Filtered water: Good or Bad

Water is
mandatory for life on earth. Even life has originated just because of water
on earth. Everywhere, water plays an important role in biological activity
either for plants, animals, human beings. Human beings consume water as it
constitutes 70-80%. A slight fall in this share may cause serious complications
leading to death in extreme cases.

Why filtered water?

The freshwater
is remain a problem since decades as the water is the source of a number of diseases
called water-borne diseases like diarrhoea. There was a time when lakhs of
people were dead due to polluted water in India in the 1970s. Due to rising
concerns of water-borne diseases, several companies took initiative and started
making filtration machines based on reverse osmosis. The reverse osmosis
removes all the solute part (metal ions, minerals) from the water. This pure
water without dissolved solutes is dangerous for human health because the
mineral content of water is an essential constituent for sustainable human health.

Table 1 Drinking water standard as per WHO

From the above
table, it can be seen clearly that the TDS value should be less than 300
mg/litre for excellent water quality, between 300 to 600 for good water
quality. If the TDS value increased by 1200 mg/litre, the water will no more be
fit for drinking.

Table 2 Drinking water quality as per BIS (Bureau of Indian
Standard)

It can be seen
clearly that the permissible limit of TDS for drinking water is 500 mg/litre while
the maximum limit is 2000 mg/litre as per BIS.

From both the
tables, it is clear that the average value of TDS for better water quality is
around 500 mg/litre. Then why the companies are keeping the TDS value below or
around 100 mg/litre. Ultimately they are playing with the health of human
beings. A person who is continuously taking drinking water with TDS value
around 100 mg/litre, will deteriorate his/her health.

The question is
why then the many companies which manufacture the filtered/mineral water
advertising to keep TDS value around 100-150 mg/litre. The answer is simple
that to achieve the low TDS water, greater filtering will be done by filters.
As a result, the shelf life of the filters will be lesser. Ultimately, the filters
will have to be replaced within a short period of time and the profit goes to
companies. So beware with this propaganda.

Conclusion

It’s my personal opinion that the TDS value of drinking water for better health should be in
between 300 to 500 mg/litre for normal healthy individuals. This opinion is not
for the individuals suffering with any kind of kidney disorder or in the case where he/she
specifically suggested taking water with a specific TDS value.