Myths about drinking distilled water
Nine myths about drinking distilled water
(and why they are complete twaddle)
A lot of our customers research drinking distilled water in various forums on the Internet and there are a number of myths about drinking distilled water which are untrue and have no scientific basis.
This document sets out the scientific truth.
MYTH 1
Distilled water is an active absorber and absorbs carbon dioxide on contact with air, making it acidic.
The TRUTH: This is completely untrue. Clouds are formed by water evapourating off the oceans, if distilled water vapour absorbed CO2 we wouldn't have a greenhouse problem but we would all get acid burns when it rained. (By the way, acid rain is caused by Sulphur Dioxide - from buring fossil fuels - mixing with water vapour and forming sulphuric acid)
MYTH 2:
Cooking foods in distilled water pulls the minerals out of them and lowers their nutrient value.
TRUTH: Cooking any foods lowers the nutrient value, especially when cooking in water and draining the water. Steaming is better. But your food will be less contaminated if you cook it in pure distilled water. Distilled water is no more "leaching" than any other type of water.
MYTH 3
The most toxic soft drinks that people consume (i.e. cola beverages and other soft drinks) are made from distilled water.
The TRUTH: Certainly Coca-Cola is not made from distilled water. There is no economic reason why a soft drink manufacturer would want to spend time and money distilling water to make soft drinks. Even if soft drinks were made from distilled water it is the sugar and other additives that are the problem; distilled water would only make them healthier.
MYTH 4
Distilled water washes minerals from your bones and cells, and causes mineral deficiencies because it lacks the minerals found in other types of water.
TRUTH: Even mineral water has so few minerals in it, you could not depend on it as a dietary mineral source. We get minerals from food, not water. Distilled water does not leach minerals from your body. Naval sailors have been drinking distilled water for years without any ill effects.
MYTH 5
Drinking distilled water for long periods of time weakens your teeth.
The TRUTH: This is an lie invented by water filter salespeople to help them sell water filters. Water distillers do remove Fluoride from water but there is plenty of flouride in toothpaste if you want Fluoride.
MYTH 6
Distilled water tastes "funny" or has a "flat taste"
The TRUTH: Distilled water definitely tastes different to ordinary tap water. Tap water has fluoride, chlorine, iron and other chemicals and your taste-buds get used to it. The first time you drink distilled water it will taste different. Although most people do not experience it tasting flat. What is really interesting is how bad ordinary tap water tastes after you have been drinking distilled water.
If you only distil your water, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and some dissolved gases can be carried over into the distilled water. That is why our distillers use carbon filters to remove VOCs and gases.
In general when used for cooking and drinking water, most people find distilled water improves the taste of food and is more thirst-quenching than tap water.
MYTH 7
Distillation does not remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
The TRUTH: There is some truth in this. VOCs are organic compounds that have a lower boiling point than water. When water is boiled in the boiling chamber VOCs present will get carried over into the cooled distilled water. For this reason our distillers come with a carbon filter for the final stage of the process. The carbon filter removes most of the VOCs present.
MYTH 8
Distillation systems require extensive, frequent cleaning and are difficult to operate.
The TRUTH. Depending on where you live, your distiller will need regular cleaning. But all you have to do is lift off the top and use the cleaner provided to dissolve any scale build-up. People in hard water areas will have more cleaning to do. Most people do a quick wipe around after each distillation. Our distillers are easy to operate - just fill it up, press the button once, walk away and come back when it has finished.
MYTH 9
Producing distilled water is expensive and uses lots of electricity.
The TRUTH: Distillers do use electricity to produce pure water. A typical home water distiller uses around 3 kilowatt hours to make 4 litres of water. Using an average electricity cost of 10p per kilowatt hour, 4 litres of distilled water would cost about 30p or 7-8p per litre. This is cheaper, purer and more convenient than bottled water.
If you want to buy one of our water distillers click here.
