So let's talk about taking minerals out of drinking water. I had a bit of a head to head with a couple of people on an informational board where a person wrote in asking about a solution for her well water. Without fail the responders recommended she use a softener for the hardness and RO (reverse osmosis) for drinking water. Then they began to discuss the various pros and cons of a couple of systems, one of which was actually called EcoWater. This kind of fried me - because I know all the reasons that softeners and RO are absolutely NOT environmentally friendly or ecologically beneficial (or even benign). So, tell me how can a company who does the following in any way claim to be ECO-anything?
RO water wastes 3-4 gallons for every gallon it produces
Water softeners put harmful chlorides into the environment (whether potassium or sodium)
Water softeners waste even more water by regenerating approximately 2-3 times per week at 50 gallons a pop for an average family of 4 - do the math - that's 100-150 gallons of wasted water a week
Water softeners require regular servicing, using significant fuel for service trucks, and causing increased carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
So that's all about the environmental costs...which sound pretty significant to me, considering ECOsmarte does, like, none of the above.
Thus ensued a varied and spirited discussion about whether ECOsmarte technology was valid and/or effective and why tried and true salt softener/RO combinations are all they could see their (limited) way though to considering. To be fair - they are purveyors of salt/RO systems and I am obviously a purveyor of a new (and superior) technology option. So of course we were debating each other. Then one of the contributors seized on something I wrote about leaving the minerals in the water.
Specifically: "The healthy minerals stay in the water where your body needs them".
His reply:
" I am always a bit confused on the thinking here. What minerals from water do we depend on? I try not to confuse what miniscule[sic] amount of INORGANIC minerals that might be in the water that could possibly replace the organic minerals we get from a proper diet and mineral/vitamin suppliments[sic]. That always seems to be little more than a marketing ploy. I believe that water should be a transporter of nutrients and not a supplier. Unless my doctor prescribes that I drink 14 gallons of HIGH MINERAL content of water, I would never depend on H20 to provide my nutritional daily needs.When I am spurred on to do a bit of research, it's always an exciting time. I mean, you can find out just about anything on the internet. Yet one must be careful because you can find contrasting views on most everything, too. Information obtained from websites that are selling things that benefit from the opinions or "facts" expressed are suspect. Formal studies are preferable, from objective sources. Articles can be tricky - because the person writing the article can have an investment in what they say being true, no matter how seemingly official the place you find the article. So imagine my delight when I found a study by the World Health Organization (no less), on the health aspects of calcium and magnesium in drinking water and the potential health consequences of long term consumption of demineralized, remineralized and altered mineral content drinking waters. Excerpts:
“Over 80 observational epidemiological studies have been reported in the published literature since 1957 (Calderon) relating water hardness and cardiovascular disease risks. Most, but not all of the studies found an inverse (protective) association between cardiovascular disease mortality and increased water hardness (measured by calcium carbonate or another hardness parameter and/or the calcium and magnesium content of the water. ….The group concluded that there is sufficient epidemiological evidence of an inverse relationship between calcium and magnesium concentrations in drinking water and ischemic heart disease mortality, and that consumption of water containing calcium and magnesium, and therefore all the reintroduction of Mg and Ca into demineralized water in the remineralization process would likely provide health benefits in those consumer populations. ….In addition, limited but suggestive evidence exists for benefits associated with other diseases (stroke, renal stone formation, cognitive impairment in the elderly, very low birth weight, bone fractures among children, pregnancy complications, hypertension and possibly some cancers). Hard water is a reliable and stable source of calcium and sometimes magnesium although the absolute and relative concentrations will vary greatly by source. Consumption of moderately hard water containing typical amounts of calcium and magnesium may provide an important incremental percentage of their daily intake. Inadequate total dietary intakes of calcium and magnesium are common worldwide. Therefore, an incremental contribution from drinking water can be an important supplement to approach more ideal total daily intakes. Moreover, hard water can reduce the losses of calcium, magnesium and other essential minerals from food during cooking. If low mineralized water is used for food and beverage production, reduced levels of Ca, Mg and other essential elements would also occur in those products. Low intakes would occur not only because of the lower contribution of these minerals from water used in beverages, but also because of the high losses of the minerals from food products (e.g. vegetables, cereals, potatoes, or meat) into water during cooking.”Leave the minerals in, people! Stop wasting huge amounts of water with RO and water softeners. Stop putting chlorides into the environment. ECOsmarte Water is your solution.
