Minerals

WaterStillar systems distill water. Is it safe to drink distilled water? Are minerals in water important? Is distilled water perhaps the most healthy choice? Are there different kinds of distilled water? Does water have properties that can not be measured? Could one kind of water be good for some and not so good for others?

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The answer to the above can probably all be answered with a “Yes”. Understanding water is a highly complex matter and scientific work is ongoing. Some say that minerals in drinking water are important to public health, whilst others say that a balanced diet will give you all you need and that the minerals in the few liters of drinking water have no greater meaning.

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The uptake of minerals through water and food can be quite different. According to WHO, enteric absorption of minerals from drinking water is determined by several factors including the intrinsic properties of particular chemical species that are present, physiological conditions of the gut environment, and exogenous factors related to the meal/diet in which the minerals are ingested. Accordingly, waterborne selenium (selenite, selenate) is passively absorbed at somewhat lower efficiencies (60-80%) than the selenoaminoacids in foods (90-95%) that are actively transported across the gut. The inorganic oxidized iron in water will be absorbed at very low (<5%) efficiencies similar to that of non-heme iron in plant foods (ref WHO nutrients in water p.4).

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We assume that we all can agree that water is important; that toxic substances in water are bad; that pollution caused by water is bad; that taste is individual; that we get wiser every day and that there are no simple answers to complex matters. WaterStillar’s offer is distilled water, just like rain.

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Minerals

 

At WaterStillar we will not tell our customers what composition of minerals – if any – is the healthy choice. Just as WaterStillar will tell not customers what great tasting water is.

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Upon intake of minerals over long periods, our bodies even adapt to them. In Europe, people drink water containing up to 300 ppm natural minerals (hard water) for thousands of years. Thus, their bodies adapted to these minerals and they can drink it without health effects. This water would probably be hard to enjoy for Koreans whose groundwater is more around 30 ppm minerals (ref. IWA publishing).

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We offer clean, non-aggressive, pH-neutral water with no harmful substances whatsoever in it and then we simply recommend you to remineralise or add flavours/ bubbles to your drinking water according to your likings, conviction or knowledge.

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Yes, we sell mineral cartridges (with calcium and magnesium), but professionally we cannot tell any customer to remineralise or not. What we can say is that if the uptake of calcium is a problem for people with a balanced diet, then perhaps more vitamin D is the answer. 

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Our current drinking water regulations focus on maximum allowed levels of bacteria and toxins. However, with regard to mineral balance, it is just as vital the levels of minerals are properly regulated with regard to both maximum and minimum levels, and to the ratios among the various elements. Safe re-mineralised water provides a win-win situation for public health – people are protected against harmful elements in the water while being provided with the balance of vital elements which go a long way towards promoting well-being and longevity.

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Browsing through the scientific literature on this subject it seems that answers can go in either direction. One extreme is that the minerals in drinking water are not important for most people since we get the minerals we need in a well-balanced diet. Another extreme is that if we do not get calcium and especially magnesium in our drinking water, there is a weak risk for certain cardiovascular problems to occur. 

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A study in Asia comparing hard to soft water reported an increased risk of mortality from esophageal cancer in relation to the use of soft water, colon cancer, coronary artery disease or gastric cancer (ref. WHO nutrient in drinking water p.61). For other minerals like fluoride, it can be healthy for the tooth to have small concentrations in water but above a certain level teeth or even skeleton fluorosis could occur (ref WHO Nutrients in water p.ii). On the other end, increased concentrations of iron or copper could lead to an increased risk of heart attack (ref WHO nutrients in water p.7). Unlike recent popular opinions, there is no danger of cell death due to osmotic shock while drinking distilled water since it will mix with minerals taken in the body before cell contact. A permanent uptake of distilled water combined with unilateral nutrition could, however, lead to electrolyte deficiency in the body (Ref. spectrum.de).

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It is possible to buy mineral mixtures to add to your drinking water. Thousands of minerals, salts, trace elements etc and it is not our business to know what is the correct, useful or needed. Fourteen mineral elements are established as being essential for good health; these elements in combined form affect bone and membrane structure (Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Fluoride), water and electrolyte balance (Sodium, Potassium, Chlorine), metabolic catalysis (Zinc, Copper, Selen, Magnesium, Manganese, Molybdenum), oxygen binding (Iron), and hormone functions (Iodine, Chromium). Thousands of further minerals, salts, trace elements etc and it is not our business to know what is the correct, useful or needed (ref WHO nutrients in water p.4).

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However, if you are interested in having minerals in your water, it’s always fine to add them back in after distillation. This way, at least you know that there is absolutely nothing in your water other than H2O and the minerals you added in. Just make sure the minerals you add are in a chelated, bioavailable form. 

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