I really don't want to get involved in the debate about distilled water. After all, people are going to believe and do what they want. However, I do want to state my reasons for choosing distilled water over any other kind.

I live in an area that looks like an advertisement for natural spring water. I'm miles from paved roads, towns, large chicken, beef or diary operations. I live near the top of a mountain in a secluded indention that provides warmth in the winter and coolness in the heat of summer. There are no houses visible from mine. Every direction you look are huge old trees. My house spring is a large gushing everlasting spring with multiple veins of water pouring out of a large inaccessible underground sandstone cave that is connected to an intricate cavern complete with stalactites hanging from the massive stone roof. My spring is one of the head feeder springs for a creek that eventually runs into the White River which, in this area, has been dammed to form Beaver Lake, the source of public drinking water for all of Northwest Arkansas. My spring water is sweet cool and delicious most of the time. So-why don't I just drink that water?

Yes, spring water has minerals, lots of minerals. My water is so hard and full of calcium that little stalactites grow from leaking faucets in just a few days. The screen filters on the washing machine become clogged with solid rock every couple of weeks, shower heads clog up and must be soaked in vinegar at least once a month. Clothes are difficult to clean because even with double detergent because it just won't dissolve in water that hard. My Grandmother had an antique tea kettle I inherited. The inside looks like a miniature cavern with stalactites hanging from the top and stalagmites growing from the bottom. There is at least a half inch of solid rock in that old gallon kettle. Granma used water from that kettle for over 50 years. One would think all that calcium would have kept her in perfect health. But the fact is she suffered terribly from osteoporosis and had many broken bones. Calcium in that form cannot be used by the body. Grandma's veins were so hard and brittle they would break and cause everything from huge massive bruising to a series of strokes. All that spring water did far more harm than good. By the way, my Grandmother ate mostly food from her own garden that she grew, canned or froze herself. She was also the daughter and granddaughter of Cherokee "yarb" doctors and knew about the use of herbs and natural healing.

Eventually we stopped using the spring and switched to rural water from Beaver Lake. The water was not all that bad once you got used to the taste of chlorine. We went on our way, happy not to have to drain the water heater of its calcium deposits so we would have enough hot water to get through the Saturday night baths and shampooing. Things seemed to last longer and clothes finally looked clean. Life was good. Except for the chlorine taste. Then in the mid 90's my joints started to ache and swell. I developed a chronic cough and other health problems. It was time to do what I hate most, see a doctor. I have a form of Arthritis that is caused by built up calcium in the joints acting like sandpaper and abrading the protective cartilage off the bone. If this abrasion continues, one winds up with bone to bone contact. Meanwhile, that constant abrading also causes pain, inflammation and swelling of the joints. This is not some rare disease, this is the most common form of Arthritis and is usually caused by excess minerals deposited in the joints, especially weight bearing joints like knees and hips. I also have it in my elbows and hands. I had my lungs x-rayed in an effort to find the cause of my cough. The x-rays showed my lungs were full of calcium deposits. An sad fact, is that some people who have these deposits in their lungs also have them in their brains. The deposits are usually harmless if they are not allowed to accumulate. They are another one of the body's ways to store excess minerals.

Another reason I gave up on spring water is the fact that spring water is rarely pure. When someone dumps a quart of motor oil, a cup of antifreeze or rinses a latex paint filled brush with the hose, those contaminants can travel for miles and show up in wells and springs in the general area. So can chicken litter and cattle manure that is used for "organic" fertilizer. The lakes and rivers are also full of manure from run off. The parasite that causes Guardia is also plentiful in wells and springs and the local Extension offices urges people to have their water checked for this and other parasitic infections. There are few areas in industrialized nations that are exempt from the pollutants that can make untreated water safe.

So, that is why I choose to distill my drinking water. It may not be "natural", but I believe it is the best and safest water to drink. My poor distiller has a coat of limestone in it even from the lake water. I use white vinegar to clean it before it gets too built up. There is also this sticky red substance that is left behind in the boiler. I don't know what that is, but even vinegar won't dissolve it.

I know I can get the necessary minerals in a form my body can use quite easily. I use a good quality green food to make up where my diet might fall short. I don't use rocks, my body is already dealing with enough of those. As far as the electro-magnetic conductivity is concerned, I don't feel like that is why the human body needs water, I am not a potato battery. A proper balance of mineral salts, or electrolytes is what the body needs and fresh fruit is probably the best source for those vital salts.

I don't want to argue about water, but this is why I prefer mine water to be distilled. Its my choice.

By the way after using distilled water for almost a year, the swelling in my wrists, elbows and hands has gone down. I can breathe much easier, and rarely have a wheezing attack (my doctor was afraid I would develop adult onset asthma). I now choose to drink water, where I used to drink anything (usually Coke or DR. Pepper) to avoid water. For me distilled water is a very good thing indeed.