Will drinking purified water for a long time lead to calcium deficiency in the body?

Whether it is out of concern about the taste and cleanliness of tap water, or simply for convenience, more and more people, especially young people, will use purified water as their main source of drinking water. Whether it is the barrels on the office water dispenser or the bottles that can be bought everywhere, purified water is clean, pure and transparent, and it is worry-free, safe and reassuring to drink. However, the saying that "drinking purified water frequently can easily lead to calcium deficiency" has made many people upset.

There are enough annoying things in life, we can have fewer of them! Let's talk about whether purified water is drinkable and whether it has any effect on health.

01

The purpose of drinking water is to "replenish water", not to supplement calcium

The drinking water for residents in my country mainly includes the following categories: tap water, purified water, artificial mineralized water, natural drinking mineral water, drinking natural spring water, drinking natural water and other drinking water.

Among them, tap water uses surface water or groundwater as natural water sources. After a series of treatment processes, it is supplied to each household. It is currently the most common drinking water.

Purified water generally uses tap water as its water source, and harmful substances are filtered out through various means, but in this process, essential mineral elements for the human body such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron and zinc are also removed.

Mineral water refers to uncontaminated natural groundwater that gushes naturally from deep underground or underground, and is obtained as drinking water after a series of filtration treatments. Mineral water contains essential and easily absorbed mineral elements for the human body.

There are many types of drinking water, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. But no matter which type it is, the main purpose of drinking water is to replenish water to the body, and purified water is no exception.

Pour pure water into a glass | Tuchong Creative

02

If you want to supplement calcium, eating is more reliable than drinking

Now let's talk about calcium deficiency. Whether our body is calcium deficient or not is related to many factors, including age, estrogen level, physiological and pathological conditions of the body, nutritional status of vitamin D, medication, whether there are dietary factors that inhibit calcium absorption, etc. In other words, calcium intake is the main factor affecting calcium nutritional status, but it is not the only factor.

The main source of calcium in our body is dietary intake. In terms of calcium intake, the Chinese Nutrition Society recommended a daily calcium intake of 800 mg for adults in 2013. Reaching this level can maintain calcium homeostasis and related health effects. Among many foods, milk and its products, peanuts, black sesame, seaweed, black fungus, Chinese cabbage and many other foods are rich in calcium and have a relatively high absorption rate. In particular, milk and its products are a good source of dietary calcium.

As for drinking water, although it can make a certain contribution to the intake of minerals such as calcium, the degree of contribution varies greatly depending on the hardness of the water. The World Health Organization recommends that the most suitable drinking water hardness for daily life is about 170mg/L, of which calcium only accounts for 40%. Based on the average level of about 1.2L of water consumed per person per day, the maximum calcium intake from drinking water is 100mg, which is significantly lower than the calcium content provided by the diet.

03

It tastes good and is not expensive. Everyone should drink more boiled water.

Since there are so many factors that affect the body's calcium nutritional status, and drinking water is obviously not the main source of calcium, there is currently no research showing that there is an inevitable causal relationship between pure water and calcium deficiency.

However, since purified water does filter out minerals while removing harmful substances during processing, it is okay to drink purified water occasionally, but it is not recommended to drink it as daily drinking water for a long time. From a comprehensive consideration of science, economy and hygiene, boiled water is still the most suitable drinking water for the human body, and we also advocate using boiled water as the main drinking water for a long time.

Boiled water | Tuchong Creative

Author: Tang Yuhan, Associate Professor of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Review | Gao Chao, Associate Researcher, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

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