Distilled water - A health hazard

[Guest guest]

Distilled water - A health hazard

 

Dear Group,

There are many and varied opinions regarding use of distilled

water in severe illnesses by Natural health professionals. Very

interesting content.. a most comprehensive piece of information.

JoAnn

--

 

Early Death Comes from Drinking Distilled Water

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 vapour 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. Notably, 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 the 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 their 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.

Water filtered through a solid charcoal filter is slightly alkaline.

Ozonation of this charcoal filtered water is ideal for daily

drinking. Longevity is associated with the regular consumption of

hard water (high in minerals). Disease and early death is more

likely to be seen with the long term drinking of distilled water.

Avoid it except in special circumstances.

 

About the Author

Dr. Rona is a leading proponent of natural, harmless, health-

building alternatives to conventional medical care. He has a general

practice where he has provided preventive medical counselling for

seventeen years and is a past president of the Canadian Holistic

Medical Association. His books The Joy of Health: A Doctor's Cuide

To Nutrition, Alternative Medicine, Fertility Control: The Natural

Approach, Return to the Joy of Health, and Childhood Illness and the

Allergy Connection, have been well received, as have his countless

articles on natural health topics. Dr. Rona is also a consultant to

the Motherisk Program of the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children

Department of Pharmacology and is known for his many public lectures

and media appearances.

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Take charge and lets spread some cheer around,

 

Working for God on earth does not pay much,

but His Retirement plan is out of this world.

 

Help someone have a nice day,

visit www.thehungersite. com

 

Rahul,

[Guest guest]

Dr. Gerald Benesh, a natural health practitioner in Escondido, California, has

been prescribing the use of distilled water for decades. I don't know where the

belief that distilled water use, leads to early death, came from, but Dr. Benesh

is about 95 years old, has all his teeth, nearly all his hair, and the last time

I saw a picture of him, he was grinning, with a 40lb dumbell, in his right hand,

raised above his head.

 

I'm not absoulutely sure, but I suspect that Dr. Benesh proabably believes that

other advice that he gave people, 50 years ago, that they drink 2 or 3 glasses

of freshly made carrot and/or celery juice, eat fresh fruit in the morning, and

eat 2 huge salads, made with a wide variety of raw vegetables, but primarily the

leafy greens, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice, eat raw nuts and seeds as

proteiin sources, and eat steamed veggies in the evening, provided them with

enough trace minerals.

 

jp

[Guest guest]

Yes I agree that trace minerals and even other more subtle energetic

structure found in water are important for optimal heath... my point was

that macro minerals like Calcium, Potassium,, Magnesium, are needed in

such large quantity that they are best obtained through our food supply

(unless you happen to live near a Himalayan glacier. LOL). We would need

to drink gallons of tap water to obtain our daily requirement of these

macro minerals and even then there is the issue of what excess of

other toxic elements we might get in the process, not to mention

the absorption issue... thanks to environmental pollution we are in a

cache 22 here and there are no easy answers!

 

Domingo

 

Domingo Pichardo wrote:

>

> Moderator's Note: The fact remains that the distilled process depletes

> all minerals, regardless of importance.

[Guest guest]

The distilling process doesn't " deplete " all minerals, it eliminates them. We

use the word " deplete " when we bemoan the loss of something. But the so called

depeletion of trace minerals, is an inevitable consequence of the distilling

process, which aims to produce a nearly perfect removal of everything that might

be left behind, if anything is spared in the process. To speak of the

distilling as if the important thing is the removal of trace minerals, when the

issue is the much more important one of removing the poisons and contaminants

that can and do get into our water supply. I'm sure you can find some trace

minerals buried in a piece of commerical banana cream pie, but I don't complain

that I've lost something by not eating such garbage, nor do I complain about the

loss of the vast array of nutrients likely to be found in a mushroom, that I've

been told is poisonous; I simply don't eat it.

 

The argument for distilled water, is based on the belief that there is more to

gain from distilling out the contaminants often found in water, than is lost

from the scant removal of trace minerals, that, by the way, can be obtained from

many nutritional and supplemental sources.

 

jp

 

-

Domingo Pichardo

Wednesday, October 25, 2006 1:50 AM

Re: Distilled water - A health hazard

Yes I agree that trace minerals and even other more subtle energetic

structure found in water are important for optimal heath... my point was that

macro minerals like Calcium, Potassium,, Magnesium, are needed in such large

quantity.....

[Guest guest]

" Reductionist logic? " There most certainly is not more to water than H20.

Anything can be placed in water; but that doesn't mean that it becomes part of

the molecular structure of water. You're making too much of these arguments for

or against distilled water. It's no different than any judgment made about

anything we feed ourselves. We make the judgment based on our understanding of

the benefits and losses incurred in the process. I favor distilled water,

because I've been persuaded that the benefits of purifying water, outweigh the

loss (such as it is) of trace minerals. I agree that distilled water isn't

entitled to call itself more " natural, " but it's certainly entitled toi call

itself more " pure; " more purely water, that is. And, it isn't as if trace

minerals can't be found anywhere else. There are many sources of trace

minerals, in the form of whole food supplements, trace mineral formulations, and

individual trace minerals that have been extracted from various sources, not to

mention foods themselves: especially sea vegetables, fish and shell-fish, many

land-grown vegetables, etc.

jp

 

 

-

Domingo Pichardo

Tuesday, October 24, 2006 6:24 PM

Re: Distilled water - A health hazard

 

 

I think that there is a flaw in the argument presented here which

implies that distilled water(pure H2O) is more " natural " because more

" pure " ! Humans and all living things that have ever existed do not

consume pure H2O as a chemical compound in itself, separated from all

the environmental exposures of Sunlight, Atmosphere and contact with the

Soil, as in Rivers...

[Guest guest]

, " Dr. Loretta

Lanphier " <LorettaLanphier wrote:

 

I have been drinking distilled water for over six years with no

consequence. However, what I do is add organic apple cider vinegar

to my water. Organic apple cider vinegar contains a tremendous

amount of minerals. But I don't do this because I am afraid the

minerals are lost, I do this because it is a very natural way to get

minerals.

> I would much rather begin with the purest form of water and then

add my own minerals from my own sources rather than rely on bottled

water that " says " it is spring, etc. and also dealing with the fact

that most bottled water is in plastic.

>

> And the reason that soda is bad goes way beyond the distilled

water thing.

>

> See article below. I send this article just so that we know there

are many " thoughts " in the area of distilled vs not distilled.

Personally, I believe that it is the " safest " water that you can

get. We should be getting the majority of minerals from organic,

healthy and " live " food.

> Loretta

 

Hi Loretta!

Thanks for the very informative articles on distilled water.

I enjoy reading different perspectives. This part especially was

rather intriguing. Although I appreciate the logic behind his

statements, I question his compilation of acidifying foods.

 

 

" If one regularly drinks distilled water and cleans up his or her

diet say only 75 to 90 percent, while still indulging in 25 to 10

percent of the grossly acidifying cooked foods (e.g., meat, dairy,

cereals, breads, cakes, candies, pasta, rice,

tofu, soy milk, beans, etc.), he or she will never get beyond the

acid-poisoning phase, thus, the body will always be exerting itself

to eliminate acid wastes, resulting in sub-par health. Thus,it is

dietary and lifestyle stress, not distilled water, which is to blame

for the loss of any useful minerals. "

 

JoAnn

[Guest guest]

Domingo,

Thanks for the clarification. The majority of our minerals must

always be obtained from fresh organic foods, preferably raw. However

my main concern is whether the minerals we obtain from foods can be leached out

of our bodies by regular use of distilled water

as well. Many of the experts disagree on whether it should be used

on a long term basis. Glacier water and water obtained from mineral

springs ( packaged in glass of course) are of the utmost benefit!. Take a look

at the Hunzas!

 

Distilled water is typically used as a " chelating " agent by health practitioners

to remove mercury and accumulation of other heavy metals and provide a temporary

detox. It is also beneficial for

eliminating harmful deposits, especially the excessive calcium and

fat laden buildup of those who are suffering with cardiovascular

problems.

It is this particular portion of the article that is disturbing...

 

> 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.

 

 

We consume spring water for the most part, however recently started

using purified water (filtered 27 times). This led to a swelling of

his feet (he is a diabetic) which led me to believe that the water

was problematic. Excessive sodium could not be a factor for we tend

to have only minimal amounts of sea salt in our diet. I do know that

diabetics are much more sensitive to mineral loss because of their

condition.

 

> There is a correlation between the consumption of soft water

> (distilled water is extremely soft) and the incidence of

> cardiovascular disease.

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.

 

<The ideal water for the human body should be slightly alkaline and

> this requires the presence of minerals like calcium and magnesium.

> Water filtered through a solid charcoal filter is slightly

alkaline. Ozonation of this charcoal filtered water is ideal for

daily drinking. Longevity is associated with the regular consumption

of hard water (high in minerals).

 

Best Regards,

JoAnn

[Guest guest]

, Domingo Pichardo

<dpichardo3 wrote:

>

> I think that there is a flaw in the argument presented here which

> implies that distilled water(pure H2O) is more " natural " because

more " pure " ! Humans and all living things that have ever existed do

not consume pure H2O as a chemical compound in itself, separated

from all the environmental exposures of Sunlight, Atmosphere and

contact with the Soil, as in Rivers... We need to be careful when we

make these logical arguments based on reductionist logic that we

don't confuse the forest with the tree! All things are

interconnected and there is a lot more to water than two parts

Hydrogen and one part Oxygen.

> http://www.mercola.com/2002/may/8/distilled_water.htm

>

Hi!

 

This concept appears to be based on material taken from the following site

listed just below the distilled water image.

.... based on a religious belief? Is this image credible?

JoAnn

Link taken from Mercola's site:

http://www.spiritofmaat.com/archive/aug1/consciouswater.html

Conscious Water Crystals - The Power of Prayer Made Visible

 

The image above shows a frozen crystal of pure water--

a bright, radiant hexagon. But in response to human thought

and emotion, water crystals can take many forms. . .And since a picture is worth

much more than any number of words, we

sought to show you the simplest and most convincing pictures that we

could find, demonstrating how our thoughts, words, and feelings

affect so-called physical objects, right down to the molecular

level. [-- ed.]

The pictures and discussion in this article represent the brilliant

work of Japan's Masaru Emoto. The photos have been published in a

gorgeous book called The Messages of Water (see Books).

 

The photo on the left is of a frozen water sample from the lake at

Fujiwara Dam, in Japan. As you can see, the water's structure is

dark and amorphous, with no crystalline formations

 

At left, for comparison purposes, is a representative photograph

of " untreated " distilled water.

 

Different samples of distilled water showed different formations, but none were

crystallized.

Then this water was treated by taping words or people's names to the bottles,

playing music to them, or exposing them to floral essences.

One

interesting result was that there was a language difference. For

example, " Thank you " in English evoked different crystal formations

than the same sentiment in Japanese. Here are some other effects

that Emoto claims to have found in his research:

 

 

Water from clear mountain springs and streams has beautifully formed

crystalline structures, while the crystals of polluted or stagnant

water are deformed and distorted.

Distilled water exposed to classical music takes delicate,

symmetrical crystalline shapes.

 

When the words " thank you " were taped to a bottle of distilled

water, the frozen crystals had a similar shape to the crystals

formed by water that had been exposed to Bach's " Goldberg

Variations " (see right) -- music composed out of gratitude to the

man it was named for.

When Elvis Presley's " Heartbreak Hotel " was played to water, the

resulting frozen crystals were split in two.

When water samples are bombarded with heavy metal music or labeled

with negative words, or when negative thoughts and emotions are

focused intentionally upon them, the water does not form crystals at

all and displays chaotic, fragmented structures.

When water is treated with aromatic floral oils, the water crystals

tend to mimic the shape of the original flower. At right, water

crystals were exposed to aromatic essence of chamomile.

Of great interest for healing and just day-to-day well being is the

extreme effect upon water crystals of negative words and ideas. When

the words " Adolf Hitler " were taped to a bottle of distilled water,

the results seen at left were obtained.

 

For our own bodies at birth are 70 percent water, and the percentage

of water in our bodies remains high throughout life (depending upon

weight and body type). Also, the earth's surface is 70 percent

water.

And now we have seen before our eyes the proof that water is

far from inanimate, but is actually alive and responsive to our

every thought and emotion.

--S. Barber

Psychic Research: You'd Better Believe It