By Gloria Jean
In my formula for good health and anti-aging I listed “The water that you drink” as one of the things that affect our health. The obvious solution given was to drink “pure” water. The question then arises is what exactly is “pure water?”
The controversy still rages about water and experts disagree on what water is the best to drink for optimum health. Not only that, they disagree on how much to drink.
What is “Pure” Water?
Stephen Lower, a retired member of the Department of Chemistry,
Simon Fraser University, Burnaby/Vancouver Canada writes this about pure water:
“To a chemist, the term “pure” has meaning only in the context of a particular application or process. The distilled or de-ionized water we use in the laboratory contains dissolved atmospheric gases and occasionally some silica, but their small amounts and relative inertness make these impurities insignificant for most purposes. When water of the highest obtainable purity is required for certain types of exacting measurements, it is commonly filtered, de-ionized, and triple-vacuum distilled. But even this “chemically pure” water is a mixture of isotopic species: there are two stable isotopes of both hydrogen (H1 and H2, often denoted by D) and oxygen (O16 and O18) which give rise to combinations such as H2O18, HDO16, etc., all of which are readily identifiable in the infrared spectra of water vapor. (Interestingly, the amount of the rare isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in water varies enough from place to place that it is now possible to determine the age and source of a particular water sample with some precision.) And to top this off, the two hydrogen atoms in water contain protons whose magnetic moments can be parallel or antiparallel, giving rise to ortho- and para-water, respectively. The two forms are normally present in a o/p ratio of 3:1.
It has recently been found (Langmuir 2003, 19, 6851-6856) that freshly distilled water takes a surprisingly long time to equilibrate with the atmosphere, that it undergoes large fluctuations in pH and redox potential, and that these effects are greater when the water is exposed to a magnetic field. The reasons for this behavior are not clear, but one possibility is that dissolved O2 molecles, which are paramagnetic, might be involved.”
What kind of water is most healthy to drink?
Stephen goes on to say, “I am not aware of any evidence indicating that any one type of water (including highly “pure” water) is more beneficial to health than any other, as long as the water is pathogen-free and meets accepted standards such as those mentioned above. For those who are sensitive to residual chlorine or still have concerns, a good activated-carbon filter is usually satisfactory. More extreme measures such as reverse-osmosis or distillation are only justified in demonstrably extreme situations.”
You can read a very extensive and scientific article about water from a chemist’s point of view at Steve’s website, http://www.chem1.com/acad/sci/aboutwater.html.
Expert in water distillation Joe Letorney Jr has an interesting article called “Blowing The Lid Off Distilled Water Myths” that I liked very much at http://durastill.com/myths.html.
Other people, selling expensive water products would have you believe that water needs to be “ionized.” This notion is not based on science and is called “Pseudoscience” by Steven Lower.
I cannot comment on what might be “Pseudoscience” because I am not a chemist or scientist. I can only caution you to beware of people selling expensive water treatment devices with no scientific basis for how they really work.
I believe that the body is electric at the quantum level and while there might be something to the idea of positive and negative ions, I can’t recommend products that have no real scientific basis.
I do like to keep an open mind about new science and alternative treatments. I have a strong feeling that the power of belief has a lot to do with the placebo effect in medicine and has been proven to be a fact, even on the operating table.
Based on the science proving the Placebo effect and the evidence we find in hypnotism, it is my opinion that what effects your health and aging the most is still my point number one: the thoughts that you think. The power of belief, thought and intention is paramount in achieving your goals, realizing your dreams and staying healthy. Focus on health, not illness.
I drink reverse osmosis water and sometimes distilled. I feel that the absence of pathogens is more important that worrying about the absence of minerals. I suggest eating the right foods for mineral content and/or taking mineral supplements if you are worried about that.
Joe Letorney Jr says, “Whether the minerals in water are beneficial or useless has been an ongoing debate. All of our minerals are derived from our food: fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, grains, nuts, and dairy products. The minerals in water are so scant that in Boston, MA for example, one would have to drink 676 8-ounce glasses of tap water to obtain the Recommended Daily Allowance ( RDA) of calcium. That person would have to drink 1,848 8-ounce glasses to get RDA of magnesium, 848 8-ounce glasses to get RDA of iron, and 168,960 8-ounce glasses to obtain the RDA of phosphorus. It seems insane to even think about drinking that much water. Most people can’t even drink the recommended 8 glasses of water a day that is widely touted by health experts.”
In conclusion, I would suggest you avoid polluted water with harmful pathogens, and if you like the taste of soft water, then drink reverse osmosis, take your minerals and don’t worry about it. Drink at least a cup of water when you wake up in the morning. Don’t guzzle water. Sip it throughout the day. If you are feeling slightly hungry, drink a glass of water first before reaching for a snack.
Filed under: Drink Pure Water
