The Reasons That I Drink Distilled Water
The Reasons That I Drink Distilled Water
Why You Should Drink Distilled Water Too
What is wrong with drinking tap water?
Hopefully, we can all agree that tap water is not fit for drinking, despite what we are told by the water companies, particularly here in the UK, where we are told that our tap water is superior in quality to almost all other parts of the world:
The water you drink is of the very highest quality. Very strict standards apply to piped drinking water, set to protect public health and to ensure water quality is acceptable to customers.1
However, the water companies say they are always working hard taking measures to improve our tap water quality, and often our water is contaminated due to the water companies themselves. The BBC published an article questioning the messaging we are given by the water companies in the UK, entitled “Concern Over Toxic Chemicals in Tap Water”.2 Scientists reported that the levels of toxic PFAS (perfluoroalky and polyfluoroalkyl substances, characterized by the enduring bonds formed between fluorine and carbon atoms3), in drinking water were found to be too high. In the BBC article it is stated:
Research has found the most common PFAS chemicals, PFOA and PFOS, have probable links to high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, testicular cancer, kidney cancer, and pregnancy-induced hypertension.
There is particular concern about the effect on children. Professor Philippe Grandjean, of Harvard University, said: "A woman may build this up in her body and when she gets pregnant, she shares that with her foetus. She eliminates part of her body burden into her milk. So, the next generation will get a huge dose, and the baby may end up having up to 10 times as much PFAS in the blood as her mother has."4
Other common contaminants found in tap water
Chlorine (or chloramine)
Fluoride
Lead
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Pesticides and herbicides
Arsenic
Nitrogen
Bleach
It was due to the overwhelming stink of chlorine in our tap water, in the summer of 2020, that we decided to purchase a whole house water filter (link to the one we chose, to which I am NOT affiliated with - UK Water Filters. The water companies reported that they were not adding any extra chlorine to our drinking water but agreed that our water did smell and taste more of chlorine in lock-down.5 They also emphasised that chlorine in our water supply is “nothing to worry about. Chlorine is there to make sure the water stays clean and germ-free all the way to the tap.”6 Yet, chlorine is a dangerous corrosive toxin that can have serious health side effects to humans and the environment:
Chlorine is used to keep our water clean by disinfecting it and killing germs. And it does a marvelous job at eliminating most pathogens from the water we drink.
But the use of this powerful chemical has a downside. According to a report from the U.S. Council of Environmental Quality, the cancer risk for people who drink chlorinated water is up to 93% higher than for those whose water does not contain chlorine.7
And this quote from a different source (the background document for development of WHO guidelines for drinking-water quality):
An increased risk of bladder cancer appeared to be associated with the consumption of chlorinated tap water in a population-based, case–control study of adults consuming chlorinated or non-chlorinated water for half of their lifetimes.8
There was a Taiwanese study on nearly 400,000 births conducted between 2001-2003, which found that women who were exposed to trihalomethanes in chlorinated water while pregnant were more likely to give birth to children with birth abnormalities (link to the study).
Similarly, we are repeatedly told that fluoride in our tap water is not harmful, in fact that it is good for us, yet it is also quite controversial:
A review of the safety and efficacy of drinking water fluoridation was commissioned by the UK Department of Health to investigate whether the evidence supported a beneficial effect of water fluoridation and whether there was any evidence of adverse effects. Down's syndrome was one of the adverse effects reported.9
And another study concluded:
These studies reveal that there are direct adverse effects on the kidneys by excess fluoride, leading to kidney damage and dysfunction. With the exception of the pineal gland, the kidney is exposed to higher concentrations of fluoride than all other soft tissues.10
With regards to hormones that are also found in our tap water:
Some of the major chemicals that are known as water contaminants are endocrine disrupting chemicals such as disinfection byproducts, fluorinated substances, bisphenols, phthalates, pesticides, and natural and synthetic estrogens. Exposure to these compounds is associated with adverse health and reproductive outcomes in non-human animals and humans; thus, the presence of these chemicals in water has become a public health concern.11
In his pamphlet, ‘The Choice is Clear’, Dr Allen E. Banik, M.D., outlines how contaminated drinking water can over a lifetime cause health issues such as constipation, arthritis, gout, hardening of the arteries, varicose veins, emphysema, cataracts, Glaucoma, heart conditions, deafness, kidney and gall stones, forgetful minds, creaking joints, ossification, bunions, and the list goes on.
Despite the studies above and the contaminants in our tap water that I have not even gone into detail about in this article, there are still many people advocating that it is perfectly safe to drink tap water and who are incredibly triggered when they find out that myself (and my family) drink distilled water.
What is distilled water?
Distilled water is pure water. Distilled water is a purified water formed by boiling water into a vapour which is then condensed into a liquid in a separate container. Any contaminants or impurities in the original water remain in the original container. Distilled water is safe to drink. So, if distilled water is safe to drink and is pure water, free of all the contaminants discussed above, why on earth is it so controversial?
Criticisms of distilled water.
The first thing most people say when you tell them that you drink distilled water is that it is dangerous because it leaches minerals from the body, and pulls minerals from your teeth. In this short video below Andrew Norton Webber explains the difference between inorganic and organic minerals - a very important and overlooked distinction:
Dr Allen E. Banik, M.D., sums up what Andrew Norton Webber states in the above video clip up as follows:
What we as scientists and the public have never realized is that minerals collected in the body from water are all inorganic minerals, which cannot be assimilated (digested) by the body. The only minerals that the body can utilize are the organic minerals (from fruits and vegetables). All other types of minerals are foreign substances to the body and must be disposed of or eliminated.12
Even though this distinction between inorganic and organic minerals has been repeated by doctors and researches in numerous articles and journals, critics of distilled water seem determined to believe that distilled water will leach minerals from your body. So much so that within the distilled drinking water community, people will add minerals to their pure, distilled water. This is not something that I have ever done with my distilled water, believing that I get adequate organic minerals from the fresh fruit and vegetables that I eat daily. I struggle to understand why people feel the need to remineralize their pure water when there is nothing you can do to pure water that will improve upon it.
What are the benefits of drinking distilled water?
The daily use of distilled water facilitates the removal of deleterious compounds from the body by means of the excreta, and therefore tends to prolong life.13
If you look hard enough, you can still find the truth about the benefits of drinking distilled water on the internet. When I bought my counter-top distiller from over 7 years ago, information about the benefits of drinking distilled water was much more widely available online than it is today. There were a great many videos on YouTube by and with Andrew Norton Webber, that are either no longer there or are very difficult to find simply searching his name. In the US, there was also a distilled water shortage in 2022/2023, further muddying the waters(!!) around distilled water. One cannot help wondering if the propaganda that pure water is not good for you is pushed by the same people that wants us to drink expensive bottled water, and buy water filters.
Anyway, the health benefits of drinking distilled water are many. Firstly, drinking distilled water can remove toxins found in our tap water, spring water, rain water and well water. Distilling water and making it pure removes heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury. It will remove fluoride, chlorine, bacteria, pharmaceuticals, recreational drugs, estrogenic compounds, VOCs (volatile organic compounds).
Distilled water acts as a solvent in the body. It dissolves food substances so they can be assimilated and taken into every cell. It dissolves inorganic mineral substances lodged in tissues of the body so that substances can be eliminated in the process of purifying the body.14
Just as an aside, Kangen water machines (which are sold for thousands of pounds) create an alkaline water which is supposed to be better for our health. I have not drank Kangen water before, but despite the huge cost of these machines, they do not filter out fluoride, heavy metals or salt from your water.
Another health benefit of drinking distilled water is that it can help remove deposits of certain inorganic minerals from your joints, your arteries and other delicate bodily tissues.
In his book ‘The Choice is Clear’, Banik writes: “Heart conditions can result from mineral deposits - calcium deposits in the heart chambers and valves become so cemented into place with mineral deposits that heart surgery becomes necessary.” He goes on to say that “distilled water is the greatest solvent on earth - the only one that can be taken into the body without damage to the tissues.”15
A really important health benefit of drinking distilled water, is that it can help reduce the risk of kidney stones or gall stones. I have heard from women who have unfortunately experienced kidney stones, that the pain is more intense than giving birth!
Before I bought my water distiller and began drinking distilled water, I had been experiencing arthritis in my right index finger and knuckle, for over 5 years. Since drinking the distilled water I have never had any problems in that finger and knuckle. I also had felt some stiffness in my body, especially in my ankles when getting out of bed in the mornings, that also has completely gone since drinking distilled water, and I generally feel quite flexible and supple in my joints. I do not wear glasses or contact lenses, I have not had any issues with my teeth. Since drinking distilled water I have had 2 natural pregnancies in my 40’s, and no longer have dry, itchy skin.
At the beginning of 2017, I bought a Megahome counter-top distiller, for about £140, and we have been drinking distilled water at home ever since. I do drink tap water if I drink a cup of tea at a cafe or friend’s house. I always take a glass drinking bottle of distilled water with me when I go out, and prefer my children to drink pure water. I also use our distilled water for cleaning fruits and vegetables and use it in cooking. This is just what I do, this is not a recommendation or advice. I also use our distilled water for homemade natural skin care products like hand soap and facial washes, that I make for my friends and family. In 2021, we had to buy another counter-top distiller, because of how much use our other one got, and that one was also about £140. We have zero scale in our kettle, I never have to descale it and yet before using distilled water it was caked in lime after just one week of being cleaned, although the inside of the distiller is a different story (it is disgusting).
Please check out my website thehealthheretic.com for more information about natural, holistic health practices.
Sara Nash, the Health Heretic
Ready to finally take control of your physical, emotional, and spiritual health? Radical health optimisation in a medicated world.
@thehealthheretic on Instagram and The Health Heretic on YouTube
PFAS are substances that are characterized by the enduring bonds formed between fluorine and carbon atoms, which impart exceptional strength and render them highly resistant to breakdown, whether in environmental contexts or within living organisms, which is why they are often called “forever chemicals”.
Chlorine in Drinking-water Background document for development of WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality
Banik, Allen, E., M.D., ‘The Choice is Clear’, 1997
H., Hotema, ‘Man’s Higher Consciousness’, 1952, Lesson No. 19, p20
Banik, Allen, E., M.D., ‘The Choice is Clear’, 1997
Banik, Allen, E., M.D., ‘The Choice is Clear’, 1997