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Comment by rkagerer | Hacker News Reader

Do you somehow remineralize the water? I thought drinking distilled water long term is bad for you?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distilled_water#Drinking_dis...

I feel comfortable getting all my calcium, magnesium, and iron through my daily amount of vegetables. I don't think I'm lacking in any of those that the trace amounts added to drinking water will help me.

From your article:

"Distillation removes all minerals from water. This results in demineralised water, which has not been proven to be healthier than drinking water. The World Health Organization investigated the health effects of demineralised water in 1982, and its experiments in humans found that demineralised water increased diuresis and the elimination of electrolytes, with decreased serum potassium concentration.[citation needed] Magnesium, calcium, and other nutrients in water can help to protect against nutritional deficiency. Recommendations for magnesium have been put at a minimum of 10 mg/L with 20–30 mg/L optimum; for calcium a 20 mg/L minimum and a 40–80 mg/L optimum, and a total water hardness (adding magnesium and calcium) of 2–4 mmol/L. At water hardness above 5 mmol/L, higher incidence of gallstones, kidney stones, urinary stones, arthrosis, and arthropathies have been observed.[citation needed] For fluoride the concentration recommended for dental health is 0.5–1.0 mg/L, with a maximum guideline value of 1.5 mg/L to avoid dental fluorosis.[17]"

I have gotten used to the taste of my Zerowater filter and so I got worried when I saw your comment. Maybe its better to drink the clean water and supplement with electrolytes and vitamins/minerals. That way you control all the parameters vs leaving it up to chance.

No need to panic. I also use a Zerowater filter. I'd be worried about drinking distilled water after exercising or in high heat because it can lead to hyponatremia -- low blood sodium levels (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise-associated_hyponatrem...). Because your body is sweating, you're losing a lot of salt that your body needs. Drinking distilled water will pull even more solute out of those cells as the solute chases water (i.e. the cells are hypertonic) until its in steady state, but of course it needs to replenish what has been

However, during normal daily activity and by eating, you're supplementing your body with enough salt (and other solutes) to compensate for what isn't in your distilled water.

Now it's a totally different question whether we're getting PFAs out of our water with the Zerowater filters. That should rightfully incite some panic.

>Now it's a totally different question whether we're getting PFAs out of our water with the Zerowater filters. That should rightfully incite some panic.

They recently sent me an email claiming that they remove 95% of PFOA and PFOS

https://zerowater.com/pages/results

I am an avid athlete and spend a lot of time sweating outdoors. I already have to supplement regular tap water with additional sodium and potassium, so it's no change for me to supplement my distilled water with slightly more. An earlier comment I said I don't add anything, which is usually true, but I do add those minerals when I'm bringing water for exercise.

I went with a still because I wanted to be sure it's "just water". I feel like even if it did filter out the microplastics there's some other things it won't, so the simplest thing was just to ensure it's only water. No lead, no plastics, no plastic filters, no mercury, etc.

I would be worried only if on some obscure long term diet of minimal food and excessive amounts of such water. Imagine how much stuff you are getting with all your regular meals into your stomach, it mixes immediately all up and makes that rather pure water much less pure.

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