Distilled water spurs controversy on the internet and in health circles as different nutritional experts gives different views regarding the true effects of drinking pure water on the human body. Some of the noted myths are explained in the following.

Nutritionists see water as a nutrient itself whether or not it has minerals in it. The minerals are due to impurity from the natural sources. Much of the mineral content is removed through water treatment procedures. Water coming out of your faucet still has some calcium ions in it, for instance, because water treatment facilities in communities aren't that complex; hence, thorough purification cannot be expected. Distillation, on the other hand, does purification better, giving us water that is devoid of solute.

You might have seen articles that talk about pure distilled water being naked due to lack of ions. This is untrue because the major purpose of water is to regulate body temperature, to aid in digestion and metabolism, and to aid in excretion of waste. It doesn't need minerals to carry out these functions.

In relation to the previous misconception, pure water has been clumsily branded as a mineral leaching agent, primarily because it does not have minerals in it, so it would tend to grab minerals from its surrounding. In other words, when you drink distilled or deionized water, you will lose minerals from the system. There's no scientific literature backing up this claim. The cited studies in some articles, which tackle about the leaching effects of distilled DI water, don't necessarily point to deionized water as the specific cause of mineral deficiencies.

If you have been convinced that distilled water can cause serious mineral loss, think about it this way: imagine having a sample of mineral water and a sample of distilled drinking water. Pour both in two separate glasses with powdered milk. See! There is no difference. There is no significant difference because the disparity in the mineral content between distilled/deionized water and plain mineral water is extremely minimal. Only conductivity tests in laboratories can tell the difference. Your body cannot lose so much mineral because it is a buffered system and would tend to keep minerals it needs. There are different causes of mineral and nutritional deficiencies and drinking distilled or pure water is just not cited as a cause.

Water is a natural solvent and in its natural reservoirs, it's composed of many impurities water distillers coming from both organic and inorganic matter. Rock sediments and decaying matter can add so much contaminant that renders water inappropriate for major human applications. Water should be treated before it can be usable in any way. Water treatment involves removal of a significant amount of impurity. One of the most reliable methods of treatment is distillation, which removes virtually all forms of contaminants, leaving water that is extremely pure.

First, they say that distilled drinking water doesn't contain minerals and that's true. But what's absurd is how they describe the absence of minerals as a disadvantage because water without minerals would aggressively take the minerals from the body and flush it out of the system. Allegedly, this would cause serious mineral deficiencies in the long run. Some people even bring up research findings that distilled or deionized water can cause mineral leaching. However, there is no real evidence to link cases mineral deficiency to consumption of pure water.