What does your water contain?
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The mineral salts I use are 'Gros Sel de Guerande' (Amazon) they are natural and dried in the sun - pure because of the way they form. So yep - been into it. I am not a health freak, - I'll enjoy a burger around the Weber as much as the next guy but I do object to drinking water that has been chemically manipulated to hide the real truth of what it contains - distillation bares it all from the deposits (photo) to the appalling smell or am I missing something? Perhaps water is supposed to stink to high heaven? The fact is, you can protect yourself from the poisons in our water - flouride being one which is nearly as poisonous as arsenic - I kid you not.
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I recall an early science lesson when we were distilling water and all sorts of stuff was boiled off. Pupils were invited to taste the resulting distilled water and universally thought it tasted horrible compared with the stuff that gave it "flavour". Being about sixty years ago, that was probably before the days of fluoride though.
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I've used Geurande salt with herbs (brother in law brings it back from french trips.) It adds a nice flavour to cooking but I tend to avoid adding salt to food. The salt is from the Atlantic sea.
Some water does smell, try a glass of Bath spa water, it's supposed to be good for you but has a whiff of sulphur...
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I just wonder how 'they' define impurities. Is this anything which exists in pure water? All spring waters contain natural impurities and many of these are good for you and some are essential. Sounds like a deliberate negative spin is put on the term impurities for commercial gain may be!
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It's not the minerals I worry about . It's the explosion of chemicals that have proliferated over the past 50 years. 80,000 they say and Flouride is one of them and is highly poisonous. 'Minerals' need to be of the organic variety not inorganic- and according to what I have read, inorganic minerals are just bits of rock the body can't use and ends up either expelling them or they get stored in all sorts of places in the body like joints or forming kidney stones etc. I don't understand the comment re distilled water tasting horrible- there isn't a taste! - perhaps we get used to the crud that's in our water and we can even kid ourselves it tastes great. Nice to have a chew after you've had a drink!!!
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Interesting! Salts contain minerals, inorganic ones! Much of our bodies contain natural inorganic elements and compounds, some we just cannot function without!
"Inorganic compounds essential to human functioning include water, salts, acids, and bases. These compounds are inorganic; that is, they do not contain both hydrogen and carbon. Water is a lubricant and cushion, a heat sink, a component of liquid mixtures, a byproduct of dehydration synthesis reactions, and a reactant in hydrolysis reactions. Salts are compounds that, when dissolved in water, dissociate into ions other than H+ or OH–. In contrast, acids release H+ in solution, making it more acidic. Bases accept H+, thereby making the solution more alkaline (caustic)."It's more the build up of synthetic compounds we need to be 'aware' of! Having said that, many medicines are made of these.
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I find it interesting that if you put tap water into a jam jar with lid - or some such and a similar amount of filtered into another one and leave them on the windowsill - how quickly the tap water grows green stuff and how slowly the filtered one follows. That is quite enough for me to prefer filtered at the very least not to mention the better taste. Animals will always take the filtered too.
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One of the benefits of being in the EU is the requirement of water companies to adhere to very strict guidelines on drinking water quality. The Drinking water inspectorate ensures that the UK's water companies must provide safe drinking water at the tap. Each of our water companies must provide a detailed analysis of the quality of the water we drink. My local report looks like this. You will have the same report available for your area.
In the US the EPA recently updated the Clean Water act in response to environmental pollution. At best you are wasting your money on unncessary filtration and at worst damaging your health. Distilled and remineralised water is NOT healthy (here's an article from the World Health Organisation).
Also bear in mind that other environmental pollutants present a much much greater risk than our drinking water (atmospheric from industry and cars etc etc). You'd need to make some pretty drastic lifestyle choices to make a dramatic difference.
Just sayin...
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Well Jerry, thanks for that. We did have our own Clean water Act before the EU you know, anyway, I have just cleaned out the boiler part of my distiller after 24 litres and if you could have seen the material in there I think you would question whether we are being told the truth or not about our drinking water. It had a white gel substance- what the hell that was, goodness only knows , general crud and limescale- inorganic minerals- and the smell of it you have to experience! What does 'safe' mean? - I'll tell you- that it won't give you diarrhoea today! It won't because it's been treated with chemicals - that's why they called it the water 'treatment' works. I would much prefer the term water 'purification ' plant! Clean water is not bad for your health. This is a misnomer and many articles can be found supporting this. I agree that there are also articles supporting the opposite view as I was listening to on YouTube the other evening- turned out this guy sells water filtration systems for households so a little compromised there then!! Pure 'unadulterated ' water is the end result of the natural water cycle. It doesn't contain any chemicals, Pesticides, Pharmaceuticals, Petro Chemicals or any general dirt. The fact is that the water 'treatment' works have millions to supply water to and I find it very plausible that providing 'safe' water means making sure there is nothing in it- i.e. bugs, that will have us all charging to the loo. The long term effects of the....let's say' impurities ' in it are far less certain. People seem to obsess about 'minerals' - the body absorbs 'organic' minerals- not the microscopic bits of rock that are in water- they are 'inorganic' and cannot be used by the body. Why would I drink bits of rock? - minerals are eaten as well as drunk. If you wish to look up Kefir- pronounced Kefeer you will see it is loaded with vitamins and minerals. I make my own every day. My water is pure but I still add 'organic ' minerals to it. I am touched by your faith in the WHO. I'll take my chances with my wholesome, pure water thanks. I accept your argument regarding atmospheric pollution and we could have a whole new discussion on conspiracy theories 'Chem Trails' and the illuminati but at least I've done something to protect my health! 😊
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I do like a good debate. It is your money after all and you can do with it as you wish. I used to work in the water industry and know about the water cycle. Rest assured that the people I came across; their number 1 priority was to provide the safest cleanest drinking water available. As others have already said - the source of the water determines the treatment provided. IMHO tap water is the safest and cheapest source of drinking water. We're very lucky in this country.
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I agree Jerry, but your reply says it all. ' the source of the water determines the 'treatment' provided. Tap water is the safest and cheapest source of water but it's safe because it's been chemically manipulated to be so. Although not in the way I describe later in this blog!! I'm not after a squabble mate, but the filth in my distiller tells me that it is NOT clean! You only have to look at the photo I submitted. I'm sorry but what can't speak can't lie. - yes , it may be safe because it hasn't got cholera or any other bug - because of chlorine but it's what else is in it that causes long term harm. No one knows that and if they do, they ain't saying anything. Of course, that will never be on a death certificate- Cause of Death - ' drinking tap water over a prolonged period' At one time in our history, when everything was organic and no pesticides or herbicides were leaching into our water courses together with any number of the 80,000 chemicals in our environment including pharmaceuticals like oestrogen from the pill! we could drink from a stream but we wouldn't think about it now. It's a known fact that fish are being affected by these hormones and impurities - why is that if water is so pure? I'm sure that the water industry does its best and has dedicated people but because no one has dropped dead through drinking water, the perception is that everything is OK. I well remember the over dosing of a treatment works in Camelford in 1988 where 20 tonnes of Aluminium Sulphate was inadvertently dumped into the local water supply raising the concentration to 3,000 times the admissible level! As it broke down, it produced several tons of SULPHURIC ACID which stripped a cocktail of chemicals from the pipe networks as well as lead and copper pipe work in people's homes.Many people who came into contact with the contaminated water suffered a range of short-term health effects, and many victims suffered long term effects whose implications remained unclear as late as 2012 and later. There has been no rigorous examination or monitoring of the health of the victims since the incident which is Britain worse mass poisoning event- even worse, - inquests on people who died MANY YEARS LATER, found very high levels of Aluminium in their brains. And frighteningly, immediately after the incident, "the authorities said that the water was safe to drink - and get this - possibly with fruit juice to cover the unpleasant taste.!!! In an inquest in 2012 into the death of one of the victims, the coroner stated that South West Water Authoritiy had been gambling with as many as 20,000 lives- but hey, the government apologised to the victims in 2013 so that's OK then- if it can happen once it can happen again! Michael Meacher, the then former environment minister said that "various associated bodies tried to bury the incident from the start" My distiller would have saved me and my family from that wouldn't it? So, I'll continue drinking pure water, and taking my minerals through what I eat and with the organic minerals I add to my water. I am more than justified and so was the cost.
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Hi Merve, apologies that I have not responded to you earlier.
I used the term pseudoscience not in reference to the impurities in water, which obviously exist, but in reference to the pseudoscientific references about the impurities and the claims made by the website (btw - £122 down from £240, wow!).
You say you know exactly where your additional minerals come from and what's in. So, when they pump sea water into massive open air lagoons (like those right next to the main airport runway at Ibiza) and evaporate the water, you would know exactly what is in there, what was pumped out of the med, including what air based contaminants have made their way into the mix? OK? (also, that is kinda the same process as what you are doing, only less controlled…then selling the bit you are throwing away!?!).
I actually said semi skimmed milk is better than water at hydrating the human body, it is not ‘cleaned’ by the host, it is made by the host and contains all manner of ‘chemicals’. The ability to hydrate is the speed at which the body can absorb the water from what is drunk – pure water is not as easily absorbed.
What do you mean by ‘processed sugar’ (not ‘a poison proved to be deadly’ by the way, it is one of the least toxic chemicals know, it is classified as practically non-toxic with an LD50 above 15g/kg). Sugar (Sucrose) is a naturally occurring saccharide found in plants, ‘processing’ it just makes it pure, it does not change is chemical composition at all. The only dangerous thing about sugar is it’s low cost and hence resultant over consumption, for which the human body can fail to regulate for – but again, sugar is an essential chemical compound for human life!
Anyway, back to the pseudoscience, direct from the Via Fosa website;“It is only inorganic minerals rejected by the cells and tissues of the body which, if not evacuated, can cause arterial obstructions, and even more damage. These are minerals which must be removed and which distilled water is able to collect”.
"Distilled water is the only water that can be taken into the body without damage to the tissues.”
"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.”
"When you eat a piece of fruit or a vegetable, you are consuming distilled water. The minerals are taken from the soil, the plant distills them, and then you consume them."
"You may have heard that distilled water "leaches" minerals from the body. That is partially true. The minerals that are leached(removed) by distilled water are the inorganic minerals that the body cannot use. The effect, therefore, is healthful. Distilled water will not leach (organic) minerals that have become part of the structure of the body cell system. Once a mineral has become part of the cell structure, it cannot be leached."
Every single one of these statements is pseudoscience, every single one is either scientifically inaccurate, misleading, or just an outright lie!
Minerals by their very nature are Inorganic, with the exception of some very rare organic minerals that form around deep sea hydrothermal vents and in some coal seams, ALL minerals are INORGANIC. There is no difference what so ever between a Calcium Carbonate molecule in water (from dissolution of limestone by the rain) and that which has been fixed inside a fruit or vegetable. A mineral is a mineral, is a mineral and they are (essentially) all inorganic!
Water is primarily H2O, guess what, distilled water is primarily H2O – know what the difference is between these two molecules – nothing!
Please, oh please, tell me how a vegetable ‘distils’ water – I’m not even going to bother with that one ROFL!
Do you drink Tea, Coffee, Wine, Beer?
Each of those contain a cocktail compounds that are actually proven to be and classified as; toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, psychoactive, addictive, etc.
(Hydrocarbons, Alkaloids, Alcohols, Aldehydes, Ketones, Acids & Anhydrides, Esters, Lactones, Phenols, Furans, Pyrans, Thiophenes, Pyrroles, Oxazoles, Thiazoles, Pyridines, Pyrazines, Nitrogenous compounds and amines, Sulfurs, Phenolic compounds, Waxes, Oils and Volatile components.
It strikes me as highly unlikely that there is anything you could take out from years’ worth of water, that you would not completely undo with a single cup of coffee or glass of wine.
But, as a I said before, if you like the taste, then it’s all good and I’m pleased you are happy with your device!
All I was saying was that the stated health benefits presented on the site trying to sell expensive kettles, are simply pseudoscientific mumbo jumbo!4 -
Homeostasis!
There is no evidence whatsoever for alkali diet - again more pseudoscientific nonsense, promoted by dubious people selling fad diets!
There is no connection between what foods the proponents of these diet recommend and the actual pH of those foods. This betrays the fact that acidity and alkalinity are used only to reference a chemical concept that people are likely to remember from school mixed with high amounts of nature woo!
The fact is that it is impossible to alter the pH of a persons blood without causing severe health concerns. Mammalian blood contains a vast number of different pH buffers which evolved to automatically raise or lower the blood pH if a deviation occurs.These buffers keep the pH of human blood between 7.35 and 7.45. If the buffers become saturated and the pH of the blood is altered more than +/-0.4 pH, death will result.
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Well stated Jerry!
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OK guys, I'll come out with my hands up! I obviously can't convince you so I bow to CJs obvious scientific knowledge of such things. Please let me know CJ the scientific reason why I should drink chemical laden water? It would be much cheaper. If the argument of Camelford won't convince you things aren't right with our water, then nothing will. I don't want to drink Aluminium Sulphate in any amount thank you. Let's forget it and move on. I appreciate your long reply to me- so many things in there that completely goes against what I have read. I didn't say vegetables distill water I was simply saying that because of the way it was formed inside the plant, it hasn't got impurities in it- perhaps I didn't explain very well. I don't drink beer but have the odd wine. Tea and coffee made with clean water!
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The main reason you should drink chemical laden water is because everything is a chemical, even water and if you had no chemicals in your glass, you would be in a vacuum and quite dead! :-)
Chemical laden as an expression means nothing, it gives you no indication if the chemicals are good, bad or indifferent.
Camelford is a well known case study within the chemical industry and set a great many new standards, particularly around having specific fittings for different chemicals, such that they cannot be put in the incorrect tanks (I will assume as you have mentioned it, you know what actually happened, and why it is highly unlikely ever to happen again).
To clarify I did not say you said plants distil water, it is a direct quote from the manufacturers website for your machine.
Again, if it tastes good, crack on. It will do you no harm if you are using it as described!
I apologise if me pointing out the simple scientific facts is in some way upsetting you, but facts are just that and whilst I am certainly guilty of being a pedant when it comes to psudoscience and woo (and unfortunately the internet is rife with misinformation for the trusting and unwary), my intent is certainly not to upset, just to inform. Apologies!
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No need for an apology CJ. It must be that I have read all the false stuff and you all the correct stuff- life is like that sometimes. I'm a little embarrassed to have displayed my total ignorance regarding this. Chemicals and crud are good for me- I must remember that! Thanks for you most valuable advice.
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Lol, exactly Merve!
You are made of chemicals, as is everything and without them you would not exist, neither would the universe!
Science deals in established, repeatable and testable facts. It's not about reading the right stuff and wrong stuff, it's about being scientifically literate and being able to spots psudoscience where it quite clearly is at odds to the established fact.
Especially where someone is trying to sell you something expensive that does 'magical or wondrous things' that established science knows nothing about!
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence!
See also Dunning-Kruger!
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Science deals in established, repeatable and testable facts!- what like proving how much crap is in our drinking water? Well , I'll agree with you there CJ. 😂 You have the last word. By the way, The last thing I am is annoyed or upset, it would take so much more believe me. - It's been very revealing! No one tried to sell me anything. I bought it because I wanted clean water for me and my family and that is all I am guilty of. Looking into my distiller and trying to avoid the smell, I am happy it's in there and not in me. There are tens of thousands of people who have water filters- both expensive and cheaper- I wonder if they suspect they have been conned? mmm if only they had consulted you first they could have saved themselves money! 😂😂Damn! Now please, let's move on!
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Science is also about changing ones opinions in line with established facts, even if it is contrary to one preconceived ideas!
I think there is a saying which quite aptly fits this thread..... Something about horses and water!
BTW, we use Bitta type filters in the supply line to the fridge water dispenser to remove some of the bad tasting chemicals in the water and improve the flavour!
As I have said all along, nothing wrong with that!
....I'm just not making any psudoscientific claims about why I do it!
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I don't know about horses and water as Iv'e never owned one but I can see that it's a bad idea to flog them to death as here.
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Love it Miller!
One of my many significant character flaws! 😂
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