Minerals From Drinking Water
To liven up Water maker water I always use my Kangen, it livens up that dull water so well. You can addit strait on if the unit is making water with TDS 300 to 600ppm. If it is less you can add a salt pre filter to give the water back tom electrons and energy.
Minerals are essential for the basic functions of the human body to take place. They help to control bone growth, regulate fluids, normalize nerve and muscle functions, keep up metabolism, grow connective tissues, and so much more. The thing is, do we need minerals in our water? The research is varied. I follow the World Health Organisation and they are not a fan of long term de mineralised or reverse osmosis water. I have drunk RO water at length and it did not suit me. I'm sure my joint pain got worse. I also think its a reason for high incidence in kidney stones and UTI's in sailors. It is hard to find unbiased information on this though. In nature I prefer to drink water from springs, that has run over rocks. I prefer this to rain water,I find it bland and miss the mineral taste.
There is a good argument that we should be getting enough minerals from our food and that the tiny ammount of minerals in a glass of water is nothing compared to our daily requirements. I look at both sides of the coin below.
The main health advantage R.O. water has over tap water is that an R.O. system removes many unhealthy contaminants.
A good R.O. system can remove contaminants such as arsenic, nitrates, sodium, copper and lead, some organic chemicals, and the municipal additive fluoride.
You might be interested to know that reverse osmosis was actually developed as a water treatment method over 40 years ago. The process was used primarily to de-salinate water.
The following are three of the main disadvantages of drinking R.O. water:
1. The water is demineralized.
Since most mineral particles (including sodium, calcium, magnesium, magnesium, and iron) are larger than water molecules, they are removed by the semi-permeable membrane of the R.O. system.
Even though you may find some contradictory information online about the health benefits of reverse osmosis water, I am convinced that drinking de-mineralized water is not healthy.
The World Health Organization conducted a study that revealed some of the health risks associated with drinking demineralized water.
Just a few of the risks include gastrointestinal problems, bone density issues, joint conditions, and cardiovascular disease. (See reference below to review the WHO study online.)
Removing the naturally occurring minerals also leaves the water tasteless. Many people thus have to add liquid minerals to their R.O. water to improve the taste.
2. The water is usually acidic.
One of the primary reasons R.O. water is unhealthy is because removing the minerals makes the water acidic (often well below 7.0 pH). Drinking acidic water will not help maintain a healthy pH balance in the blood, which should be slightly alkaline.
Depending on the source water and the specific R.O. system used, the pH of R.O. water can be anywhere from about 3.0 pH (very acidic) to 7.0 pH (neutral). Most of the R.O. water I have tested has been in the range of 5.0 to 6.0 pH. The only time I have ever seen R.O. water testing at 7.0 is when the R.O. system had the added remineralization element.
In the natural health and medical communities, acidosis in the body is considered an underlying cause of most degenerative diseases.
In fact, in 1931, Dr. Otto Warburg won the Nobel Prize for discovering the cause of cancer. In essence, he said it was caused by a lack of cellular oxygenation due to acidosis in the body.
Medical research has also determined that drinking acidic water (as well as other acidic beverages) will often cause a mineral imbalance in the body.
According to the WHO study, low mineral water increased diuresis (the production of urine by the kidneys) 20% on average and markedly increased the elimination of sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium and magnesium ions from the body.
3. Some critical contaminants are not removed.
While reverse osmosis is effective for removing a variety of contaminants in water, the reverse osmosis membrane alone does NOT remove volatile organic chemical (VOCs), chlorine and chloramines, pharmaceuticals, and a host of other synthetic chemicals found in municipal water.
However, some R.O. systems now have multi-stage filtration media (in addition to the R.O. membrane), such as Activated Carbon, which does remove chlorine and certain pesticides.
What to Do If You Currently Have a Reverse Osmosis System
If you currently have a reverse osmosis system I recommend getting a remineralization cartridge or add-on to your R.O. system.
If that is not possible or too costly, you could add liquid ionic minerals, such as Trace Minerals Ionic Tonic, to your R.O. drinking water.
However, doing so will not be as beneficial as drinking water that contains minerals naturally, but it will help somewhat with the acid-alkaline balance in the body.
The other side of the argument is that the main source of minerals is always from our food and diet, not from our drinking water. In order to receive enough minerals for our bodies, we would need to drink a full bathtub amount of water everyday, which is not very feasible.
The facts are, food is mineral rich and the best way to get minerals. Actual amount of minerals present in a glass of water is inconsistent, and many of the minerals naturally occuring in water are not absorbed by the body.
Keep in mind that water contains only inorganic minerals which can actually be detrimental to human health. Our bodies have a hard time processing inorganic minerals and what we cannot absorb may be stored in our tissues and organs and eventually become toxic to the body. The primary culprits are calcium salts and over time they can cause gallstones, kidney stones, bone & joint calcification, arthritis, and hardening and blocking our arteries. Organ failure and cancer could also occur from long term exposure to certain types of toxic or radioactive minerals found in tap and natural spring water. Organic minerals which are abundant in food are much easier to absorb and preferred by our bodies because they do not contain toxic minerals.
Also watch out for the water products which claims that they can take out ALL of the bad contaminants and leave you only the good stuff (healthy minerals) in the water.
There is no real purification method that can be selective and leave you only the "good" stuff. When filters leave you the "good" stuff, they actually leave you "most" of the stuff in the water. "Most of the stuff" meaning besides calcium and magnesium, they also leave fluoride, arsenic, chromium, perchlorate, heavy metals, radioactive materials, bacteria, viruses, and pharmaceutical drugs. These are all harmful contaminants that can cause illness, cancer or death. In this era of pollution where water contains much more disease-causing contaminants than beneficial minerals, it makes sense that the water we drink should be as pure and clean as possible.
References
WHO Study: Health risks from drinking demineralised water
University of Nebraska; Drinking Water Treatment: Reverse Osmosis; 2014. This is a peer reviewed guide by Bruce I. Dvorak, Environmental Engineering Specialist, and Sharon O. Skipton, Water Quality Educator, which has a few good tables that show the types of contaminants that are and are not removed by reverse osmosis.
Further reading
Drinking Demineralized Water - The Health Risks (a brief summary of the WHO study)
Minerals from Food vs Minerals in Water
If your health is a top priority and you don’t want to be drinking de-mineralized water, invest in a water filter that best suits your needs
Major minerals your body needs and where you can find them
Calcium – Essential for strong bones and teeth. Also plays an important role in the digestive system. Lack of calcium can lead to osteoporosis.
Almonds, brazil nuts, hazelnuts
Broccoli, kale, okra, spinach, watercress
Dried apricot and figs
Mackerel, oysters, salmon, sardines
Tofu, calcium-enriched soya cheeses and milks
Iron – Plays an essential role in the production of the body’s white blood cells and immune system.
Apricots, blackcurrants, figs, prunes, raisins, nuts,
Beans, lentils, eggs,
Broccoli, kale, peas, cabbage, spinach, watercress,
Lean red meat, liver, kidney
Mackerel, oysters, sardines, tuna,
Wholegrain cereals and whole meal bread
Magnesium – Helps regulate potassium and sodium which control your blood pressure. Also helps absorb and breakdown vitamins and minerals.
Apricots, bananas, figs, prunes, raisins
Brown rice, granary bread, whole meal bread, whole wheat pasta, nuts
Green leafy vegetables, okra, parsnips, peas, sweet corn
Lean meat, milk, yogurt
Zinc – An antioxidant and important for the maintenance of a healthy immune system.
Brown rice and wholegrain breads
Cheese
Crab, lobster, mussels, oysters, sardines, duck, goose, kidney, lean red meat, turkey