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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Monday, September 6, 2010
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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Monday, September 6, 2010
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Diet and Nutrition |
Soft water: Is it OK to drink?03/27/2006 |
We recently changed the plumbing under our sink and it was changed to the hard water supply instead by one plumber. The plumber we usually use always uses the soft water hookup to the sink and icemaker and water. The first company questioned the safety of soft water to drink. So I looked for an answer and can`t fing one. That`s how I came to this site. If you could please explain the safety concerns if any for drinking soft water and if none is it solely based on preference and taste. Is the salt content too high for any age group or medical condition and is the replacement for calcium a concern on bone growth or development. Thanks.
Soft water is beneficial for washing clothes, avoiding mineral rings forming in your bathtub or toilet, and gives you more lather from less soap. It can, however, contain excess sodium (the harder your water supply is, the more sodium is used to soften it), which is not recommended for those with certain health concerns (such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular or kidney disease). A guideline for the general population is to reduce our intake of sodium to less than 2300 mg. per day. Since drinking about 8 cups of water per day is recommended and soft water provides sodium, it can really add up! So, I agree with your first plumber. It is best to use soft water in the bath and laundry, but bypass it in the kitchen. If you don't care for the taste of the hard water in your area, try a low sodium, bottled water instead.One more comment: since the sodium is meant to help take the calcium (and other "hard" minerals) out of the water, soft water is very low in calcium. Water (hard or soft) really isn't considered one of the major sources of calcium in the diet. For bone growth and health, the best food sources of calcium include milk and milk products, calcium-fortified products (such as soy milk, orange juice, etc), salmon with bones, tofu preserved with calcium, and green leafy vegetables.
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Jane Korsberg, MS, RD, LD Senior Instructor Department of Nutrition School of Medicine Case Western Reserve University |
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