Many proponents of mineral water refer back to an old Russian study that claimed that the absence of minerals in the water caused health problems. However Rozelle describes the Russian studies as "short on data and long on deductions leading to there conclusions. More recently the World Health Organization W.
However this was primarily motivated by the concern for water contamination caused by corrosion of plumbing. To supply water for growing cities, desalinization plants are used to convert salt water into drinking water. This water contains very few minerals and can cause corrosion when in contact with a metal distribution system plumbing.
The corrosion of the pipes adds contaminants to the water. When providing water for a city, it does make good sense to add some minerals to the water to have better corrosion control. But this proposed health risk should not apply to low mineral water that is not subject to long exposure to metal plumbing.
If there is no corrosion, there is no added contamination. It is entirely plausible that any health effects seen in the Russian Study was due to the fact that the people drinking hard water high mineral content were protected from contamination due to corrosion, because hard water is not corrosive to pipes. The human body is an incredible organism capable of maintaining mineral concentrations within proper parameters regardless of the mineral content of the water consumed.
If the mineral concentration in the bodily fluids drops below an acceptable level, the kidneys reabsorb needed minerals and excrete more water. If the mineral concentration is too high, the kidneys release minerals and reabsorb the needed water. This is how the body maintains homeostasis.
This balance of mineral concentration in the body can be upset when the person loses lots of water and minerals due to heavy perspiration. This may occur in hot, humid weather or during extreme physical exercise. Disclaimer - All information and content on this site are for information and educational purposes only.
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Facebook Twitter Pinterest Linkedin. The study also says that the intake of water with low mineral content may be associated with a higher risk of fracture in children and decreased bone density in adults. In addition, the study revealed that cooking with demineralised water caused a huge loss of essential elements from foods.
News A-Z. Water low in calcium may be associated with higher risk of fracture in children, certain neurodegenerative diseases, pre-term birth and low weight at birth. Lack both in calcium and in magnesium can also cause some types of cancer. Over 80 observational epidemiological studies relating hardness and cardiovascular disease risks have been realized and their results had been discussed by experts at the meeting organized by the WHO European Centre in Rome on November , The conclusions are quoted in the WHO report titled: 'Nutrient minerals in drinking-water and the potential health consequences of long-term consumption of demineralized and remineralized and altered mineral content drinking-waters', published in August It was observed a positive protective association between cardiovascular disease mortality and increased water hardness in countries around the world, both for population and on individual-basis.
It was then supposed that these beneficial health effects can possibly be extended to large population groups on a long- term basis by adjusting the water quality. It was pointed out that magnesium and possibly calcium may be effective in reducing blood pressure in hypertensive individuals. Nutritional studies suggest that some other micronutrients may have a beneficial role associated with their presence in drinking water, even is they have not extensively considered in these epidemiological studies yet.
More studies are needed to better understand the possible risks and benefits of essential and trace elements found in water. The discussion group concluded there is sufficient epidemiological evidence of and inverse relationship between magnesium concentration in drinking water and ischemic heart disease mortality, and therefore the reintroduction into demineralised water in the remineralisation process would likely provide health benefits.
There are, in fact, no known harmful human health effects associated with the addition magnesium within a large range and the nutritional benefits are well known.
It is thought that adding calcium provides the same benefits, however, a correlation between calcium in drinking water and decreases in the occurrence of heart disease is not yet proven substantially. The contribution of water to uptake of some essential elements for humans is important because the modern diets are often not an adequate source of some minerals. Moreover these minerals are often present in water as free ions, so they are more readily adsorbed from water compared to food.
Recent epidemiological studies suggest that low mineral drinking water may be a risk factor for hypertension and coronary heart disease, gastric and duodenal ulcers, chronic gastritis, goitre, pregnancy complications and several complications in infants. A study of this kind conducted in by Lutai on two populations living in areas with different levels of dissolved minerals showed that the population of the area supplied with water low in minerals showed higher incident rates of these disease.
Children living in this area exhibited slower physical development and more growth abnormalities, pregnant women suffered more frequently from oedema and anaemia. High loss of calcium, magnesium and other essential elements in food prepared with low mineral water.
If soft water is used for cooking it can cause substantial losses of all essential elements from food. In contrast, if hard water is used, the loss of these elements is much lower. Since the current diet of many people does not provide all the necessary elements in sufficient quantities, it is important to not loose essential elements and nutrients during cooking.
Therefore, in the areas supplied with soft water, we have to take into account not only a lower intake of magnesium and calcium from drinking water but also a lower intake of magnesium and calcium from food due to cooking in such water. Low mineralised water is highly aggressive to materials with which it comes into contact. It easily adsorbs metals and some organic substances from pipes, coatings, storage tanks and containers. Moreover, calcium and magnesium in water and food are known to have an antitoxic activity: they can prevent the absorption of some toxic elements from the intestine into the blood.
Population supplied with low-mineral water may be at a higher risk in terms of adverse effect from exposure to toxic substances compared to populations supplied with water of average mineralization. Calcium and to a lower extent also magnesium in both drinking water and food were previously found to have a beneficial antitoxic effect since they prevent — via either a direct reaction resulting in an no absorbable compound or competition for binding sites — absorption or reduce harmful effects of some toxic elements such heavy metals.
The bacterial re-growth is encouraged by the lack of a residual disinfectant and by the possibly great availability of nutrients in aggressive water, such the low-mineral water, particularly if it has a high temperature. No evidence is available to document harm to human health from harder drinking water. Sensorial disadvantages of hard and soft water Higher water hardness may worsen sensorial characteristics of drinking water or drinks and meals prepared with such water: formation of a layer on the surface of coffee or tea, loss of aromatic substances from meals and drinks due to bonding to calcium carbonate , unpleasant taste of water itself for some consumers.
Very soft water, such as distilled and rain water as two extreme examples, is of unacceptable taste for most people who usually report it to be of unpleasant to soapy taste. A certain minimum content of minerals, the most crucial of which are calcium and magnesium salts, is essential for the pleasant and refreshing taste of drinking water.
Most drinking waters contain some fluoride. Processes such anion exchange, demineralisation and some other treatments which will remove it, affecting its concentration. High levels of excess fluoride intake cause crippling skeletal fluorosis. This is almost always associated with high fluoride intake from drinking water. Ingestion of excess fluoride during tooth development, particularly at the maturation stage, may also result in dental fluorosis.
The optimal drinking water concentration of fluoride for dental health is generally between 0. These values are based on epidemiological studies. The WHO drinking water quality guideline value for fluoride is 1.
A decision to use demineralised water as drinking water sources without addition of fluoride during remineralization will depend upon many factors: the concentration of fluorine in the existing local supply, the volume of water consumed, the prevalence of risk factors for dental caries, oral hygiene practices, level of public dental awareness, presence of alternative vehicles for dental care and fluoride available to the whole population.
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