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By: Zoltan P. Rona, MD, MSc
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 U.S.
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. Notable, 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 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 there non-distilled water drinking
counterparts even after several years of mineral supplementation.
The ideal water for the
human body should be slightly 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. Water filtered through Reverse Osmosis tends to be neutral and is
acceptable for regular use provided minerals are supplemented.
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