As human beings, staying healthy is one of the most important goals. With the body being made up of up to 70% water, staying hydrated is vital to our health. However with more people becoming more and more informed on healthy living practices by the host of information available to them via multiple channels, it is important to have the right information to make the best lifestyle choices. When it comes to drinking water, the most important choice is whether to drink distilled water or regular tap water. Here, the opinions and recommendations are varied perhaps due to profit motives.
Water as a Source of Minerals
The main question to ask here when choosing between drinking distilled water and tap water is what are some of the functions of water? Water is one of the sources of minerals that we ingest on a daily basis. These minerals, such as calcium and magnesium are essential in multiple bodily functions. By eliminating all the minerals from water by use of a water distiller, you deny the body of these vital minerals. However, it is important to note that water is not even among the highest sources of such minerals for the body with food, milk and supplements providing a substantial part of the body’s daily requirements. Water only contributes an insignificant part of these requirements, about 3%, which can be substituted with other sources. This means that drinking distilled water does not deprive the body of a substantial amount of minerals, and neither does drinking tap water increase the amount of minerals consumed substantially. In fact, you can always add minerals to distilled water.
Water to Regulate pH Levels
The body needs to be slightly alkaline as per the pH scale to maintain optimum operation levels. The pH scale measures from 0-14, indicating whether a substance is acidic, neutral or alkaline. An argument terming distilled water as acidic has been constantly leveled against it. Distilled water easily dissolves CO2 from the air and resultantly becomes slightly acidic due to the formation of carbonic acid. Consuming this solution is said to increase acidity levels in the body. On the other hand, mineral-rich water is slightly alkaline from the rich composition of minerals and salts that are all alkaline.
This argument is however dispelled by the counter argument that the body has the ability to regulate itself and keep the pH level as required. Tap water also has the ability of absorbing CO2 from the air but at lower levels compared to distilled water especially due to its composition of a wide variety of impurities; Because tap water has lots of impurities, it cannot absorb too much of anything else.
The arguments between a distilled water diet against normal mineralized water continues to rage on, but it has no basis. And for those who still want minerals, they can be easily be added to distilled water.
