Distilled to its Detriment

Water is an essential nutrient for all life on Earth. As humans we intake water through what we drink and eat. The standard of choice for our bodies is plain, ol’ water, but water has been commercialized and capitalized in our society. Consumers now have the choice of still, sparkling, essenced, carbonated, distilled, tap, filtered, reverse osmosis, mineralized, bottled, boxed, and bougie. That is not to mention flavored, location specific, and alkaline. In the world of water there is a commonly held belief that the purest, safest, cleanest form of water comes in the form of distilled water. 

There are many roles of water. We often drink water to rehydrate, but another important part of drinking water is for its mineral content. Traditionally drinking water was gathered and drank at natural fresh-water sources such as rivers, lakes, ponds, streams and wells. Water, acting as the perfect transport vehicle, carries with it a host of bacteria, pathogens, organic, and inorganic substances. Some of them are harmless, others are helpful, and a few are problematic. Distilled water is water with no other passengers, so to speak. Through a process of converting the liquid state of water into the gas state, recapturing that steam in another container, modern man has figured out of to create a blank state for water, just water, nothing but water. 

Although water on it’s own is helpful, those minerals (also known as electrolytes) that the water was carrying around contribute to the human body's ability to absorb and use the water to rehydrate. Water without all of its parts becomes less usable by our body, removes mineral stores that could be used for other functions, and forces our kidney’s to do extra work to eliminate excess water. Distilling water makes sense on an eye level: you eliminate toxins, bacteria, pathogens and are consuming what appears to be a more pure version of the substances. But, by understanding the importance of the sum of the parts that water carries with it, you quickly see that water without minerals has little loose to our body. 

Helpful hint- add a pinch of mineral rich sea salt to add much needed electrolytes to distilled water.