Mineral content of desalinated water

[thinwater]

My personal read is that the WHO study may apply to people that live in comunities where the ONLY water they will ever drink is RO and all of the food is prepared using RO water. But even full time cruisers will eat and drink ashore, swallow seawater when swimming, and use tap water from time to time. This is very different from life in a land locked community.


Thus, although I though the study was interesting, I never thought it could apply to sailors with ROs.


And then there is the mineral content in beer to consider. I'm actually serious. They do not use RO water and it all adds up! All more reason to drink Guinness (Dublin).

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by thinwater

My personal read is that the WHO study may apply to people that live in comunities where the ONLY water they will ever drink is RO and all of the food is prepared using RO water. But even full time cruisers will eat and drink ashore, swallow seawater when swimming, and use tap water from time to time. This is very different from life in a land locked community.

Thus, although I though the study was interesting, I never thought it could apply to sailors with ROs.

And then there is the mineral content in beer to consider. I'm actually serious. They do not use RO water and it all adds up! All more reason to drink Guinness (Dublin).

Well, I don't drink much beer (tummy problems, you know) but my scotch has a lot of smokey flavor from the oak casks and peaty flavor from the malting process, and I do drink a bit of that. Will it work?

[bstreep]

Thinwater: As I previously noted, I am a molecular biologist. I'd like to relate a "true" story to you about how "science" works:

1) If I drink rum and water, I wake up with a headache.

2) If I drink bourbon and water, I wake up with a headache.

3) If I drink scotch and water, I wake up with a headache.

4) If I drink vodka and water, I wake up with a headache.

Conclusion: Water causes headaches.

This is what is wrong with anecdotal situations. There's no control over outside influences, and the study isn't controlled. You may have a had bug. Or dozens of other situations that contributed to this. As well, you could very well have a mineral deficiency (it's common), and don't get enough regularly in your diet.

And yes, I read the article you referenced. It's common in 3rd world countries for poor (as in $$) diets that are made up of just 1 or 2 stables. This IS very well studied. It's easy to find a study - peer reviewed as well (there's just so much BS in "peer reviewing... carp, there's so much BS in science) that agrees with your position. I absolutely believe you had a problem. But if it was the water, I'd think your situation is pretty uncommon.

[Chotu]

mg/liter TDS is the same as PPM magnitude wise, so...

250 ppm is 250mg (assuming sodium to be safe) per liter of water.

2300mg is the US RDA for sodium.

It’s suggested to drink 8 cups or about 2 liters of water a day to stay hydrated.

So we’re looking at 500mg of sodium or 22% of the daily sodium limit from the RO water. YIKES!!

As someone with a big sensitivity to sodium that causes my blood pressure to skyrocket, this is too much.

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I understand that, and even stated it by saying that I wonder if Watermaker water isn’t high enough in salt content to be a concern.

However the question posed wasn’t about calcium and magnesium or salt, the question posed was is RO water so pure that it will leach out minerals from food being cooked in it, and as it’s PPM is pretty close to normal drinking water, that means that it’s not so pure that it will leach out minerals or harm pipes etc.

If your even marginally concerned, there are mineral cartridges to go into filter canisters, most consider them snake oil, but they most likely don’t hurt, then there are calcium and magnesium supplements, both have been proven to be effective for people needing them, calcium for older women and magnesium for pregnant women, both supplements have been pretty extensively studied.
But I bet a cheap multi vitamin has you more than covered.


But it doesn’t answer the question is a marine watermakers output high in sodium? Enough so that those on sodium restricted diets ought to be careful?


As I said before, I bet that normal drinking water may test at 250 PPM but those dissolved solids are unlikely to be salt, more likely calcium carbonate etc, but I bet that a watermakers product water that tests at 250 PPM, the dissolved solids are most likely sodium chloride

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by wingssail

Well, I don't drink much beer (tummy problems, you know) but my scotch has a lot of smokey flavor from the oak casks and peaty flavor from the malting process, and I do drink a bit of that. Will it work?

If you are talking real Scotch then no, Scotland is granite and some of the oldest rock on the planet, so soft water.

https://docs.google.com/viewerng/vie...ssData2019.pdf

You need to come south to Cheshire (deep salt mines) or Burton on Trent were they make real beers (not that gassy lager stuff) so has minerals and an off shoot, Marmite which will also give you everything you need, plus there is a low salt version now:

https://www.marmite.co.uk/nutrition-information.html

Alternatively a bag of fish and chips plus a pint of Guinness will give you everything you need.

Pete

[ben2go]

I wouldn't worry about water from a water maker on a boat. Truey pure water can dissolve metals.


https://www.businessinsider.com/supe...ul-2018-6?op=1

[izzyforreal]

My Echo Tec watermaker has a built-in mineral cartridge that replaces minerals on the way to the tank.

[Leighpilot]

Stop right here. You are not going to have any form of dietary deficiencies ever. Not on a modern diet. Stay off Youtube. It’ll drag you down the rabbit hole of insanity. You probably noticed that the folk telling about these awful consequences just so happen to be selling the very thing to cure this imaginary problem, right ?

[SpringHollow]

Originally Posted by Pete7

You need to come south to Cheshire (deep salt mines) or Burton on Trent were they make real beers (not that gassy lager stuff) so has minerals and an off shoot, Marmite which will also give you everything you need, plus there is a low salt version now:

https://www.marmite.co.uk/nutrition-information.html


Pete

Waiting for the Marmite vs Vegemite debate I have only had Marmite since we have never seen Vegemite here. Butter some toast and wave a knife with some Marmite over the toast and you have a tasty treat. The big mistake most make is putting it on as heavy as they would most "spreads". Way too strong for that.

[BigNut]

Originally Posted by thinwater

Thus, although I though the study was interesting, I never thought it could apply to sailors with ROs.

And then there is the mineral content in beer to consider.

Thinwater,

Thanks for your contribution to this thread, and also the links you provided earlier. Turns out they are the same that I had copied earlier. It is hard to find good sources.

I do not think this is a simple or easy issue to confront for cruisers. This is particularly so for fulltime cruisers, as it seems clinical effects in some cases can take months to develop, excluding all those "put the boat on the hard for the off season" cruisers from the already small "n" available.

And eating ashore when cruising in countries where there is already endemic mineral deficiency does not eliminate the risk either. (But don't forget that beer!)

What I have not seen discussed is the effect of drinking larger amounts of mineral-depleted water in a setting of mild dehydration, something we often experience.

In this scenario, we may actually DECREASE the mineral content in our blood, and INCREASE, paradoxically, the volume we lose in our urine. The consequence is increased thirst and intake and increased output of dilute urine. This is where, I believe, the reports of water not quenching thirst come from.

Anecdotally (HA!), I think I have suffered this, during a time when I was working hard, drinking a ton of unsweetened, made-on-the-boat iced tea. I felt thirstier and thirstier, drank more and more. My urine was quite dilute. It was only when I decided to not go for drinks because I felt so poorly, that a nurse friend sent along some mineral replacement tablets. I felt better within less than half an hour after ingesting them.

Since then, we carry a large supply of mineral replacement tabs, and take some whenever we feel the possible need. We also are sure never to drink water until we have dilute urine.

I believe runners suffer from a similar issue. Most of the cases of "dehydrated" athletes nowadays are apparently actually mineral-depleted. Because we are so aware of the risks of dehydration, most sporting events supply ample water for participants.

Originally Posted by GRIT

But, I'm telling you, I was quite sick. Then one day offshore, for no real reason, I started drinking my wife's bottle water (mineral water) and things improved dramatically.

As far as GRIT's symptoms go, there is certainly the possibility of chronic low-grade mineral depletion, which might respond just as he indicated.

I am a scientist at heart. I do not believe in using anecdotal evidence as proof. EVER. But anecdotes should make us think harder and deeper. Some, perhaps most, will prove to be correlation, not causation, but every now and then ...

Finally:
NEVER FORGET: There is always BEER!!!

[Cheechako]

So you guys are saying a house RO unit that pushes water through a membrane at line pressure...50 psi +/- , takes out more minerals etc than a 600+ psi RO unit on the boat? How does that work? Doesn't the membrane for high pressure need that pressure because it's a "finer filter"?

Regarding minerals, don't we get minerals from food, not just water? I dont drink much water really and never have. Great teeth.

[BigNut]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

So you guys are saying a house RO unit that pushes water through a membrane at line pressure...50 psi +/- , takes out more minerals etc than a 600+ psi RO unit on the boat? How does that work? Doesn't the membrane for high pressure need that pressure because it's a "finer filter"?

You forget the starting TDS of tap water vs seawater.

If you have an inline TDS meter, and have flushed with fresh water, the next time you run, you can see a much lower TDS (and pressure) right at the start, as fresh water is treated, before rising as seawateris pumped in again.

[SpringHollow]

I use Ultima Replenisher in order to prevent heat exhaustion, cramps, etc. I would suffer from these even drinking hard water in the winter when doing firewood, etc. Under heavy exertion conditions, you can really be messing up your blood chemistry. I only worry about the salts, not carbs etc.

https://www.ultimareplenisher.com

The only thing I do not like is that it does have stevia in it. But tastes reasonably good.

[CaptnBry]

Reference, Viktor Schauberger for healthy water. No discussion is complete without this Master.
Water is healthiest once settled in a cool, deep, well and is fully matured. Means, mineralized and no longer a solvent like rain water, or pure RO.

[Lat-Cat]

Wow
Does no one take Vitamins?

Its called:

Centrum Silver Multivitamin for Adults 50 Plus, Multivitamin/Multimineral

Supplement




Quit Stressing and Enjoy!
Life is too short to sweat the small stuff.