Drinking Water – What Is Best?
- Sep 16, 2024
- 8 min read
Written by Amber Walker, Owner of Origin Wellness
Amber Walker is a Doctor of Physical Therapy-turned author with a passion to empower others to heal from chronic illness. As the owner of Origin Wellness, Amber utilizes an approach based on a blend of functional/natural medicine, nervous system tools, nutrition, movement, and emotional healing to help patients move from surviving to thriving.
You’ve probably heard of using distilled water for CPAP machines, nasal rinses, coffee makers, irons, and watering plants. But have you ever tried drinking it?
In the United States, over 86,000 chemicals are found in drinking water. Most filtration systems miss the majority of these toxins. Water tests do not look at most of these toxins. Do you have an aversion to plain drinking water, or do you find yourself chronically dehydrated? This may be because your body is subconsciously trying to protect you from what’s in your water.
Drinking water is one of the most consistent ways we are exposed to a cocktail of different toxins. Fridge and pitcher filters, reverse osmosis, and carbon filters are not getting the job done well enough. Years ago, I was shocked to do water testing and find that many of my “filters” produced glorified tap water. A literature search revealed similar concerns.
The foundational medicine gold standard for clean drinking water is distillation.
While there's an upfront cost to switching to distilled water, distillation is the only way to remove radioactive elements (like uranium and cesium). It also eliminates over 99% of contaminants, including algae, bacteria, arsenic, lead, cadmium, chlorine, benzene, copper, mercury, nitrates, sulfates, rust, and salt from water. Distillation reduces the risk of disease and provides the body with the same hydration benefits as other types of water.
A fascinating case
I recently started working with a client who, for the past 6 years, was experiencing an unusual symptom: bubbles. Eating would trigger vomiting of what she described as bowls full of bubbles. She reported that she would pee pounds of oily-looking bubbles. She was wheezing and felt like bubbles were blocking her esophagus. It was constant and very debilitating.
The first thing I had her try was switching to distilled drinking water. At the time, she was drinking water from a Berkey brand water purifier, a reputable type of carbon filtration system. When she made the switch, to our shock and surprise, the bubbles resolved immediately! She described it as a massive change. Switching to distilled drinking water enabled her to stabilize so that we could integrate other treatment approaches.
What about my fridge filter?
Built-in fridge filters are especially notorious for putting out contaminated water. They typically utilize a combination of sediment and carbon filtration. The small filter size and low contact with filtration media decrease their performance by design. A common issue with fridge systems is that people forget to replace the filters, sometimes for years, mistakenly thinking that their water is “clean.” But even if people stay on top of replacing filters, the end product is still poor quality. Fridge filters often have water contaminated with yeast, bacteria, and mold due to their dispensers, even in as little as a few weeks of use. In some cases, they contribute substantially to inflammation and chronic illness in family members.
Distilled water vs. reverse osmosis
Both distillation and reverse osmosis produce deionized water, also known as pure water. One factor to consider is that reverse osmosis requires less energy consumption compared to distillation. However, in terms of health benefits, distilled water comes in on top.
Reverse osmosis involves pre-treatment, a pressurization process where the water is forced through a semi-permeable membrane, a separation process, and post-treatment steps like adjusting the pH. Reverse osmosis tends to retain some mineral content. Over time, reverse osmosis systems tend to lose their effectiveness at removing toxins.
Vapor distilled water is created through boiling and condensation, which purges contaminants and all minerals. Water is converted to vapor and then back to liquid form again, and the steam removes impurities. It is then passed through a carbon filter at the end for taste. Many people find the taste to be better than other methods. These machines perform the same every time because they use a phase change instead of a physical barrier.
Reverse osmosis performs much better with radioactive elements and metals than carbon filtration but still has shortcomings (may be 60-90% effective, depending on the element and study). Reverse osmosis only partially filters out other contaminants like bacteria, algae, fluoride, nitrates, pathogens, viruses, salt, and sulfates. Distilled water has a complete reduction of these substances (over 99%). Both methods are over 99% effective for pesticides, rust, benzene, and chlorine.
Many people are shocked to learn that radioactive contaminants (like plutonium, uranium, and strontium) impact our drinking water. This is not just in cases where people are dumping radioactive waste; it also occurs naturally in the case of uranium in our soil.
Distillation is the only process shown to remove radioactive elements like uranium from water. When radioactive elements are present in the body, the body tends to hold on to other toxic heavy metals, like lead in the bones, to protect against the harmful radiation. This has big implications for our health. In the above example, exposure to radioactive elements may have big implications for the development of osteopenia and osteoporosis, but the impacts on the human body are more far-reaching than the bones.
Distilled water vs. carbon filters
Distilled water stands apart even more when compared with carbon filtration systems. Carbon filters can remove basic contaminants like chlorine and iodine but leave radioactive cesium, radium, uranium, and strontium in the water. Carbon filters are ineffective at eliminating algae, arsenic, bacteria, copper, fluoride, lead, mercury, nitrates, pathogens, salt, and viruses.
What about spring water?
I get this question often, and many people swear by drinking spring water. However, in the research, many brands of spring water test high in heavy metals, radium, and uranium. A 2024 larger review article concluded that there are carcinogenic concerns for radioactive elements and heavy metal contamination in spring water.
Is distilled water dangerous?
Many people are concerned about needing to re-mineralize water when they switch to distilled drinking water because it is so effective at stripping water of all minerals. However, this logic is faulty. Toxins are what rob your body of minerals, not distillation.
There is a difference between minerals that are plant-derived in food versus minerals in water (which are often in a toxic state without carbon bonding). It’s like comparing iron that you get from foods like meat and spinach to iron that comes from a water pipe. To take it a step further, in this example, combining iron-rich foods with dietary sources of vitamin C enhances iron absorption, but this type of beneficial synergy does not happen with minerals in unpurified water.
As long as you are consuming a nutrient-rich balanced diet, you do not need to add minerals back to distilled water. Some people still choose to for reasons such as re-energizing and ordering the water structure or modifying the pH, but it is not necessary.
The one-month test
If clients aren’t sure about switching their drinking water source and investing in a house machine, I encourage them to consider a one-month trial of distilled water first before taking the plunge. Most health food stores sell distilled water. If it’s housed in a plastic container, it can be put through an additional filter first to filter out plastics before consuming. While it’s tedious to hand-carry drinking water home from a store, this is a nice way to try it first before investing in a home machine.
Sometimes people who switch to distilled water have a temporary season of feeling worse before they feel better. This can occur because the body suddenly is exposed to fewer toxins and begins to purge chemicals that have built up in the system. (When we are under constant exposure to chemicals, it’s harder for the body to detoxify them.) As the body adapts and clears more historical toxin build-up, it tends to feel better and better with distilled water.
In conclusion
Drinking water matters tremendously for our health. Distillation is the only process that removes certain contaminants, including radioactive elements, from our drinking water. It outperforms carbon filters and reverse osmosis systems across the board. Spring water can have concerning levels of carcinogenic radioactive elements and heavy metals. Fridge filters should never be relied on for drinking water, as they often contain harmful fungal, bacterial and yeast issues. Changing your drinking water can have a tremendous impact on your health and ultimately your quality of life and longevity. Try it today!
Read more from Amber Walker
Amber Walker, Owner of Origin Wellness
Amber Walker is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, author and the owner of Origin Wellness. She is passionate about a root issues approach to healing from chronic illness and has advanced training in functional medicine, nutrition, nervous system healing, Mind Body Spirit Release™ (MBSR™) and CranioBiotic Technique. With over 16 years of experience working with clients all over the world, Amber specializes in conditions such as mast cell activation syndrome, mold biotoxin illness, long Covid, POTS, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Lyme disease, autoimmune conditions, and chronic mysterious ailments. When not on a surfboard, she enjoys hosting telehealth groups, 1-on-1 care, and retreats in Mexico. Her mission: Help you go from surviving to thriving.
Resources:
My Pure Water – recommended distillation system
References:
https://www.epa.gov/tsca-inventory/how-access-tsca-inventory
Venkanna Guddad, M., Pangarkar, B. L., Sane, M. G., & Guddad, M. (2011). Reverse Osmosis and Membrane Distillation for Desalination of Groundwater: A Review. International Scholarly Research Network ISRN Materials Science, 2011. https://doi.org/10.5402/2011/523124
K.S. Reddy, H. Sharon, D. Krithika, Ligy Philip. Performance, water quality and enviro-economic investigations on solar distillation treatment of reverse osmosis reject and sewage water. Solar Energy, Volume 173, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.07.033.
Adams, C., Wang, Y., Loftin, K., & Meyer, M. (2002). Removal of Antibiotics from Surface and Distilled Water in Conventional Water Treatment Processes. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 128(3), 253–260. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9372(2002)128:3(253)
Choi, Y., Kim, S. H., & Lee, S. (2017). Comparison of performance and economics of reverse osmosis, membrane distillation, and pressure retarded osmosis hybrid systems. Desalination and Water Treatment, 77, 19–29. https://doi.org/10.5004/DWT.2017.20660
Chau, N. D., & Michalec, B. (2009). Natural radioactivity in bottled natural spring, mineral and therapeutic waters in Poland. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 279(1), 121–129. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10967-007-7276-6/METRICS
Nie, X., Hu, X., Liu, C., Xia, X., & Dong, F. (2021). Decontamination of uranium contained low-level radioactive wastewater from UO2 fuel element industry with vacuum membrane distillation. Desalination, 516, 115226. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.DESAL.2021.115226
Rashid, W. T., Alkadir, I. A., & Jalhoom, M. G. (2020). Al-Qadisiyah Journal for Engineering Sciences Effect of Operating Conditions on the Removal of Heavy and Radioactive Elements by Reverse Osmosis Membrane. JOURNAL FOR ENGINEERING SCIENCES, 13, 240–245. https://doi.org/10.30772/qjes.v13i3.665
Jiao, C., Wang, H., Li, Y., Zhang, M., Gao, Y., & He, M. (2022). Treatment of Simulated Radioactive Wastewater Using Reverse Osmosis and Membrane Distillation. Nuclear Technology, 208(12), 1858–1866. https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2022.2081483
Kubota, T., Fukutani, S., Mahara, Y., & Ohta, T. (2013). Removal of radioactive cesium, strontium, and iodine from natural waters using bentonite, zeolite, and activated carbon. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 296(2), 981-984. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-012-2068-4
Lavrentyeva, G.V., Roshchenko, V.A., Romantsova, I.V. et al. Application of risk assessment technology to characterize radiation and chemical hazards when drinking spring water. Int J Energ Water Res 8, 1–6 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42108-023-00265-w
Herkert, N et al. Assessing the Effectiveness of Point-of-Use Residential Drinking Water Filters for Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs). Environ Sci Technol Lett. 2020;7(3). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00004
Nriagu, J., Xi, C., Siddique, A., Vincent, A., & Shomar, B. (2018). Influence of Household Water Filters on Bacteria Growth and Trace Metals in Tap Water of Doha, Qatar. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 8268. https://doi.org/10.1038/S41598-018-26529-8
