Is RO/DI Water Bad for You?
Some advertisements tout the benefits of Reverse Osmosis and/or Deionization, while others claim they are un-healthful. What are the scientific reasons behind the various seemingly contradictory claims? In order to understand the claims, it is first necessary to have a basic understanding of what these devices do. Reverse Osmosis is accomplished with a plastic membrane that has tiny holes. Only very small molecules like water can pass through easily. Larger molecules such as salt, are too large to pass through, thus water that has been filtered by RO is water with most of the salt and other contaminants removed. Deionization is a process that uses small plastic beads to adsorb salt from water. Unlike RO, deionization acts as an ionic sponge. Salts and other contaminants are adsorbed into the sponge. When the sponge is filled with salt, the cartridge is exhausted and must be replaced.
The primary purpose of both Reverse Osmosis and Deionization systems is to remove salt from water. Yet our bodies need traces of salt to be healthy. Without trace amounts of salt in our diets we will surely become sick. How then can salt removal be healthful? The fact is that most of us eat packaged foods that are loaded with salt. Just as too little salt will make us sick, too much salt will also make us sick. Our problem is not getting enough salt in our diet but, it is reducing our salt intake. Both RO and DI remove sodium, which is known to contribute to high blood pressure. Overall, the removal of sodium and other salt that we don’t need is healthful, not harmful.
One point of note is that a small amount of salt in water makes the water taste sweet. This is why spring water tastes so good. Deionization removes all the salt, sometimes leaving the water tasting metallic or flat. In this respect, RO is a better choice for drinking water, since RO leaves a small amount of salt in the filtered water.
Their secondary purpose of RO and DI systems is to remove heavy metals and other poisonous contaminants. The healthful effect of removing poison from drinking water cannot be questioned. DI removes virtually 100% of contaminants such as lead, radioactivity, arsenic, nitrate, etc. Since many drinking water supplies contain trace amounts of these poisons, deionization is the most effective of all methods to remove them. RO is not quite as effective as DI to remove dissolved poisons but can also remove poisons that are suspended in the water.
Overall, both RO and DI systems have been proven scientifically to remove harmful contaminants from water, with no unhealthful effects.
Some advertisements tout the benefits of Reverse Osmosis and/or Deionization, while others claim they are un-healthful. What are the scientific reasons behind the various seemingly contradictory claims? In order to understand the claims, it is first necessary to have a basic understanding of what these devices do. Reverse Osmosis is accomplished with a plastic membrane that has tiny holes. Only very small molecules like water can pass through easily. Larger molecules such as salt, are too large to pass through, thus water that has been filtered by RO is water with most of the salt and other contaminants removed. Deionization is a process that uses small plastic beads to adsorb salt from water. Unlike RO, deionization acts as an ionic sponge. Salts and other contaminants are adsorbed into the sponge. When the sponge is filled with salt, the cartridge is exhausted and must be replaced.
The primary purpose of both Reverse Osmosis and Deionization systems is to remove salt from water. Yet our bodies need traces of salt to be healthy. Without trace amounts of salt in our diets we will surely become sick. How then can salt removal be healthful? The fact is that most of us eat packaged foods that are loaded with salt. Just as too little salt will make us sick, too much salt will also make us sick. Our problem is not getting enough salt in our diet but, it is reducing our salt intake. Both RO and DI remove sodium, which is known to contribute to high blood pressure. Overall, the removal of sodium and other salt that we don’t need is healthful, not harmful.
One point of note is that a small amount of salt in water makes the water taste sweet. This is why spring water tastes so good. Deionization removes all the salt, sometimes leaving the water tasting metallic or flat. In this respect, RO is a better choice for drinking water, since RO leaves a small amount of salt in the filtered water.
Their secondary purpose of RO and DI systems is to remove heavy metals and other poisonous contaminants. The healthful effect of removing poison from drinking water cannot be questioned. DI removes virtually 100% of contaminants such as lead, radioactivity, arsenic, nitrate, etc. Since many drinking water supplies contain trace amounts of these poisons, deionization is the most effective of all methods to remove them. RO is not quite as effective as DI to remove dissolved poisons but can also remove poisons that are suspended in the water.
Overall, both RO and DI systems have been proven scientifically to remove harmful contaminants from water, with no unhealthful effects.
