by Terrence Aym

Created on: January 06, 2011

For some years certain health advocates and health organizations have promoted dubious advice: for optimal health drink distilled water.

Their opinion was based on studies that revealed that a significant quantity of bottled water available on store shelves was tainted by bacteria, or was nothing more than processed tap water that was poorly filtered and allowed many adverse chemicals to remain in the product.

Recent investigations of alkaline or distilled bottled water has called the health claims associated with them into question.

The distillation process

Distilled water is created by boiling water and collecting the evaporated droplets. The process separates the natural minerals and impurities from the water vapor.

Unfortunately, the process also creates a water that absorbs virtually anything it's exposed to, especially carbon dioxide. As the distilled water absorbs the CO2 the water becomes acidic.

People who have used distilled water as part of a health regiment to detoxify their bodies are not at risk as long as they limit their intake of this water for no more than several weeks.

Many health conscious consumers, however, are unaware of the long term potential of toxicity inherent in distilled water itself. Continuous use of the water will eventually lead to an imbalance in the body's electrolytes, mineral deficiencies and create a rising acidic condition. Over a period of time distilled water can even create adverse effects at the cellular level.

The distillation process also creates a water that can eventually lead to heart arrhythmia, higher blood pressure and—disturbingly—can skew the biochemical functions to such a degree that memory is affected as well as basic cognitive skills.

Dangers of distilled water

In the landmark study "Health risks from drinking demineralized water" conducted by Czech scientist František Kozíšek and published by the World Health Organization, eight significant dangers were identified lurking in distilled water. Kozíšek discovered that water low in magnesium and calcium is strongly linked to such chronic maladies as neurodegenerative diseases, several kinds of cancer, an increased risk of sudden death syndrome, loss of optimal motor functions, cardiovascular disease and more.

The fallacy that distilled water is "pure water"

While many consumers are aware of the potential pitfalls associated with chlorine and fluoride added to tap water, few are familiar with a toxic substance rated as

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