Plain water contains dissolved minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron, and sodium. There are different ways to remove these impurities. One is through a process called distillation. In this process, liquid is boiled and the steam is collected to condense in a reservoir. The result is pure liquid without minerals. Sometimes, this is called de-mineralized water. According to some critics, distilled liquid is not healthy water.
There have been myths circulating about distilled water, unnecessarily comparing it to both natural and alkaline water. A few chemists and researchers have made comments to dismiss the rumors.
One of the notorious myths is that purified H2O drains minerals from your body. Some people are lead to believe that water that does not contain minerals will dilute the mineral content of your body. However, this is untrue. Pure water does not leach minerals or nutrients from the body just as regular, plain liquid does not.
On the other hand, there is some skepticism that purified H2O can help your body excrete toxins more effectively than plain H2O. Purified liquid alone is not enough to remove toxins in the body. However, adequate water intake will facilitate in the removal of wastes. Thorough detoxification can be achieved through various methods.
Many scientists agree that purified H2O is much like regular water. If it has effects on your body chemistry, it would be too negligible to detect. Distilled and plain liquid are basically the same. The function of H2O in your body is not altered just because one has more ions. The ability of purified liquid to hydrate your cells is similar to plain H2O’s ability. Researchers argue that the amount of solutes in plain water is extremely low, that their absence will hardly be felt by the human body.
Distilled water, however, is more aggressive than plain liquid as a solvent. The absence of contaminants means it readily dissolves solutes like ions and gases. Hence, distilled water should not be left in the open for a while, because doing so will make it impure right away.
Purified H2O manufacturers have faced controversy due to the existing competition with companies that produce ionized water. There are published articles stating that alkaline water is the healthier alternative to various forms of pure H2O. But there is not much scientific evidence that proves that alkaline liquid is more effective than any other type of H2O. The lack of scientific evidence is contradicted by the presence of many testimonials from people who have tried it.
In finding out what exactly is healthy water, none seems to be more important than the other. It doesn’t matter whether H2O has ions or not, because distilled H2O gets re-ionized immediately in your mouth and alkaline liquid gets neutralized in the stomach anyway. What matters more is whether the liquid is drinkable or not.
Modern technology has drastically improved the water treatment methods, to the point that even tap water is safe. But some do purchase water purifiers and ionizers to give them more assurance that they are drinking good, healthy water.