The Dangers of Drinking Distilled Water
...Are They Fact or Fiction?

Those who write about natural health usually say you should stay away from all other kinds of drinking water and drink only distilled water. After all, it's pure H20. How much better can you get than that? To this chorus has been added the voice of many diets which recommend distilled water. Once popular in only health circles, distilled water has gained momentum among the general population as well.

I will then cite the facts about the dangers of drinking distilled water, what it is that we know for certain, and then discuss more generally some preliminary conclusions on questions that still have no clear and certain answers. The first and second questions are secondary in nature in terms of their importance. The third and fourth questions go to the heart of the debate and are terribly important.

Four Questions Raised About the Dangers of Drinking Distilled Water

Question #1: Does distilled water taste bland or have a "flat taste"?

The Advocates of Distilled Water say that this is a myth usually proposed by those who haven't drunk distilled water themselves. This complaint about the taste may be due to the fact that earlier systems of distillation didn't use carbon filters along with the distillation process and did have a steamy taste. Possibly it's due to the lack of oxygen in the water which tends to give taste, or some of the taste may come from the plastic containers it is often sold in.

Those Contesting the Drinking of Distilled Water say that no, the flat taste is real and it is due to the lack of healthy minerals in the water. Distilling water removes not only the contaminants that put your health at risk, but also remove the good minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, which give flavor to your drinking water.

As I said, this is a rather secondary criticism of distilled water. Obviously, those who drink distilled water don't mind the "flat taste", if there is one. And if there is a lack of oxygen in the water, this can be corrected rather easily.

Question #2: Does drinking distilled water over a long period of time cause your teeth to deteriorate?

The Advocates of Distilled Water say there is no proof of this. The question of the utility of adding fluoride to tap water has been debated for decades. Most European countries have chosen not to add fluoride. Dr. Hardy Limebeck, DDS, Ph.D., head of Preventative Dentistry at University of Toronto, said there is little, if any benefit to swallowing fluoride, and it can cause adverse effects to bones and teeth.

Those Contesting the Drinking of Distilled Water and saying there are dangers of drinking distilled water say that distillation removes fluoride from your drinking water and eventually results in your teeth deteriorating.

Question #3: Does distillation take out of water all of the beneficial minerals, hence representing one of the main dangers of drinking distilled water?

The Advocates of Distilled Water say that we get a very small percentage of the minerals we need daily from the water we drink. It would be only about 5% of the minerals our bodies needs that come from drinking water. Most of the minerals we need come from foods such as meats, poultry, vegetables and fruit. We get far more minerals from one glass of milk than we do from eight glasses of water. Hence, the deficiency of minerals that we have by drinking distilled water is negligible and this is more than made up by the food we eat.

Those Contesting the Drinking of Distilled Water and saying there are dangers of drinking distilled water say that even though it is a small percentage of the minerals that the body needs daily, yet it does make a significant difference. They say, those who drink only distilled water tend to develop multiple mineral deficiencies which can cause loss of hair or high blood pressure. The consumption of distilled water makes the body more acidic whereas alkalinity is conducive to better general health.

Question #4: Does distilled water leach minerals from your body? Water in it's natural state is combined with a variety of minerals. When it is deprived of these minerals, it becomes aggressive and will suck up minerals out of your body.

The Advocates of Distilled Water say that yes, distilled water does have this magnetic character, but that the minerals it leaches from the body are the ones that the body has already rejected. The distilled water helps the blood system and lymph system to carry the discarded or unusable minerals to the kidneys and lungs for removal.

Those Contesting the Drinking of Distilled Water and saying there are dangers of drinking distilled water say that not only does distilled water leach good minerals from the body but also from food when it is used in food preparation. Hence, even your meats and vegetables have less minerals when prepared with distilled water than with natural water.

Dr. Zoltan Rona based on 19 years of clinical practice observing the health effects of drinking different types of water says,

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, urin and hair tests in my practice. Almost without exception, people who consume distilled water exclusively, eventually develop multiple mineral deficiencies....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.

The Facts about the Dangers
of Drinking Distilled Water

It helps to step back from the debate, often motivated by the desire to sell distillers on the one hand or other kinds of filters on the other. It helps to try and distinguish between what is know and what is not yet proven. So what are the facts about distilled water?

• Distilling water does indeed remove the broadest range of contaminants from drinking water of all the different kinds of in home water treatment systems.
• Distilling water is the most effective method for removing organic, inorganic and biological (bacteria, viruses, cysts) contaminants. It removes a greater percentage than other filters.
• Distilling water is usually combined with carbon filtration since distillation does not remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which turn to gas even before water boils and then is condensed with the purified water. The carbon filters, sometimes a pre-distiller filter and sometimes a post-distiller filter, and sometimes both, are used to remove the VOCs. These two processes effectively reduce such contaminants as:--Arsenic --Benzine --Trihalomethanes--Mercury --Nitrate --Trichloroethylene --Asbestos --Fluoride --Radon --Radium--Atracine --Lead --Unpleasant tastes, odors, and colors (iron)--Biological contaminants (bacteria, viruses, cysts)
• Distilling water does indeed remove beneficial minerals from your drinking water as well as removing harmful contaminates. No one would disagree that calcium and magnesium are beneficial to your health. Dr. Rona says, "The ideal water for the body should be slightly alkaline and this requires the presence of minerals like calcium and magnesium. Distilled water tends to be acidic...

What Do the Authorities Say about the Dangers of Drinking Distilled Water?

I will quote two authorities by way of summary. The first says there is no hard evidence that distilled water is dangerous to your health. The other says that the weight of evidence that comes from the multiple studies that have been undertaken is that distilled water is not the best for your health. The first I call an authority by virtue of the obvious amount of study he has done on the question in his article, "Health Effects of Drinking Distilled Water". The second I call an authority by virtue of the organization he represents, the World Health Organization (WHO).

First then, Randy Johnson, say the following by way of personal conclusion. He then follows it up by extensive argument and answers to the major questions raised about the possible dangers of drinking distilled water.

I have done considerable study on this topic, but actual experimental evidence (in scientific journals) about the health effects of drinking RDD treated water (treated with Reverse osmosis, Distillation, or Deionization) seems to be almost non-existent. On the other hand, the discussions, opinions and arguments about whether or not RDD water is good or bad to drink abound!

The second authority, is F. Kozisek, who has written a "Draft for review and comments" article for the World Health Organization entitled "Health Risks from Drinking Demineralised Water". He says that there are more than 11,000 desalination plants all around the world, many in the Middle East and Western Asia. They alone, apart from the many who have home distillers, produce 6 billion gallons of distilled water per day. After surveying the research done on this question over the past 50 years, some by the World Health Organization and some by others, he summarizes as follows:

Demineralised water that has not been remineralized, or low-mineral content water -- in the light of the absence or substantial lack of essential minerals in it -- is not considered ideal drinking water, and therefore, its regular consumption can not be providing adequate levels of some beneficial nutrients. This chapter provides a rational for this conclusion.

The evidence in terms of experimental effects and findings in human volunteers related to highly demineralised water is mostly found in older studies, some of which may not meet current methodological criteria. However, these findings and conclusions should not be dismissed. Some of these studies were unique, and the intervention studies, although undirected, would hardly be scientifically, financially, or ethically feasible to the same extent today. The methods, however, are not so questionable as to necessarily invalidate their results. The older animal and clinical studies on health risks from drinking demineralised or low-mineral water yielded consistent results both with each other and with more recent research, and recent research has tended to be supported.

For a fuller understanding of the distilling process and the advantages and disadvantages of distilling your water click on "The Dangers of Drinking Distilled Water."