this post was submitted on 05 Apr 2024
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Drinking pure H2O isn't good for you. As far as I know it could even be deadly. But what if you had a pill with all the minerals usually dissolved in water and washed it down with a nice big glass of distilled water? Would it be more or less the same as drinking tap water? Or would you need more time to dissolve the minerals? What if you threw the pill into the H2O and stirred?

Or am I missing something entirely? I think someone on Lemmy even explained to me the other day what is so bad about distilled water. But I'm stupid today and forgot.

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[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

It is recommended by Mayo Clinic that men drink 3.7 litres of water a day and for women that recommendation is 2.7 litres per day, which constitutes "several litres". https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256#:~:text=About%2015.5%20cups%20(3.7%20liters,fluids%20a%20day%20for%20women

Go ahead and quantify that risk.

That isn't my job and neither is it yours. If the WHO says that the risk of water intoxication is greater the purer the water is, then I'm inclined to believe that what they are saying is true, especially given that the topic in which those statements are said in concerns the health risks of drinking demineralized water. The additional risk is significant enough to warrant a mention. The difference between the percentage of Hโ‚‚O of tap water and ultrapure water is very small and seemingly insignificant, and yet ultrapure water can do things that normal water cannot, such as dissolving metal. So I'm not sure I understand the notion that because there's a tiny difference chemically, that would translate to a tiny difference in how the solvent behaves physically.

youโ€™ve misrepresented WHO

What did I misrepresent?

[โ€“] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

They also recommend 2300mg of sodium, maximum. The average American consumes 3400mg a day.

The difference between the percentage of Hโ‚‚O of tap water and ultrapure water is very small and seemingly insignificant, and yet ultrapure water can do things that normal water cannot, such as dissolving metal.

I've replaced too many galvanized pipes for you to tell me that tap water cannot dissolve metal.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

We aren't talking about galvanized pipes. We're talking about distilled water in large amounts being bad for you. If you feel that what the WHO and Neil DeGrasse Tyson said is inaccurate or misleading, then I'm sure there are various ways to contact them and see what they have to say. There's only so many ways I can explain things to people before it gets tiring. Have a good day.

[โ€“] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

You're talking about a carbon steel wrench that rusted away on the bottom of a stainless steel tank due to Galvanic corrosion. It is an extremely common problem for submerged metals. It is usually mitigated by sacrificial zinc anodes, which are slowly dissolved byb the water, protecting submerged structural and mechanical conponents of boats, ships, pipelines, and structures.

The claim from that article is bogus. It was written by someone who does not understand what they are talking about, for an audience that doesn't care.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Rust and corrosion โ‰  dissolving. We don't say that we corrode table salt in water. Like I said, if you think that you know better than the World Health Organization and Neil DeGrasse Tyson on this topic feel free to contact them and see what they have to say.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Neither WHO nor Tyson claimed that pure water dissolves metal. That claim came from an article you linked about a Japanese science project, which uses a large tank of pure water as part of a neutrino detector. The entire article was a B-story to that neutrino detection project.

Between the author and the translator, the distinction between "dissolve" and "corrode" went missing. Context restores it for anyone who recognizes the conditions present in that tank. That was simple galvanic corrosion, not some mysterious property imbued on water by distillation or reverse osmosis filtration. The exact same process occurs within fresh water and within water in which considerable amounts of electrolytes and minerals are dissolved (salt water).