You must probably be aware that Reverse Osmosis (RO) water filters are known for removing water impurities.
But did you also know that they often remove the beneficial minerals from your water? In this article, you'll find out why RO water is not the best drinking water option for your health.
What is RO Water?
Reverse osmosis water is a type of water that removes minerals from the water. This is done by passing the water through a semipermeable membrane.
The idea behind reverse osmosis was first developed in France by Professor Pierre Debeyre, who recognized that seawater could be desalinated by forcing it through a semi-permeable membrane that would allow only pure H2O molecules to pass through.
The process removes all kinds of impurities, such as salts and metals, and leaves behind clean, pure water.
But is the clean water left behind good for you?
The truth is - no, it isn't. RO water is not good for your health because it has significantly less minerals than tap or spring water. Minerals are important for our bodies because they help with digestion and other bodily functions. They also provide taste, which means that RO water tastes bland in comparison to natural sources of drinking water.
What does Science say about RO Water?
RO water is not safe for drinking. It may contain traces of lead and arsenic.
When used for cooking, RO water was found to cause substantial losses of all essential minerals from food. In contrast, when mineralized water is used for cooking, the loss of these elements is much lower. In fact in some cases, an even higher calcium content was reported in food as a result of cooking.
Calcium and magnesium are both essential elements. Calcium is a substantial component of bones and teeth.
Our current diets don't provide all the necessary minerals in sufficient quantities.
Although drinking water is not the major source of our calcium and magnesium intake, the health significance of supplemental intake of these elements from drinking water may outweigh its nutritional contribution expressed as the proportion of the total daily intake of these elements.
Recent studies suggest that drinking RO water increases risk for hypertension and coronary heart disease, gastric and duodenal ulcers, chronic gastritis, goiter, pregnancy complications and several complications in newborns and infants, including jaundice, anemia, fractures and growth disorders.
After analyzing numerous scientific studies on demineralized or RO water, the World Health Organization released a report stating that such water "has a definite adverse influence on the animal and human organism."
We have been so concerned with removing as many things from water as possible that they have forgotten to ask if the resulting water actually improves health or causes health problems. It's assumed that no toxins equals better health, but there is simply more to healthful water than a lack of toxins, as the World Health Organization clearly points out.
In another study, women living in cities with low-mineral water more frequently showed cardiovascular symptoms like higher blood pressure, headache, dizziness, and osteoporosis compared to those of cities with higher mineral content in water.
What is alarming is that consuming reverse osmosis water for even just a few months can create serious side effects.
Illustrative of such short-term exposures are cases in the Czech and Slovak populations who began using reverse osmosis-based systems for final treatment of drinking water at their home taps in 2000-2002. Within several weeks or months various health complaints suggestive of acute magnesium (and possibly calcium) deficiency were reported. Among these complaints were cardiovascular disorders, tiredness, weakness or muscular cramps." Again, serious side effects within just several weeks or months.
It gets worse.
Because reverse osmosis water doesn't have enough minerals, when it is consumed, it also leaches minerals from the body.
This means that the minerals being consumed in food and vitamins are being urinated away. Less minerals consumed plus more minerals being excreted equals serious negative side effects and big health problems. In a scientific study performed to see if minerals consumed in food can make up for the lack of minerals in reverse osmosis water, scientists concluded that "reduced mineral intake from water was not compensated by their diets...low-mineral water was responsible for an increased elimination of minerals from the body. Side effects at the very beginning of this condition include tiredness, weakness and headache; more severe symptoms are muscular cramps and impaired heart rate.
The Solution
Nobody wants to trade one's own health for drinking highly-filtered RO water. In fact, the whole point of filtering water is to improve our health, not make it worse. Fortunately, there's a better, healthier alternative to RO Water.
To combat the ill effects of RO water and replenish the essential minerals in drinking water, we have launched our latest product - Mineralka - Alkaline Mineral Drops. These alkaline water drops make your drinking water alkaline by increasing its Ph level. Plus, it fortifies the water with essential minerals such as Magnesium, Zinc, Potassium, Calcium and trace minerals such as molybdenum and selenium. With a high mineral content and ZERO Sodium content, the Mineralka makes your water alkaline and nourishing for your body. Furthermore, drinking this type of alkaline water increases the absorption of minerals in your diet. So look no further and pre-order Mineralka to bring back healthy minerals in your water (and your body) once again.