Water Treatment: Water and Salt
In its simplest form, water is a molecule made up of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen. Humans are 75% water and our brains are 85% water. Water is an essential component of life. This article will explore the role of salt, what is healthy drinking water and how do we get it?
Most modern drinking water comes from rivers and ground water, is processed through a municipal plant and then is distributed to us through various means, including bottled water. Various minerals, contaminants and chemicals find their way into the drinking water system from dissolving minerals, run off, atmospheric pollution, irrigation, spillages and treatment. The current recommendations for water intake are 8, eight ounce glasses per day. This amount should be sufficient for most healthy persons who do not live in a hot, humid environment. If you do physical work or exercise you should drink more water, more often. (Source: Dietician.com). To balance the body chemistry you should also consume approximately 6 grams of salt to match the recommended daily water intake.
To understand what healthy drinking water is we need to take a look at salt. Why salt? Salt is a natural adversary to many fungus, bacteria and virus and our bodies are dependent upon an intake of salt in combination with water that is the medium of communication between our cells. Many studies have shown that the percentages of various salts and the pH balance of Sea Water is approximately the same as human blood. In fact, during World War II, Navy doctors would use sea water for blood transfusions when blood supplies ran out.
Refined salt, one of the world’s most common industrial compounds is comprised of as high as 99% sodium chloride. The remaining 1% are usually substances that make it free-flowing (anti-caking agents) such as sodium silicoaluminate, magnesium carbonate, potassium iodide and sugar. (Source: Wikipedia). Unrefined sea salt contains 98.0 % NaCl (sodium-chloride) and 2.0% other minerals (salts): Epsom salts and other Magnesium salts, Calcium salts, Potassium (Kalium) salts, Manganese salts, Phosphorus salts, Iodine salts, all together over 100 minerals composed of 80 chemical elements (source Curezone.com). So it makes sense that healthy water should have salt in it, in fact “Pure water is tasteless and odorless so salt needs to be added to make it palatable. To create DASANI, Coca-Cola bottlers start with the local water supply, which is then filtered for purity using a state-of-the-art process called reverse osmosis (RO). The purified water is then enhanced with a special blend of minerals for a pure, fresh taste.” (Source: Coca-Cola Website)
RO removes all of the salt, and does not remove all of the hydrocarbons, chlorines and pharmaceuticals, simply put it takes out the minerals (salts) that we do want to consume and does not remove all of the contaminants that we do not want to consume.So there is no such thing as pure water. It’s a myth. Natural water has mineral content. By removing minerals, water becomes acidic and aggressive, meaning it will seek to replace the minerals removed. Water treated by either distillation or RO will become acidic upon contact with airborne carbon dioxide which reacts with the water, taking the place of the removed minerals or contaminants.
Because water is a universal solvent, rainwater collects particles and chemicals even as it’s falling. Geological strata only add more to the composition the minerals and trace elements of the local area give each water its distinct terroir. Underground geology may filter water for decades or even millennia; when the water finally emerges at the source, it may not be pure, but it is nevertheless clean and healthy. Clean, healthy water does not have to be pure. In fact, the waters with the most epicurean interest contain minerals and trace elements. (Source: Fine Water Website). Groundwater also contains the following contaminants; Chlorinated Solvents, Hydrocarbons, toxic and Radioactive waste, pharmaceuticals, arsenic, ammonium, cyanide, phosphorous, boron and others (Source: US Geological Survey). Of course it contains the naturally occurring minerals and trace elements (salt) that it dissolves from the earth and ultimately makes up the unique salt combination sans the contaminants that now occurs in our oceans, which is essential to life as we know it. Of interest at this point is the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s annual report on water quality note that the contaminants listed are only the ones that are regulated by the Federal or State Government.
So how do we take urban water (which incidentally includes most commercially bottled water) that has many different compounds in it, some we require and some we would want avoid and make it into the healthiest water possible for us? There are established treatment technologies for each type of compound that can be in water. Since municipal delivery water has the highest level of regulation of any water, is the most commonly available and is delivered in sufficient quantities for a home treatment system, we will look at how to make it as safe and healthy as possible. Assuming you have soft to moderately hard water we will want to leave the salts in the water, this rules out the use of RO, since RO is specifically designed to remove salt. Dirt, sediment, rust and turbidity should be removed through the use of a particulate filter, 5 micron Filter are commonly available at your local hardware store. Pharmaceuticals, Hydrocarbons and Chlorines should be removed by Carbon filtration, again commonly available. Micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa and algae should be removed by UV light. If the water is more than moderately hard then a non salt water softener should be used (as we would not want to replace the natural salts with refined salt) prior to the preceding items. The benefits of a (Softener)/Filtration/Carbon/UV treatment system is that there is no water wasted, no chemicals to add, it takes out the compounds we want to avoid and leaves in the life giving salts that our bodies need to function properly.
Most modern drinking water comes from rivers and ground water, is processed through a municipal plant and then is distributed to us through various means, including bottled water. Various minerals, contaminants and chemicals find their way into the drinking water system from dissolving minerals, run off, atmospheric pollution, irrigation, spillages and treatment. The current recommendations for water intake are 8, eight ounce glasses per day. This amount should be sufficient for most healthy persons who do not live in a hot, humid environment. If you do physical work or exercise you should drink more water, more often. (Source: Dietician.com). To balance the body chemistry you should also consume approximately 6 grams of salt to match the recommended daily water intake.
To understand what healthy drinking water is we need to take a look at salt. Why salt? Salt is a natural adversary to many fungus, bacteria and virus and our bodies are dependent upon an intake of salt in combination with water that is the medium of communication between our cells. Many studies have shown that the percentages of various salts and the pH balance of Sea Water is approximately the same as human blood. In fact, during World War II, Navy doctors would use sea water for blood transfusions when blood supplies ran out.
Refined salt, one of the world’s most common industrial compounds is comprised of as high as 99% sodium chloride. The remaining 1% are usually substances that make it free-flowing (anti-caking agents) such as sodium silicoaluminate, magnesium carbonate, potassium iodide and sugar. (Source: Wikipedia). Unrefined sea salt contains 98.0 % NaCl (sodium-chloride) and 2.0% other minerals (salts): Epsom salts and other Magnesium salts, Calcium salts, Potassium (Kalium) salts, Manganese salts, Phosphorus salts, Iodine salts, all together over 100 minerals composed of 80 chemical elements (source Curezone.com). So it makes sense that healthy water should have salt in it, in fact “Pure water is tasteless and odorless so salt needs to be added to make it palatable. To create DASANI, Coca-Cola bottlers start with the local water supply, which is then filtered for purity using a state-of-the-art process called reverse osmosis (RO). The purified water is then enhanced with a special blend of minerals for a pure, fresh taste.” (Source: Coca-Cola Website)
RO removes all of the salt, and does not remove all of the hydrocarbons, chlorines and pharmaceuticals, simply put it takes out the minerals (salts) that we do want to consume and does not remove all of the contaminants that we do not want to consume.So there is no such thing as pure water. It’s a myth. Natural water has mineral content. By removing minerals, water becomes acidic and aggressive, meaning it will seek to replace the minerals removed. Water treated by either distillation or RO will become acidic upon contact with airborne carbon dioxide which reacts with the water, taking the place of the removed minerals or contaminants.
Because water is a universal solvent, rainwater collects particles and chemicals even as it’s falling. Geological strata only add more to the composition the minerals and trace elements of the local area give each water its distinct terroir. Underground geology may filter water for decades or even millennia; when the water finally emerges at the source, it may not be pure, but it is nevertheless clean and healthy. Clean, healthy water does not have to be pure. In fact, the waters with the most epicurean interest contain minerals and trace elements. (Source: Fine Water Website). Groundwater also contains the following contaminants; Chlorinated Solvents, Hydrocarbons, toxic and Radioactive waste, pharmaceuticals, arsenic, ammonium, cyanide, phosphorous, boron and others (Source: US Geological Survey). Of course it contains the naturally occurring minerals and trace elements (salt) that it dissolves from the earth and ultimately makes up the unique salt combination sans the contaminants that now occurs in our oceans, which is essential to life as we know it. Of interest at this point is the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s annual report on water quality note that the contaminants listed are only the ones that are regulated by the Federal or State Government.
So how do we take urban water (which incidentally includes most commercially bottled water) that has many different compounds in it, some we require and some we would want avoid and make it into the healthiest water possible for us? There are established treatment technologies for each type of compound that can be in water. Since municipal delivery water has the highest level of regulation of any water, is the most commonly available and is delivered in sufficient quantities for a home treatment system, we will look at how to make it as safe and healthy as possible. Assuming you have soft to moderately hard water we will want to leave the salts in the water, this rules out the use of RO, since RO is specifically designed to remove salt. Dirt, sediment, rust and turbidity should be removed through the use of a particulate filter, 5 micron Filter are commonly available at your local hardware store. Pharmaceuticals, Hydrocarbons and Chlorines should be removed by Carbon filtration, again commonly available. Micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa and algae should be removed by UV light. If the water is more than moderately hard then a non salt water softener should be used (as we would not want to replace the natural salts with refined salt) prior to the preceding items. The benefits of a (Softener)/Filtration/Carbon/UV treatment system is that there is no water wasted, no chemicals to add, it takes out the compounds we want to avoid and leaves in the life giving salts that our bodies need to function properly.
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