Regarding Distilled Water +edit

The .pdf of this information is here: http://curezone.com/upload/_N_Forums/Natural_Heali/distilled_water.pdf

It was obtained from here: http://kathrynalexander.com.au/free-publication.htm

My additions to the article = [my additions]

The facts and myths on distilled water
D.Th. D.; Gerson Therapist; Adv. Dip. Nat.
kathrynalexander.com.au

The first issue that arises is that distilled water is not only “empty” of minerals, but also leaches minerals from the body leading to severe deficiencies over a prolonged period of time. Firstly, we should look to food rather than water to boost our mineral supply; the amount of minerals per litre in spring water may be less than the equivalent in a few peas! Secondly, most fluids we take are hypotonic to blood (less concentrated with solutes than blood). So most fluid intake will generally dilute the blood. The kidneys, in order to maintain blood concentration (osmolality) will remove the excess fluid. If you drink a lot of water, regardless of where it comes from and how it is prepared, then you will suffer mineral losses along with the fluid via the kidneys.  So drinking lots of water, from whatever source, will cause mineral depletion.  [To clarify; water dilutes the blood - which dilutes the mineral concentration, of course...but NOT the amount of total nutrients.  Most all people are extremely dehydrated with very thick/sluggish blood; rehydrating the body with pure water does not "remove" minerals/nutrients from the blood, it just thins the blood (making it flow throughout the organs easier)...which in my opinion would make it EASIER for the body to utilize the nutrients in the bloodstream.]  Incidentally, the mineral depletion caused by soft drinks which use distilled water in their manufacture is due to the high amount of phosphate they contain, not the distilled water.

This argument will be met with “but distilled water is acidic and therefore has greater leaching power.” So a little lesson on acid and alkaline water is called for. Let’s take rain water - this is distilled water; it is formed through a process of evaporation and condensation. As it evaporates it is cleansed of solutes and becomes “soft” but as it falls it and being “empty of solutes” it can take up either acids or alkaline substances as it cleanses the atmosphere. Industrialized countries that burn fossil fuel belch sulphuric acid into the atmosphere; the water picks this up and it falls as acid rain, poisoning the land. Similarly, rain water that falls on limestone will leach calcium and magnesium from the soils and becomes “hard water”. Hard water becomes more alkaline. However, water that runs through soils devoid of limestone will pick up heavy metals such as copper. For those living in “soft water” areas you may notice how the water leaches copper from your pipes leaving a blue discoloration on the porcelain. Very often we see high incidence of heart and kidney disease in soft water areas; it is not the water that causes the problem but the heavy metals it contains.

 
When you make distilled water it becomes acidic because it is “empty” (devoid of solutes) and can take up carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide, when mixed with water becomes carbonic acid. I’ll deal with the simple fact first; most distillation units have carbon filters and as the distilled water filters through the carbon it picks up carbon. It is no longer “empty” but now contains dissolved carbon solids (often referred to as TDS – total dissolved solids). This means that the water will not take up carbon dioxide as it is no longer empty, therefore distilled water made at home with a proper unit it will not be acidic. But if you don’t have a carbon filter (and I would recommend that you get one) then authors would have us believe that drinking distilled water is akin to drinking acid, and will make the body acidic.

Now for some mathematics. If you are not good at maths then just trust me! We all know that we need to keep the body at a slightly alkaline pH. At pH 7.4 there is 0.0016 mmol of acid in the body. The body produces 10.4 mmol of acid per minute – this is 6,500 times the amount held in the body at pH 7.4! We are net acid producers - this is normal and this is where breathing comes in. Most of the acid formed is carbonic acid, and you guessed it, the lungs get rid of the carbon dioxide as soon as it is made. It is of no burden to the body unless the lungs are impaired. The real acidic burden comes from eating too much protein and leading a stressful lifestyle. The acids produced from these activities are not volatile (cannot be blown off in the breath) but take up to seven days for the kidneys to eliminate. This means that acidity is cumulative and as we age, or if our kidneys become impaired, then the true effects of acidity start to manifest. The bones will take up and buffer acidity in exchange for calcium, and in an acidic environment calcium will precipitate to form stones and crystals and we see hardening of the joints and arteries – this is the result of long-term acidity. Drinking distilled water does not contribute to this in any shape or form.

 
Finally, we come to the last objection that distilled water is dead. Any water that has undergone any process has lost its vital force to one degree or another. Tap water is not only dead, but heavily contaminated with toxic chemicals. Bottled water undergoes a pasteurisation process before it is commercially available (not to mention the xeno-oestrogens that leach from the plastic bottles). Boiling water to make your tea and coffee “kills” the water. Finding “living water” and drinking it at source is not an option that many have so we are told that the next best option seems to be ‘energizing’ the water with various gadgets and machines that are available today.

 
What do I recommend? The same as always:
--Ensure your living nutrients from the food you eat.
--Don’t throw the vegetable cooking water away – or better still use the waterless cooking method.
--Drink your freshly prepared juices which are full of enzymes and nutrients.
--If you drink water – make sure it is clean first and foremost and if you wish to energize it – then feel free to do so. Don’t overdo drinking of any water – it all leaches minerals. Two litres daily of total fluid (including your vegetable juices) is generally enough.
We need to be hydrated – but correctly hydrated. Drinking water may not help you to hydrate if the tissues have lost their ability to “hold” water. If this is the case then you will pass water as quickly as you have drunk it. Eating foods which have a water-holding capacity such as grains and legumes, and for those currently on the Gerson therapy – the pectins in the fruits, vegetables and juices – will help build your hydration capacity as these foods confer the same properties to your own body tissues. Adding salt to water will not re-hydrate the body – it will increase your thirst for more water which you will retain. This is akin to water-logging and when that salt gets into the cells – we all know the story – it acts as an enzyme inhibitor and increases intracellular acidity!

My thoughts--

--I recall nothing in the writings of Schulze, Gerson or Christopher that indicates ANYTHING about "re-energizing" or "re-mineralizing" distilled water.  I "believe" that with a full healing protocol, this was not an issue for their patients because they were ingesting and assimilating more than enough nutrition to prevent any problems (while cleansing and restoring the ability to assimilate).  But my "belief" isn't something I want anyone to "believe in"...I want people to research and make their OWN decisions!

--In the above article, I question whether or not 2 liters of water daily is sufficient.  Dr. Christopher recommended a gallon a day for adults; I've ingested far more than a gallon of R/O water daily for around 7 years.  Perhaps when juicing heavily or juice-fasting 2 liters is sufficient.  I'm pretty sure 'a little too much' is MUCH preferable than 'any too little'.

--I know virtually nothing "scientific" about all the various gadgets/machines that"re-energize" water, but I do know that distilled and R/O are "dead" and virtually "empty" (and that many, including Christoper/Schulze, believe that 'emptiness' is beneficial because it pulls out/dissolves deposits of many hard minerals and toxins that cause disease).  I have never re-energized OR re-mineralized the R/O water we've ingested; to my knowledge we've never suffered or incurred any adverse effects (nor did any of the patients of Schulze/Gerson/Christopher, of which I'm aware).  BUT, this does NOT mean there isn't room for improvement!!!  Nor does it mean that you should not re-mineralize/energize R/O or distilled water.

--One way to do both is to add something that's "alive" to the container of water.  To a gallon of water one could add a teaspoon or two (???) of organic rice (or any other grain in it's alive-wholesome form, such as wheatberries, oat groats, whole buckwheat, etc), or sprouting seeds, or even a small handful of grass out of the yard, or a few leaves from a tree (or better yet, healing herbs).  Do I think this will turn the water back into the energy-equivalent of pure fresh rainwater or that from a crystal clear spring or brook 1,000 years ago?  Of course not.  Is it as good as one of the machines (that I have NEVER researched) that re-energizes water in various ways?  I have no idea, I've never researched them fully.

--Do I understand that people have ingested highly mineralized water from melting icebergs and rock-springs for centuries and not developed all the diseases we now incurr from ingesting "hard rock minerals" [such as: It ends up in the joints of the bones, the spine, the bones themselves, the arteries, the lungs, eyes, kidneys (or anywhere else the body chooses to put them), causing states of dis-ease such as arthritis, bone spurs, spinal stenosis (and many other spinal issues), cataracts, brittle arteries, kidney stones, liver/gallbladder stones, emphysema (and other conditions that are caused when the tissues become ‘non-elastic' and coated/saturated with ground-up rocks or 'colloidal' rock-based minerals). Read more here: http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1392028#i ]  Yes, I do...but I also understand that the bodies we have now are NOT those bodies, and the phenomenal amount of internal & external stressers is NOT the same as even 50 years ago, let alone 500 years ago. Our bodies are dealing with an oxygen level that (in the cities) is less than HALF of what is was just 30 years ago (and it's not much better in the country); our ability to create digestive enzymes has degraded substantially and our lack of healthy intestinal microorganisms is dismal.  There's not a person on CZ that needs a "scientific study" (or even a high school diploma) to know that it's easier for a human body to digest and assimilate minerals from plants than it to digest and assimilate ROCKS! (duh).  We do not need to be making it harder for our body to assimilate, we need to be making it EASIER.

--It is my opinion that our water needs to be both "poison free" and "rock free".  For those that promote and ingest water that is highly 'rock mineralized' or add rocks to their water...it is my hope (and prayer) that my opinion is wrong.

Healthiest of blessings,

Unyquity