Is Reverse Osmosis Water Good Or Bad For Your Health?

As more people are increasingly health conscious, many households prioritize ensuring access to clean and safe drinking water. For many, this means exploring or installing some form of water purification or filtration system.

Reverse osmosis systems are one of the more popular options out on the market right now, with many different blogs, influencers, and articles discussing the pros and cons of consuming water that has gone through reverse osmosis. However, many articles have made misleading claims that spark unfounded fear about the safety of the water. In this article, we discuss more on what reverse osmosis really is and how that water can affect your body.

What is Reverse Osmosis?

Reverse osmosis is a process that a semi-permeable synthetic membrane to filter out contaminants, unwanted molecules, and various large particles from water. This has the ability to remove substances such as chlorine, dirt, salt, and even microorganisms. This means that after your water has gone through the reverse osmosis purification system, it is extremely clean, even on a molecular level.

Concerns around Reverse Osmosis Filtration: Acidity

Several key worries have been expressed around the reverse osmosis filtration system. The first and most prominent is that reverse osmosis filtration makes the water more acidic. This goes against the popular concept that alkaline water is healthier for humans. While it is true that water that has gone through reverse osmosis is more acidic at around 6.0 to 6.5 pH, the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s drinking water and contaminants state that water between 6.5 to 8.5 pH is safe to drink. Moreover, many commonly consumed substances such as egg yolk, soft drinking water, orange juice, and sodas are just as, if not more, acidic at levels between 3.0 to 7.0 pH. This means that if you constantly drink soda and juices from citric foods, you are already consuming acidic drinks.

One exception to this is if you are suffering from health conditions like gastrointestinal ulcers or gastric reflux, then it is recommended that you do not drink water that has been through reverse osmosis in order to lower your intake of acidic foods and beverages. Otherwise, there has been no clear evidence that water purified through this means negatively impacts a person’s health.

Concerns around Reverse Osmosis Filtration: Loss of Beneficial Minerals

Another commonly expressed worry is that reverse osmosis removes healthy and beneficial minerals from our water. This is true since the process does remove a wide array of minerals from the water. However, it is unlikely that this removal process will significantly affect anyone’s health, as water is not the primary source from which humans obtain their minerals. Most of the crucial minerals and vitamins that are needed to stay healthy actually come from the food that is consumed. The main possibility that this might be a concern is if an individual is not consuming a balanced diet. However, the best way to address this issue is not by supplementing through water, where minerals can easily change from supply to supply, but by working with healthcare professionals to improve your diet.

More importantly, the benefits of having harmful minerals such as chloride and fluoride severely outweigh the benefits of having the other beneficial minerals in the water. When harmful minerals are left in the water, it can easily lead to reproductive issues, and liver and kidney problems.