I’ve decided to install a water-filtration system in my house. As background, the EPA’s attempt to reduce the nation’s polluted air by introducing an additive into our gasoline supply has had the unintended effect of polluting the groundwater in the wells and reservoirs of 49 states. The culprit is methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a suspected powerful carcinogen. The better filtration systems remove MTBE, along with trihalomethanes, lead, mercury, lindane, atrazine, asbestos, benzene, and the microbiological contaminants cryptosporidium and giardia. My question is, can a filtration system work too well? Can water be too pure and thus deprive the body of needed minerals, such as fluoride? –tsunamisurfer, via the Straight Dope Message Board
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A few years ago, I spent a month in the hospital. The nurses always kept a pitcher of water near the bed, so while I was there I sipped water all day long. Ever since, I keep water near me and drink it constantly. Is there such a thing as drinking too much water? I’m not talking about gut-busting, Guinness Book of World Records amounts. –Craig L. Stevenson
Some people claim extra-pure water will cause vital minerals to be leached out of the body. Nonsense: under normal circumstances, you get all the minerals you need from food. But see next item.
