Distilled Water Facts

Water is an essential element in the existence of all living organisms. For humans, daily intake of water is important as our bodies are comprised of more than 90 percent water. It is widely known that in order to live a healthy life, we have to drink water that has been freed of impurities. One of the processes for achieving this ideal is known as distillation.

Process

The process of making distilled water is not a complicated one. Water is boiled and the steam is collected in a clean container. The steam in this process is condensed, carrying fewer impurities compared to the water left in the container used for boiling. The steam collected in the container is then processed into distilled water, which is safe for drinking.

Speculation

In his article, "Distilled Water versus Mineral, Carbon Filtered, and Reverse Osmosis Water," Ron Kennedy of The Doctors' Medical Library purports that distilled water is better than mineral water because the minerals in regular tap water can hinder bodily functions. According to Kennedy and those who follow his school of thought, the minerals in tap water clog the body in a fashion similar to how calcium present in water helps harden the bones in our bodies. Moreover, holistic medicine practitioners claim that minerals are the main cause of diseases in our body. Therefore, it has been concluded that drinking distilled water could be beneficial for the body and may be one means to avoid arthritis, increase energy and improve hardened arteries.

Misconceptions

According to Clint Miller, a graduate student studying Environmental Geochemistry at Texas A&M University, distilled water is unhealthy to drink as it does not have enough minerals to sustain our bodily functions. On the contrary, he supports the idea that we receive the minerals we need from food sources more so than water, so it is not necessary to our survival for water to be mineral-rich. Moreover, he asserts that the minerals stored in water cannot be directly used by the body.

Considerations

According to DistilledWaterFacts.com, the concept of storing distilled water should be carefully looked into because distilled water is considered to be aggressive or in an unnatural condition. As such it is believed to be prone to combining with other substances such as air and the container in which its stored. As most distilled water is contained in plastic, individuals who obtain this type of water should transfer it to another container as soon as possible. This is because chemicals present in the plastic can seep into the water after a period of time, making the water unhealthy to drink. Therefore, the water should be transferred to a glass container as glass has the most inert and safest material.

Home Water Distillers

Securing distilled water is quite easy. One can choose to purchase it from the local grocery store or invest in a home water distiller. The latter is perhaps the most economical option as home distillers generally use an average of $0.25 to $0.30 of energy per gallon of water. Home water distillers also include carbon post filters and escape vents that remove any contaminants missed by the distillation process.