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317787 tn?1473358451

Type of water

Hi I know that we always tell people to drink a lot of water.  The other day while talking to a family member she said that I drink too much water and I needed to change the type as it could be causing me problems.  One thing she mentioned was brain fog, brittle hair and nails poor digestion. She mentioned it could cause the body to be acidic which is not good.
   I had read that distilled water was best, it would help the liver.  So...for over 3 years I have only had distilled water.  Up until recently I thought it was good.  Now I am wondering if it was a good idea.  I have read a lot of negative things about distilled water it has no minerals, it can leach minerals out of our body.  So I am wondering is if anyone has an opinion or a preference?
What kind of water do you drink?
Thank you
Best Answer
253566 tn?1219679699
Hey Dee,
I know of my neighbor being told to drink only distilled water due to her PIS condition and how she became so sick!

Seems that Dr. Weil agrees and he drinks the same.

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART00581/water-an-essential-part-of-life.html

... saying we get our minerals from food NOT water. It is a fascinating article - especially how poor the FDA is at controlling bottled water and private testing found some very nasty stuff.

So, if you can afford it go with what you have been doing. I got a Water Pitch Filter system that I really like but my tap water is not so bad. Mavea is the brand. They have a great conscious philosophy with a filter take back program. Maybe use for cooking if you want to save some money - but distilled would be the way to go if you can there too if your tap is so bad.

Read the Weil article and maybe get your water tested by an independent lab...

hope that helps... Water is so important to our health! I also added a whole house humidifier and I now hate leaving the house during this horrible winter. My home is so comfortable with much more humidity thru the house... I can breathe, my skin is cool and not tight... and the little machine was dead cheap and just mist a bit of water to the furnace! Amazing!
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Avatar universal
I haven't  read anything about it, but I chose purified water, because it is filtered for certain things but doesn't strip water of everythin.  

Don't know if that is good or not, but I have even had less stomach problems than I did back when I was drinking 'normal' amountsof water.  Of ciurse, I am also eating a lver friendly diet and have completed tx, so, who knows?  : -)

Pat
Helpful - 0
317787 tn?1473358451
Thanks so much for your answer.  I am trying to be as healthy as I can and thought I was doing the right thing.  I may stop the distilled and go for purified.  I don't think I can go back to tap water.  It smells so much of salt and chlorine, yuck :)  We have very hard water here.
I appreciate your answer very much.
D
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317787 tn?1473358451
Frank thank you so much! I am going to read the site. I appreciate you taking the ti
me to answer. It is so confusing  Dee
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Avatar universal
Can you tell me what kind of humidifier you use. I have been looking for a decent one that's not to much money. I had one I bought and it literally melted and paid 70 bucks for it.
Helpful - 0
253566 tn?1219679699
Hi Stronglady... want to be clear that I am talking about a "Whole Home" humidifier. This is NOT a stand alone item!

You "install" this unit on your furnace! The brand that was recommended to me was Herrmidifier. I found it for under $150 including an extra filter.

I thought it would raise my water bill by a LOT but nope. It is amazing to watch as it really only delivers a very fine mist into the furnace only while the furnace is heating/running (actually that is not how it works but is the simple way - the sponge unit moistens the heat ...).

I had a friend install the unit and paid him about $50. Not sure what a professional would charge.

Using stand alone units are asking for trouble... they need to be cleaned regularly... are expensive... only humidify a small area so you need more than one for a home. Need constant care with filling/spilling water etc.

If you own you home this is the way to go!
Helpful - 0
253566 tn?1219679699
You're welcome Dee. It is a difficult time but I am trying to keep busy. Off to post to the other thread... ugh.
Helpful - 0
317787 tn?1473358451
Hi we use a humidifier that we purchased from Walmart, we don't have the right configuration for a whole home humidifier.
We use a Procare.  It works well and is only about $30.  The only down side is that you do have to replace the filter about once a month that is about $3 or $4.  We have a dusty home so your change of filter might be less.  At least it works well enough that we aren't constantly shocking ourselves.  We are thinking of buying another one.  It has lasted over 3 years, no problem.  We do have to clean it but it is easy to do.
Take Care
Dee
Helpful - 0
317787 tn?1473358451
Hey there, that was a good article.  I had read that distilled water was good for you, that it removed old toxins in the body but not the good things contained in the cells.
I just got worried after a family member thought I was drinking too much water and not the right kind.  
Thanks again
Dee
Helpful - 0
163305 tn?1333668571
I know I was concerned when I stayed at a friend's rural home and saw the rust colored stain in her bathtub. Some spring water can have huge amounts of iron in it, not good for a sick liver.

I drink tap water through a filter. Distilled water sounds like dead water to me but it'd be better than water with the 'wrong' stuff in it.

Dee, I wouldn't listen to that family member thinking you drink too much water. I don't think that's possible, And  I don't think we all need the same amounts of anything. If you're feeling okay about what you do, listen to yourself and not anyone else. Trust yourself, it's your body not theirs.

Helpful - 0
253566 tn?1219679699
Good recommendation on the humidifier.

If one doesn't have the ability to do the whole home adaptation - then one has to look at adding units to rooms so personal opinions become important.

These 2 sites do great reviews - Sweethome.com & Wirecutter.com - they are connected and often have the same items... they are like a modern day Consumer Reports but much better, imho.

They take no ads or money.... the same as CR. Another nice thing about the above sites is that others can make comments and suggestions. They also show were to get the best prices.
Helpful - 0
317787 tn?1473358451
Thank you so much for your support, I really appreciate more than I can say.  I have tried so hard to get better since finishing tx.  I thought water was the good thing I was doing.  We get distilled water but I am thinking about starting to drink half and half vs all distilled then I hope I will be covered :)
I got in to the habit of drinking water when on tx and have kept it up since then.
Thanks again
D
Helpful - 0
317787 tn?1473358451
Hey Frank, thank you, I think we need a second one so really appreciate you telling me about the above sites.
My home is only 8square feet so up until this year the humidifier was fine.  This year is is so bitterly cold and dry I was thinking of getting another.
Thanks so much
Dee
Helpful - 0
683231 tn?1467323017
Just want to add you actually can drink too much water a few years back a radio station had a water drinking contest for a prize to some kind one of the contestants died from water intoxication of course this was an extreme amount of water in a short period of time.

Remember the expression all things in moderation.


Here is  an article from scientific american that mentions the incident

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-drinking-too-much-water-can-kill/

Earlier this year, a 28-year-old California woman died after competing in a radio station's on-air water-drinking contest. After downing some six liters of water in three hours in the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" (Nintendo game console) contest, Jennifer Strange vomited, went home with a splitting headache, and died from so-called water intoxication.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi Dee :) It's true that we get most minerals from food. But! if a person avoids salt in all forms then, if that person drinks lots of water plus maybe likes coffee or green tea (or takes some other diuretic), then this person is likely to become mildly sodium deficient. Sodium (Na+) is our main electrolyte, without which the body can't function (and death from 'water intoxication' mentioned above is actually death from sudden Na+ depletion).

There is a very simple test to know if you're sodium deficient: if you feel mildly thirsty and yet plain water tastes bad to you (especially distilled water) and you would drink anything BUT plain water, this is a sure sign that you're running low on sodium. But if plain water tastes delicious, then you have plenty of sodium in your system.

Other than that, if your diet is more or less OK you should not have any problems with whatever water you drink, xcept maybe magnesium, but it is less crucial than sodium.
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Avatar universal
I stay away from distilled water except to use it in my car battery. I drink only mineral water that contains Calcium. Sparkling water for me. Mountain Valley is a good one if you can find it. Gerolsteiner is another.
Helpful - 0
317787 tn?1473358451
Thank you all for your comments, information, I really appreciate.
I am going to switch to spring water.

Really good information about drinking too much water and salt depletion.  I didn't know that
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
hiya dee! I've also tried the humidifier w/ tap water filtered via a pir filter system. basically it  removes rust sediment, but not all of the minerals. water tastes better and the humidifier dissipates a cool clean mist of water that helps keep the cabin warm as well as ability to breath better
Helpful - 0
4896357 tn?1360670904
I drink well water straight out of the ground! I would not trust any municipal water supply with disinfectants and chemicals added.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
If we could do that, so would I!  We had a great well at our former home, but here we have city water, and with what is being dumped back into the ground around here in the forms of fertilizers, weed Killers, etc., I would be afraid to drink from a well here, if we dug one!  

Pat
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317787 tn?1473358451
While it isn't cheap I have bottled water delivered.  
Thanks everyone for responding
Helpful - 0
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