Are you drinking Reverse Osmosis water? If you don't know read this.

The Real Story Behind Reverse Osmosis and Water softeners

Drinking water – Is it safe to drink?

There are over 2,000 contaminants in the water coming from our water taps, many of them are carcinogenic. This is the water you drink, cook with and shower in. Owning a filtration system for your home is the best way to ensure that the water you drink is clean and healthy. With this said, many of us struggle with what type of system to invest in. First, let's discuss which ones research has shown are not good to invest in.

There are two major processes used to create 100% purified water. These are reverse osmosis and distillation (distilled water). Both systems were designed for industrial use and both create negative health effects.

Distilled water
Distillation is the process in which water is boiled, evaporated and the vapor condensed.

Reverse osmosis - What is it?
Many people invest large amounts of money on reverse osmosis systems. These may have been useful during the cryptosporidium outbreak but, this water is not fit for long-term human consumption.
Osmosis is described as the natural movement of solvent (in this case water) from an area of low solute concentration, through a membrane, to an area of high solute concentration when no external pressure is applied. The membrane here is semi-permeable, meaning it allows the passage of solvent but not of solute.
Reverse osmosis is a separation process whereby pressure is used to unnaturally force water through the semi-permeable membrane to retain contaminants on the one side of the membrane and allowing water to pass to the other side. Anything that is larger than a water molecule cannot pass through including some contaminants but also unfortunately, health giving minerals. This is the reverse of the normal osmosis process. Huge water waste is incurred because only 30 % of the contaminated water being forced through the semi-permeable membrane is filtered and 70% is wasted as runoff!

Why was reverse osmosis developed?
Reverse osmosis was developed over 40 years ago. This process is best known for its use in desalination (removing the salt from sea water to get fresh water), but has also purified naturally occurring freshwater for medical, industrial process and rinsing applications such as used in printing and photo processing companies since the early 1970s. These industries required mineral free water for processing purposes. Although this water continues to be used for these purposes today, it is not healthy for long-term human consumption.

Why reverse osmosis water systems are unhealthy

Reverse osmosis water filtration systems do remove some of the harmful contaminants from your drinking water. However, many of the smaller toxins are not filtered out. In particular, reverse osmosis filtering takes out important trace minerals such as calcium and magnesium and potassium, minerals particularly necessary for a healthy nervous system, bones, joints and tissues and cardiovascular system.

As reverse osmosis water systems strip water of its natural minerals, this has a negative effect on our bodies. Water that lacks minerals is more acidic. Our diets are already generally far too acidic contributing to many inflammatory conditions such as arthritis and kidney stones and gout in a condition known as acidosis.


Water Softeners

What about water softeners?

Those too pose great risk. Yes, we like the feel of the skin after a shower or bath with these units but with what price? The skin is our largest organ in the body and as such maintains an acidic barrier to germs that may try to invade our bodies. But the inside of our bodies are far different; hopefully very alkaline to maintain proper homeostasis ( health balance). When we drink this water it produces very undesirable long-term effects like mentioned here

What causes an acidosis?
Acidosis, also known as auto-intoxication, is a condition of excess acidity in the body tissues and blood as opposed to stomach acid. It has to do with the mineral ash that is left after food is broken down. For example, meat breaks down to uric acid, which is acidic. Acidosis can be measured using urinary and salivary pH strips. Acidosis is common condition in our society due to the typical western diet, which is far too high in acid-forming animal products like meat, eggs and dairy, and far too low in alkaline-producing foods like fresh vegetables.


Acid forming foods are generally high in phosphorus, which causes calcium to be leached from our bones to counter the high phosphorus content. Interestingly, dairy is high in both phosphorus and calcium, which means that neither calcium nor phosphorus will reach the bones. Other acid forming foods include refined white flour, sugar and in particular high phosphorus and high sugar soft drinks. Acidic water does the same thing.

Most people who suffer from unbalanced pH are acidic. This condition forces the body to borrow alkaline minerals—including calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium—from vital organs and bones to buffer (neutralize) the acid and safely remove it from the body. Because of this strain, the body can suffer severe and prolonged damage due to high acidity.

Mild acidosis can cause such problems as:
· Cardiovascular damage, including the constriction of blood vessels and the reduction of oxygen.
· Weight gain, obesity and diabetes.
· Thyroid conditions
· Bladder and kidney conditions, including kidney stones.
· Gout
· Immune deficiency.
· Acceleration of free radical damage, possibly contributing to cancerous mutations.
· Premature aging.
· Osteoporosis; weak, brittle bones, hip fractures and bone spurs.
· Rheumatic disorders including joint pain, aching muscles caused by lactic acid build-up.
· Low energy and chronic fatigue.

A recent seven-year study conducted at the University of California, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, on 9,000 women showed that those who have chronic acidosis are at greater risk for bone loss than those who have normal pH levels. Scientists believe that many of the hip fractures prevalent among middle-aged women are connected to high acidity caused by acidic water and a diet rich in animal foods and low in vegetables as the body takes calcium from the bones in order to balance pH.
Therefore, our body will pull minerals from other areas of our body, such as our teeth and bones to neutralize excess acid. An overabundance of acid also leads to an increase in free radicals which essentially leads to all chronic degenerative diseases including cancer.

What can we do to reduce acidosis?
Of course we need to include less meat, dairy and refined foods in the diet. However another equally important nutritional aspect includes drinking water naturally rich in minerals that is naturally alkaline. Therefore, that’s what we should be putting into our bodies.

Acid forming diets also go beyond just drinking water. Showering in contaminated water is 2 to 3 times more toxic than drinking one glass of unfiltered water. For peace of mind please choose an independent chlorine and heavy metal shower filter and chlorine and heavy metal bath filter This is perfect for babies, small children and adults alike, are simple to install and inexpensive.

As a healthcare consultant, I have personally seen the devastating effects of RO, tap and bottled waters on health. The best solution I have found and recommend is produced by the largest healthcare company in Japan. The Japanese rank #1 in the world in health; the U.S. a sad #43. The main reason for that is the focus on sick-care not on wellness. The Japan Health Research Institute [Nikken] privately owned and founded in 1975 moved their World Headquarters to Irvine, CA in 1999 and have been producing life changing vital energy technologies such as the PiMag Water system.


The best and most affordable solution for drinking water is a water filter that not only eliminates bacteria, chemical and heavy metals but also most importantly maintains the important trace minerals essential for a healthy body. You should look for one that is NSF certified as 42 and 53 (which removes VOC's heavy metals, pesticides etc.)

Water is a living substance; as such it has a structure when destroyed renders the water "dead" or not beneficial to the human body. That is why it is vitally important to drink water that is oxygenated, alkaline, mineral rich, micro-clustered; and water that is readily absorbed in to the body to properly hydrate and create the electrolyte balance and antioxidant benefit through negative ions. you do not have to spend thousands of dollars for these units. Usually you can find them for around $400.
Remember, reverse osmosis water filtration is not ideal for your family's heath . There are much better choices available.

Tina Peters BSHN
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