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From:	Mark (71.17.102.242)
Subject:	Some other neat insights I have come across pertaining to demineralized water
Date:	May 20, 2012 at 10:15 pm PST

In Reply to: Re: Articles like this that have me questioning what is our best choice for healthy water. posted by Dr. Doug Graham on May 20, 2012 at 5:48 am:

I'm going to reference some research which I am familiar with that began in the 1970's by a Dr. Watson and Dr. Eck. It's incredible how important their findings were, yet still it is relatively unknown in the medical community. They began by analyzing the mineral profiles of athletes, and discovered the relationships of the minerals in the body, citing their necessary ratios to each other for maximum energy production. More specifically, they pinpointed the ratios of the four macro minerals calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium necessary in the body for the optimal functioning of the thyroid and adrenal glands. Combined, the thyroid and adrenal glands dictate our metabolic rate, a primary indicator of our energy production level if you will.

I think you can see what I'm getting at. The effects of DI water are to reduce the body's stores of minerals which are vital to our health. It isn't a question of whether or not DI water is bad for you because it lacks minerals - yes you can and do get minerals from your food and the mineral content of regular drinking water is negligible as a source of dietary minerals itself. What is important is that you do not want to be stripping your body's mineral reserves. Drinking DI water every day can be compared to taking a sauna every day - you will eventually suffer health problems caused by a lack of mineral reserves. Granted, any damage done by DI water won't happen overnight, just as getting a mercury filling won't cause you to drop dead right outside the dentist's office. The effects are cumulative - the longer you drink DI water the more imbalances can occur with your mineral stores, potentially causing more and more health problems as you go.

There are many health issues related to mineral imbalances such as adrenal exhaustion (stress), obesity, fatigue, attention deficit disorder, diabetes, hypertension, depression and Alzheimer's to name a few.

I find it refreshing that in geology water and ice are considered minerals. They are because of the many interactions water and ice have amongst the many other minerals which make up the earth - the physical and chemical interactions between water and rock are inseparable.

There are many reasons why people search for purity. For those who have it in their minds that de-ionized water is better simply because it is the ultimate in purity, I urge you to question your motives and consider that mineralized water has always been here and life as we know it wouldn't be here without it. My suggestion is if you're concerned about the purity of your drinking water, and you should be, take a look again at the many purifying systems which remove contaminants. For me, the balance here is to purify my daily drinking water with micro-filtration and even reverse osmosis - but not demineralize it beyond reverse osmosis.

I wanted to also comment on things I read from previous posts:

Lysing - yes DI water does lyse living cells.

Bacteria - yes without the chlorine and chloramine of tap water, microbes can live in DI. Does this make tap water good for you? Yes because it has low bacteria, no because of the effects of chlorine and chloramine on your body. Remember, it's KILLING the bacteria. Moreover, within animals (which include us) a low dietary electrolyte (mineral ion) balance has been shown to increase the level of bacterial count in urine.

Coffee - I cringed when I read about the office piping DI directly to their coffee maker. Please do not use DI water in your coffee makers. The tubing inside your coffee maker is made of aluminum, which will be leached by the DI. Aluminum is a heavy metal which causes Alzheimer's, amongst numerous other health problems with physiological and psychological ramifications. In California this could make a pretty good lawsuit.

Cola - as we know, cola itself is not de-ionized. The cleaning properties in cola which the poster referred to are from its high phosphoric acid content. I'm sure the folks here know about phosphoric acid used in metal etching. I've used it myself to clean concrete and convert rust.

As a side note, there are some who like to use distilled water for short periods of time, believing that it will pull impurities from their kidneys. Some also use dilute acids for the same purpose, like phosphoric acid and malic acid.

Jesse Marcus
- Los Angeles, California

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