I was doing a little research on distilled water verses ionized water, and I found some pretty interesting things.  I have a few friends who insist on drinking distilled water because their rationale is: it does not have any chemicals in it and it is pure water, so it obviously is “good for you”. This sparked an interest in what the health benefits or consequences are from distilled water versus alkaline ionized water. These particular friends are always having trouble with joint & muscle aches too, which makes me suspect the distilled water is wreaking havoc on their bodies.

I found a few things that I thought were very interesting about distilled water.  Now obviously distilled water is not going to kill you, but I wanted to find out how healthy it really was for you, especially in comparison to alkaline ionized water.

Distilled Water

• No minerals
• Slightly acidic
• Removes contaminants
• Leeches body of minerals

I found that distilled water tends to be slightly acidic.  The reason for this is that distilled water is void of all minerals.  Water with no minerals would be neutral, but water doesn't like to be void of minerals. To remedy this, distilled water will soon begin to absorb the carbon or other acidic minerals in the air [which are all acidic].  Also, when you drink distilled water it will seek to absorb alkaline minerals from your body, such as in joints or bones.

On the positive side, distillation removes a broad amount of contaminants, which are in typical tap water.  Contaminant removal is the main reason people drink distilled water.  “Pure water” just sounds so good for you, right?”

The Principle of Adhesion

Since there are so few minerals in distilled water, it tends to want to get minerals from other places.  If you drink distilled water it would tend to leech the minerals from you.  If you cook with distilled water, it would tend to leech the minerals from the food you are cooking.  This is called adhesion, the attraction of water to other materials.  Water has a positive charge on the Hydrogen side of the water molecule and a negative charge on the oxygen side.  That is what makes water so attractive!

What Ionized Water Does

• Makes the water lightly alkaline
• Filters out some or sometimes all contaminants
• Allows good minerals through

Which Water is Better for Health?

Diseases thrive in acidic environments. People have known for years that eating raw fruits/vegetables, whole grains, etc., which are alkaline, and avoiding acid-producing foods [white flour, sugar, processed foods…] are good for their health. However, somehow or another it doesn’t always sink in that what you eat/drink is directly proportional to how well you are. The last time I checked, doctors don’t ask very often about what your eating/drinking routines are. The availability and desirability of junk foods, processed foods, fast foods [all highly acid-forming] along with our fast-paced lifestyles today, drives people to eat more and more of the wrong things and avoid the right foods.

The alkaline buffers in ionized water will allow for acidic wastes to be discarded much more easily and also turns the state of your body more alkaline. I have found over many years of experience that alkaline ionized water will help to buffer the less than perfect diet. In addition, alkaline ionized water is packed full of antioxidants, which also ward off diseases.

All water ionizers allow for the good minerals, such as calcium, magnesium and potassium to go through their filtration process.  This is important because in order for electrolysis to work you do need minerals in the water.  You cannot ionize distilled or reverse osmosis water without remineralizing it. Water ionizers also filter out many of the contaminants found in tap water. Some ionizers have better filters than others.Here's a suggested page for a comparison of water ionizers [including their filtration]

Here's a link to one of the many studies showing that hard water prevents cardiovascular disease. It shows that acute heart attacks were significantly lower in areas of the country where water was harder. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3396141.stm . [Hard water is just water with lots of calcium in it.]

So, the idea that “pure water” is better for you is just not true.  You don’t get a significant amount of calcium or any mineral from water, but it does seem to have an affect on health.  

Which Water is More as God (or Nature) Intended?

Dr Emoto, a famous research scientist, studied the crystalline structure of water under different circumstances. His expertise was in photographing water at different stages of the freezing process to capture the crystal images each type of water made.

Distilled water created an ugly, dead-looking image, looking nothing like a perfect crystal, but ionized water created a beautiful crystal image.

Dr. Emoto further compared water with and without minerals (i.e., distilled water and reverse osmosis water don't have any minerals). He concluded that water with minerals, as a whole, made more beautiful crystals. 

"We have observed various kinds of water crystals in our laboratory and have found that water containing minerals and in a healthy balance tends to turn out well-ordered hexagonal crystals. Energetically speaking, we believe that water needs to have good Hado to create a beautiful crystal."

Conclusion

The one benefit that distilled water has going for it is that it does not have contaminants in it.  Other than that, it is actually not very healthy for you.  Alkaline ionized water, on the other hand, is going to help alkalize your body.  If you’re concerned about the purity of your water [from the standpoint of eliminating pharmaceuticals, water-treatment chemicals, and other harmful contaminants], some water ionizers have better filters than others. So, do your homework, and check out the link I gave you above. We also offer some great education and tips about water filters and how they can handle anything in your water you would be worried about.