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Home > Blog > Adrenal Health > Is Distilled Water Better?

An image of water splashing into a womans handsYour body is made up of about 60 percent water, which is why itā€™s so important that you replenish this stock with the cleanest, healthiest water possible. This not only keeps you hydrated, but it can also help you heal from disorders such as Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS), which can be exacerbated by drinking water that contains contaminants and other potentially problematic substances. Thatā€™s why itā€™s good to look into whether distilled water can be good for you or not.

What is Distilled Water?

Distilled water is not what comes from your tap. If you live in a western country, this water is usually processed to be safe for use, but it isnā€™t distilled. The distillation process is fairly simple. The water is boiled until it becomes steam, and then it is cooled down to its original liquid state. During this process, contaminants such as heavy metals and inorganic minerals are left behind. Basically, theyā€™re too heavy to turn into steam. So once the steam is cooled and turns back into water again, itā€™s much cleaner than it was at the start of the process. Because of the extreme heat during the distillation process, distilled water is very pure, which is why itā€™s used in medical clinics, laboratories, and perfumeries.

Distilling water before you drink it can be highly beneficial if you have brown water or if youā€™re concerned about the contents of the water in your area. You can buy a water distiller for your home and make sure that your entire family enjoys the benefits of cleaner, purer water. This will not only benefit your health overall, but it may also help in your battle against AFS because it will aid in better detoxification and benefit your health in other ways as well.

How AFS Affects Detoxification

Your detoxification circuit is an essential part of your body. It includes the immune system, the interstitium, and the liver, and itā€™s responsible for removing toxins, metabolites, and other harmful substances from your body. Usually, the three organs act in unison in this system to attack harmful substances, move them to the liver, and then expel them. But when you have AFS, this balance breaks down.

AFS is caused by prolonged periods of stress which cause the adrenal glands to become fatigued. The adrenals are part of the NeuroEndoMetabolic Stress Response, your bodyā€™s global response to stress. When stress becomes chronic, this stress response is overused and results in adrenal fatigue. And when the adrenals start to break down, it affects every organ and circuit in the body. The adrenals excrete the stress hormone cortisol, which makes changes throughout the body that prepare it to fight or flee from the source of the stress. This is the reason for the widespread dysfunctions that occur when the adrenals produce too much cortisol as the body is demanding.

An image of the word detox formed with fruits and vegetablesThe detoxification circuit often becomes dysfunctional in the early stages of AFS and this can become a vicious circle. Stress causes inflammation, a reaction prompted by the immune system thatā€™s designed to rid the body of the cause of the stress. However, when the stress is chronic, the immune system stays active and continues to cause inflammation that actually starts to hurt the body rather than help it. This causes a toxic build up in the interstitium or the extracellular matrix that the liver struggles to cope with and expel. And this situation only causes further stress as well as potentially devastating physical symptoms. When this occurs, it will rapidly affect your long-term health and your quality of life.

Healing the detoxification circuit means lowering your stress levels to give the circuit the time and space to balance itself again. Depending on your situation, this can take some serious lifestyle changes. But one of the first changes you need to make is to improve your diet and cut out any substances that could be causing additional stress. And improving the quality of the water you drink could be an important part of that process.

How to Cut Down on Toxins with Distilled Water

An absolutely vital part of AFS recovery is the removal of toxins (which lead to stress) from your diet. Toxins can come in a variety of forms. They can be present in the foods you eat, particularly if you consume a lot of processed foods. But food doesnā€™t have to be processed to cause your body stress. Even seemingly healthy foods such as fish can contain high levels of mercury and cause stress to your body and affect your health over the long term. Thatā€™s why you need to be aware of the potential drawbacks of what you put in your body.

Drinking distilled water can help you cut down on the amount of toxins you consume, which will help to rebalance your detoxification circuit. Here are some of the ways that drinking distilled water will reduce your bodyā€™s toxic load:

It removes contaminants.

Water can become contaminated by heavy metals and pesticides, all of which affect your health and can cause or exacerbate AFS. Fortunately, the extreme heat and evaporation process used during distillation will remove most of these toxins.

It can remove water-borne diseases.

Water is the perfect breeding ground for a number of parasites and bacteria. And once you drink this contaminated water, the parasites can start to breed inside of your body. Drinking distilled water will remove most of these tiny bugs from your water and prevent you from developing some of these potentially very dangerous waterborne diseases. If you have chronic infections such as Lyme disease, this is more important, as bacteria and parasites cause more internal stress, further activation of your immune system, and worsen the dysregulation of the detoxification circuit.

It removes dangerous chemicals.

The water you drink may contain some very dangerous chemicals. For example, fluoride is often used at processing plants to clean the water before consumption. Fluoride is often used to clean swimming pools and should not be consumed, even in minute amounts. Chlorine is another chemical used during the cleaning process, and this can combine with other compounds to create chemicals that have been linked to a higher risk of developing cancer. Any chemical that enters your body through the water you drink has to be removed by your detoxification circuit. And if this circuit is malfunctioning, it can cause a chemical build-up, which will worsen the circuit malfunction and your overall health.

Benefits of Drinking Distilled Water

An image of distilled waterThere are a number of other benefits to drinking distilled water. These will benefit your whole body health and help in your AFS recovery. Some of these benefits may also help to reduce your stress levels and rebalance your detoxification circuit, which will further alleviate symptoms of AFS. These benefits include:

Water improves natural detoxification.

When your detoxification circuit becomes unbalanced it will result in a toxic build up in your body. The only way to get rid of these waste products is to flush them from your system. You can use teas and other drinks to do this, but water is the best way. And by drinking distilled water, youā€™ll be detoxifying and rehydrating your body with the purest water possible rather than with water that could be hiding potentially harmful substances.

Clearer organs improve digestion.

When your body is filled with toxins, it is much more difficult for your organs to function correctly. This is what happens when you have AFS. The toxic build-up can cause organs to malfunction and result in digestive problems such as constipation and diarrhea. Drinking distilled water helps to clean out your system, reduce the toxic load, and allow your organs to function more efficiently. And that can make for better digestion, which means that your body may start to absorb more vitamins and minerals from the food you eat, improving your overall health. This will also encourage your body to start the healing process, which is essential to your AFS recovery.

Troubling symptoms could be caused by water chemicals.

If you often experience symptoms such as headaches or brain fog, it could be because of the toxins or chemicals in the water youā€™re drinking. By making the change to distilled water, you may be able to eliminate one potential cause of troubling symptoms and enjoy better health. But note that drinking distilled water and over-detoxing can also lead to symptoms like increased brain fog due to the metabolite overload.

Clean water improves the health of your hair and skin.

Water isnā€™t just for drinking; you also bathe and shower in it. And if your water contains contaminants, this can seriously affect the health and the appearance of your skin and hair. Chlorine, in particular, can cause reactions in people with sensitive skin, but other minerals can also build-up on your hair and skin. This will cause your hair to look dry and dull and may cause skin breakouts. All of these problems can be avoided by using distilled water in the shower.

Thus, drinking distilled water can have several benefits for your health. However, like any lifestyle change, you need to be careful when you adopt this strategy as it can negatively impact your health in some cases.

The Cons of Drinking Distilled Water

There is concern in some circles that drinking distilled water may have a negative impact on your health. This is connected to the loss of minerals such as calcium and magnesium, which are naturally present in water. These essential compounds are removed during the distillation process, which some say could lead to problems with mineral deficiency. However, this concern is minimal. These minerals exist in very small amounts in tap water, which is why it shouldnā€™t be relied upon as a primary source. As long as you eat a healthy, nutrient-rich diet, you should be able to get all the minerals you need, so making the change to distilled water shouldnā€™t be an issue in this regard.

Another issue associated with distilled water is acidity. The distillation process makes water more absorbent, which means that it naturally absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and becomes a carbonic acid solution. Drinking this solution can cause your body to become more acidic, increasing the risk of developing heartburn or indigestion. This is particularly problematic if you have AFS because stress naturally increases the acidity of your body and can cause indigestion on its own. In this case, drinking distilled water may worsen these problems or bring on additional symptoms. This is especially problematic when distilled water is used over the long-term. There is no way to tell beforehand if you will react in this way to drinking distilled water, which means that you just have to try it. If you notice any new or worsening symptoms, stop drinking it, and try again later when your body is healthier.

An image of a fatigued womanLastly, despite the benefits of distilled water, the use of distilled water is not for someone who is in the advanced stages of AFS as it can trigger adrenal crashes, anxiety, and fatigue. The ability of distilled water to bind to pre-existing unwanted minerals in the body can be a good way to detoxify, but this could overwhelm someone whose body is weak and has liver or ECM congestion, leading to crashes.

If you do decide to start drinking distilled water, you should ask your healthcare provider if it is the right for your body first before making the change.

The Takeaway

Making the change to distilled water will help remove some of the toxins from your diet. It will also help ensure that you get the hydration your body needs without any nasty extras that can damage your health. And you should be drinking a lot of water on a regular basis anyway because it will lower your bodyā€™s stress levels, help alleviate symptoms of AFS, and give your body a chance to heal. This makes it one of the easiest ways to rebalance your detoxification circuit and help your body heal from AFS.

Ā© Copyright 2020 Michael Lam, M.D. All Rights Reserved.


Dr. Lam's Key Question

These days the water you drink often comes from contaminated sources and has chemicals put through it to make it safe to drink. Removing these types of toxins, as is done with distilled water, is important for helping your body detoxify.

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