Which Water is the Healthiest?                                                                                                                  

Distilled, Tap, Reverse Osmosis, Filtered?

When considering the benefits of home water filtration products over tap

and bottled water, first keep in mind that there are no bad systems.

Any water filter is better than no filter.

The important thing to learn is simply which product produces the

healthiest water and represents the best value. Quality home

water filtration can offer significantly better water than tap or

bottled water at a fraction of the cost.

Determining the best system is a simple matter of

comparing the product's performance to other alternatives.

The performance of a particular water filtration system can

be easily verified by reviewing its Performance Data Sheet,

which lists all the contaminants it is certified to remove and

to what degree. The law in  California and several other

states requires that this information be included as part of

the company's literature along with the ongoing replacement

cartridge cost, and that a copy be enclosed with each product.

Typically this information will be available on a manufacturers

web site unless the company is not too proud of it. Some

manufacturers do not make this information readily available,

as it allows easy comparison with other legitimate products.

By comparing each products contaminant reduction capabilities,

system cost and ongoing cost per gallon, it is easy to determine

which product best fits your needs.

Top 10 Brands Comparison

It is also important to look at the advantages and disadvantages

of other products or technologies even though they are not

leading brands; such is the case with reverse osmosis and

distillation systems. Although none of the leading brands

employ either of these demineralization techniques, as their

popularity has declined in recent years, there is an ongoing

debate over the healthfulness of demineralized water vs. filtered

water with minerals. While there are studies that argue both

sides of this debate, after 15 years of specialized study of

water quality and health, we feel that drinking naturally balanced

water with minerals instead of demineralized water just makes more sense.

From a non-scientific perspective, the simple fact that nowhere

on this planet do we find naturally occurring demineralized water,

should tell us that we were not meant to have it. In nature all fresh

water contains traces of natural minerals like calcium, magnesium

and potassium, which is what the body was designed to run on and

what the Aquasana system provides.

On a more scientific level, there are several very credible research

reports and books that stress the more recent opinion that long-

term consumption of demineralized water can in fact be dangerous.

Dr. Zolton Rona, author of The Joy of Health, states that "the longer

one consumes distilled water, the more likely the development of

mineral deficiencies and an acid state." Dr. Paavo Airola, cancer expert

and author of How to Get Well, and Cancer... Causes, Prevention and

Healing also reports that "long-term consumption of distilled water

eventually results in multiple mineral deficiencies." After a multi year

study, the World Health Organization concludes that "drinking water

should contain minimum levels of certain essential minerals."

Two very negative things happen when we consume water that has

been stripped of its natural minerals. First, because demineralized

water contains more hydrogen it is an acid with a pH below 7. Any

time we consume an acid substance, our bodies will pull minerals

from our teeth and bones to produce bicarbonate in order to neutralize

the acid. Second, it has been proven that when body fluids become

more acid than alkaline the production of free radicals increases,

causing an increased risk of cancer. Many studies suggest that cancer

cells can grow only in an acid environment. This theory seems to be

supported by the fact that around the world, the areas where people

live the longest, most disease-free lives are the areas that have the

most alkaline water, water with the highest mineral content.

Reverse osmosis and distillation were first developed over 40 years

ago for the printing and photo processing industries, which require

mineral free water. Because of the popularity of and demand for

home water treatment products many companies have marketed

these products as "state-of-the-art" drinking water systems,

which they simply are not. Often these products are marketed

by using a demonstration that measures the TDS (total dissolved solids)

and implies that this measurement shows the systems effectiveness

at removing contaminants. TDS meters measure the dissolved

minerals in water, primarily calcium and magnesium, and have

little or nothing to do with contaminant levels.

Point-of-Use Distillation:
This process passes water over a heated coil, causing the water

to vaporize and become gaseous. The steam then rises and transfers

to a cooling chamber, where it condenses back into a liquid. This

process separates water from inorganic compounds like lead, calcium,

magnesium, etc. Distillation also destroys bacteria. This process is

not very effective at removing organic chemicals, since they typically

vaporize at a lower temperature than water does and are transferred

in the steam. A distiller should always be used in conjunction with a

carbon filter. Distillers produce water at a very slow rate and at a

per-gallon cost of 20 to 26 cents a gallon.

Reverse Osmosis (R.O.):
This is a process that exposes water under pressure to a semi

permeable membrane with a very fine pore structure. Because

most inorganic contaminants have a larger molecular size than

water, the membrane rejects certain contaminants, minerals

and a large part of the water. The portion of water that passes

through the membrane is stripped of inorganic compounds and

trace minerals. Because many synthetic chemicals, such as

herbicides and pesticides are smaller, molecularly, than water,

an R.O. system must also be used in conjunction with a carbon

filter. R.O. systems require adequate water pressure and

extensive maintenance. Because most point-of-use R.O. systems

produce less than 1 gallon per hour, they require a diaphragmed

storage tank. Reverse osmosis typically wastes 2 to 3 gallons of

water for every gallon it produces and costs 18 to 24 cents per gallon.

Pitchers and Carafe-Style Filters:
In recent years these types of filters have emerged as low-cost

alternatives to tap water and bottled water. Keeping in mind

that any filter is better than no filter, these products are by far

the least effective and the most costly to use. Pitchers and

carafe filters are sold on the "Polaroid principle"... sell the

camera cheap and make it up on the film sales. The result

is the same with these pour-through pitcher filters: lower

quality at a higher price. The average pitcher filter sells for

around $25 and includes one 30-gallon cartridge. Because

of the small size of these cartridges, they have very limited

effectiveness and a low capacity. While pour-through filters

do offer a slightly improved alternative to tap water, they by

no means offer the quality, convenience and economy of the

Aquasana system.

Carbon Block and Granular Carbon Filters:
These are the most common styles of countertop and

under-the-sink systems (point of use). Granular carbon filters

and carbon block systems use the same process of contaminant

removal, adsorption, by which the contaminant bonds chemically

or physically to the surface of the filter medium. Activated

carbon is recognized by the U.S. EPA as the best available

technology for filtering VOCs and THMs.

Multi-media block filters, like the Aquasana system, utilize

the benefits of activated carbon with several added advantages.

A blended media is extruded or compressed into a solid form

with a sub-micron pore structure to filter out sediment and cysts

like Cryptosporidium and Giardia. This configuration also prevents

water from channeling around the filter media.

For best performance it is essential that a multi stage process.

Click the Above Banner to SAVE 20%