Facts and Myths about "Pure" Water
Simple distillation (distillation with and without carbon filters) does not completely eliminate gases and volatile contaminants, and does not remove contaminants in the mist droplets that get carried forward with the steam. Still, before Sylvan Source, simple distilled water was the closest to thing to pure water. There has been a lot of information written about the benefits of drinking distilled water. Unfortunately, with that information has come a lot of misleading and false information about distilled water, especially by promoters of drinking water technologies that do not purify the water like distillation. The following are the common myths regarding drinking pure, distilled water, along with the facts.
Myth: The body needs minerals commonly found in water.
The truth is that our bodies do need minerals to maintain good health. However, the minerals that our bodies need and use do not come from water; they come from the foods we eat, including fruits, vegetables, and animal products. Less than 5% of minerals our bodies use come from drinking water. In fact, to get the necessary minerals from water you would need to drink in excess of 840 8-ounce glasses of non-distilled water to get the Recommended Daily Allowance of iron!
Plants have the unique ability to convert and chelate inorganic materials absorbed from the soil and water into organic forms which our bodies can use. Minerals found in water are inorganic, which are less likely to be assimilated into our bodies' systems. Sodium from common salt is readily absorbed, which is the reason we need to drink water when eating salty foods. Some, like heavy metals (arsenic, mercury) accumulate in our tissues and are toxic. A few not absorbed by our cells build-up within our bodies and are suspected of contributing to a wide array of diseases (e.g., kidney and gall stones). Thirst is the mechanism of the body to signal the need for water, ideally pure water, to dilute excessive levels of salt, so it can be eliminated by the kidneys.
AMA: "The body's need for minerals in largely met through foods, not drinking water."
Dr. Charles Mayo, Mayo Clinic
"Water hardness (inorganic materials in water) is the underlying cause of many, if not all, of the diseases resulting from poisons in the intestinal tract. These (hard minerals) pass from the intestinal wall and get into the lymphatic system, which delivers all of its products to the blood, which in turn, distributes to all parts of the body. This is the cause of much human disease."
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Myth: Distilled water has had all the beneficial minerals removed
As noted, distillation does remove most contaminants, including minerals. The question is, whether or not there are any beneficial minerals in water. As stated above, the beneficial minerals our bodies require come from food not necessarily from drinking water.
Water in its purest state is simply H20. It is not water plus a few minerals or other contaminants left in.
"Distilled water is the only water that can be taken into the body without damage to the tissue". Dr. Allen Banik, M.D., The Choice Is Clear.
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Myth: Distilled water leaches minerals from your body
The truth is that distilled water quickly absorbs chemicals found in the mouth as it mixes with saliva and becomes less pure, and therefore, ceases to be "aggressive." Distilled water helps cleanse our bodies. Due to its lack of conductivity, distilled water acts like a magnet, by collecting and removing the excess minerals in cellular tissue. These excess minerals are then flushed out of the body. With nothing else in the water, distilled water improves the elimination of cellular waste due to excess mineral build-up.
Some medical articles claim that distilled water leaches essential minerals from the body. However, a review of 240 papers in toxicology journals shows that toxicology studies (which study how harmful a substance is) consistently compare mortality rates of hundreds of chemicals with distilled water, because distilled water is not harmful and has no toxic effects (emphasis ours).
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Myth: Distilled water taste "funny" or "flat taste"
There are many reasons why people think that distilled water tastes "funny" or "flat". The main reason is that distilled water is very different than what they have been used to drinking. When people are used to drinking water with fluoride, chlorine, or iron, their sense of taste gets used to this type of water. When drinking distilled water for this first time, with nothing in the water to masked the true taste, it takes the taste buds time to get used to the new clean taste.
Another reason for the "funny" taste is from store bought water in plastic bottles. In order to keep costs down, bottled water suppliers use cheap plastic materials to store the water. It has been found that some of these plastics have been known to leach methyl chloride into the water which gives off a "plastic" taste.
Also a possible factor is the distillation process itself. In simple distillation, volatile organic compounds and some gases may be carried over into the distilled water which causes a "funny" taste. These distillation systems use carbon filters or other processes to reduce VOCs and gases, but such elimination is seldom complete (see next myth).
Once used in cooking and drinking water, most people find distilled water tastes delicious and improves the taste of food.
Sylvan Source's advanced distillation process uses additional technologies beyond simple distillation that provide ultra-clean water.
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Myth: Distillation does not remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
VOCs are organic compounds that have a lower boiling point than water. When water is boiled in the boiling chamber of a distillation system, if VOCs are present they will vaporize and rise up with the steam as a gas, and then get carried over into the cooled distilled water. Today, many distillation systems use a variety of techniques to remove or reduce the VOCs and gases, some more effective than others, but none as effective as degassing by steam-stripping.
Degassing, which is used in Sylvan Source technology, is so effective it can remove some organic compounds that are non-volatile. In addition, Sylvan Source technology removes mist particles from the steam (which in simple distillation systems can carry over certain salts and solids) thus ensuring that only ultra-clean steam is condensed and nothing else is in the water.
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Myth: Distillation systems require extensive, frequent cleaning and are difficult to operate.
Most distillers require periodic cleaning and recently have improved the process for cleaning the system. The frequency of the cleaning required depends on the system and the area you live.
Sylvan Source uses a proprietary self-cleaning technology (patent pending), which ensures no cleaning is required under normal operating and water conditions.
Many distiller manufacturers have also simplified the operational requirements of their systems to be more user friendly, improving operational functions.
Sylvan Source M-600 is automatic and provides clean water on demand.
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Myth: Producing distilled water is expensive and uses large amounts electricity
Distillers use electricity to produce pure water. The amount of electricity used depends on the type of distiller. However, most distillers do not use any more electricity (and in some cases less) than a typical kitchen appliance.
The cost of running a distiller also varies, depending on where you live and what you pay for electricity. A typical home distillation system uses anywhere from 3-4 kilowatts to make a gallon of water. Using a national average electricity cost of 7.8 cents per kilowatt hour, a gallon of distilled water would cost between 24 cents to 32 cents. A lot less than you would pay for bottled water purchased from a store or delivered to your home and much more convenient.
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