only comes from a machine.

[Bullion_Bob]

You get plenty of minerals from the food you eat.

Distilled water, aka "rain" only cleaner, is completely fine to drink. Pure.

[Awoke]

Quantum, not to argue semantics at this point, but distilled water is water in its most natural form. It is the condition of water after it has evaporated and then re-condensed from a gas to a liquid, with zero impurities.
Truely the way the Lord intended it to be.


This is not true. Pure, molecular H2O is not found in nature. Even rainwater is not pure. Do labs in need of absolutely chemically-pure water use rainwater? No. Distilled water only comes from a machine.




I am pretty sure that when water evaporates into a gas it is pure, and if it was to condense on a sterile area, it would be pure.
No?

[Walter Mitty]

My take is when chemists' uses water in some sort of test they want to use pure water so they do not mess up the chemical reaction.
Your body is performing a bunch of chemical reactions using water so in my opinion you want to drink pure water. That is why I drink primarily distilled water.

[kregener]

I would not drink distilled water.

[Glus]

Rain water is quite distilled if the air is clean when the rain comes down. After all, all distillation does is make water evaporate from one container and condense in another.

I have been drinking distilled water for several years now and I have not had any health problems during that time. Technically I do not drink it distilled though ,because I dirty it up with a bit of syrup each time. I just do not like the taste of any water. I also eat a lot of meat, which is rich in minerals, often in organic compounds.

I will never go back to drinking non-distilled water full time. Yes, I am aware that it costs a lot in energy, and it will destroy the planet faster, and I just do not care. I do not care because I certainly do not want to drink the nasty smelling amber syrup that is left on the bottom of my distilling container, a whole soup spoon of it per gallon of distilled water. Thick, yellow/orange and foul smelling. Yuck yuck.

[Awoke]

I dirty it up with a bit of syrup each time. I just do not like the taste of any water.


I must admit, that is one of the strangest things I've read in a long time.

[StreetsOfGold]

But does GOD have anything to say on the issue?

Proverbs 5:15 Drink waters out of thine OWN cistern, and running waters out of thine OWN well.

[Awoke]

Of course, but the Lord's word was written long before man defiled the earth and damaged the water tables.