SOURCE: REAL farmacy
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
- 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.
These and other junk
foods can cause the body to become more acidic:
- meats
- sugar
- alcohol
- fried foods
- soft drinks
- processed foods
- white flour products
- dairy products
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
- 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 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.
