Reverse Osmosis

[The following information was taken primarily from an article by Charles Strand, President of Sun Water Systems, Inc. and author of the book, “All About Water.” Mr. Strand is also a recipient of 17 U.S. patents for water purification technologies.]

The healthiest water doesn’t come from your tap, doesn’t come in a bottle, it doesn’t come from distillation or reverse osmosis… it comes from “selective filtration.” All tap water in America contains levels of synthetic chemicals, heavy metals, parasites and/or chlorination by-products that pose significant health risks. We can either filter out these poisons prior to consumption, or we force our body to become the filter.

The old school of thought was that distilled and reverse osmosis water were the healthiest, also now known to be untrue. Both of these methods were designed over 40 years ago for industrial purposes as they are “de-mineralizing” processes. Once you strip the trace minerals from water, the pH drops and the water becomes aggressive. Water by nature will always seek to balance its’ pH. If we consume de-mineralized water, it will pull minerals from our body to seek that balance.

And neither of these processes are very effective at removing synthetic organic chemicals since all SOCs are molecularly smaller and vaporize at lower temperatures than water.

The most recent and effective technologies for truly healthy water are “selective filtration” systems that can distinguish between contaminants and trace minerals. They are also the most convenient and economical.

It is also important to look at the advantages or disadvantages of other products or technologies even though they are not leading brands; such is the case with reverse osmosis and distillation systems. Although none of the leading brands employ either of these de-mineralizing techniques, as their popularity has declined in recent years, there is an ongoing debate over the healthfulness of de-mineralized water vs. filtered water with trace minerals.

While there are studies that argue both sides of this debate, after 15 years of specialized study in water quality and health, we feel that the benefits of drinking naturally balanced water with its natural trace minerals, just makes more sense.

From a non-scientific perspective, the fact that nowhere on this planet do we find naturally occurring de-mineralized water should tell us that we were not meant to have it. In nature, all fresh water contains traces of natural minerals like calcium, magnesium and potassium, which is what our body is designed to run on. All over the world and throughout time, wherever you find the most contaminant-free, mineral rich water, you find the healthiest, most vibrant civilizations.

On a more scientific level, there are several very credible research reports and books that stress the more recent opinion that long-term consumption of de-mineralized water can in fact be dangerous. Dr. Zolton Rona, author of "The Joy of Health", states that "the longer one consumes distilled water, the more likely the development of mineral deficiencies and an acid state." Dr. Paavo Airola, cancer expert and author of "How to Get Well" and "Cancer... Causes, Prevention and Healing" also reports that "long-term consumption of distilled water eventually results in multiple mineral deficiencies."

Two very negative things happen when we consume water that has been stripped of its natural minerals. First, because de-mineralized water contains more hydrogen, it is an acid, with a pH below seven. Any time we consume an acid substance, our body will pull minerals from our teeth and bones to produce bicarbonate in order to neutralize the acid. Second, it has been proven that when our body fluids become more acid than alkaline, the production of free radicals increases, causing increased cancer risks.

Many studies suggest that cancer cells can only grow in an acid environment.* This theory seems to be supported by the fact that the areas where people live the longest, most disease-free lives are the areas that have the most alkaline water -- water with the highest mineral content.

Reverse Osmosis and Distillation were first developed over 40 years ago for the printing and photo processing industries, which require mineral free water. Because of the popularity and demand for home water treatment products, many companies have marketed these products as "state-of-the-art" drinking water systems, which they simply are not. Often these products are marketed by using a demonstration that measures the TDS (total dissolved solids), and implies that this measurement shows the systems effectiveness at removing contaminants. TDS meters measure the dissolved minerals in water, primarily calcium and magnesium, and have little or nothing to do with contaminant levels or water purity.

The very healthiest water is produced by selective filtration, which has the ability to remove contaminants and not minerals. All of the leading brands use selective filtration methods.

* [Distributor’s Note: Several years ago my gynecologist told me that it was impossible to get sexually-transmitted bacteria to grow in an environment that had the correct pH balance. Our health is ultimately about maintaining the proper pH.]