Fact check: Does distilled water strimp minerals from your body?

1. Summary of the results

The claim that distilled water "strips" minerals from your body is oversimplified and requires important context. While a WHO report indicates that low-mineral water can potentially impact mineral homeostasis and affect certain mineral concentrations in the body ^[1], multiple medical professionals, including Dr. Andrew Weil, strongly support the safety of distilled water consumption ^[2]. Cornell University experts explicitly state that distilled water does NOT leach minerals from the body ^[3].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several crucial pieces of context are missing from the original question:

• The primary source of minerals is our diet, not water ^{[4] [4] [4]}
• While distilled water does lack minerals like calcium, sodium, and magnesium ^[5], this becomes significant only in specific circumstances:
• Long-term exclusive consumption of low-mineral water may have adverse effects ^[6]
• Some studies link low-mineral water to symptoms like tiredness and muscle weakness ^[5]

Distilled water can technically pull small amounts of minerals from materials it touches ^[6], but this is not a significant health risk for healthy adults with balanced diets

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question reflects a common misconception that:

• Oversimplifies a complex physiological process
• Ignores the role of balanced diet in mineral intake
• Creates unnecessary fear about distilled water consumption

Several groups might benefit from promoting or dispelling this narrative:

• Mineral water companies benefit from promoting fears about distilled water
• Water purification companies benefit from emphasizing distilled water's safety
• Health supplement companies might benefit from concerns about mineral deficiency

The scientific consensus, supported by multiple medical professionals ^[2] and Cornell University experts ^[3], indicates that for healthy individuals maintaining a balanced diet, distilled water consumption is safe and does not pose a significant risk to mineral levels in the body.