13 Jul. 18

Hard Water is Healthier Than Soft Water FAQs From TWT


Wave Deposit Control Systems give all the aesthetic benefits of soft
water without removing useful minerals and other positive
properties of your hard water.

The Triangular Wave
System will:

  1. Give the benefits of soft
    water without adding salt or removing useful minerals.
  2. Prevent any further hard
    scale buildup in and on water equipment and fixtures.
  3. Remove existing scale that
    is inside the water system.
  4. Soften the existing hard
    scale around taps, basins, and toilets.
  5. Reduce soap scum and
    improve the lather of soap.
  6. Make the water feel
  7. Reduce the harsh effects
    of hard water on skin and clothes.
  8. Reduces water spotting on
    fixtures and surfaces in contact with the water.
  9. Provides a much more
    environmentally friendly solution to hard water; no salts or
  10. The water will taste
    better as pipes will be cleared of both mineral and biological
  11. Plants that receive the
    treated water will grow better.


Source: HEALTHY WATER Martin Fox, Ph.D.

Over the years many studies have been published on the relationship between drinking water and cardiovascular mortality. Two beneficial factors continually stand out – hardness and total
dissolved solids. Both have been associated with lower mortality from heart
disease. Hardness refers to the amount of calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg), or
calcium carbonate in the water. The more Ca, Mg, or calcium carbonate, the harder the water, the less – the
softer the water.

The first major study on drinking water and heart disease was in 1960 by Schroeder. In his paper, “Relation Between Mortality from Cardiovascular Disease and Treated Water Supplies,” the water in 163 largest cities in the United States was analyzed for 21 constituents and correlated to heart disease. He concluded “some factor either present in hard water, or missing or entering in soft water is associated with higher death rates from degenerative
cardiovascular disease.” (48)

In 1979 after reviewing fifty studies, Comstock concluded, “there can be little doubt that the associations of water hardness with cardiovascular mortality are not spurious.

Too many studies have reported statistically significant correlations to make chance or sampling errors a likely
explanation.”( 16) He suggests that the reason for this association is due to a “deficiency of an essential element or an excess of a toxic one.” Certainly a combination of both is also possible.

Today after thirty years of research we are left with Schroeder’s initial conclusion-drinking hard water results in less cardiovascular disease than drinking soft water.

Yet over the years there have been several published reports analyzing specific elements in drinking water and their possible
relationship to heart disease. One researcher studies zinc, another -copper, another selenium, and so on. And as you read this
mater-ial, you find an inconsistent and confusing picture. But, if you look at the broader picture, if you look at the studies on hardness, you will find very consistent
results the harder the water, the less heart disease deaths.

In most cases the harder the water, the more Ca and Mg is in the water. However several interesting studies indicate that Mg might be the more important of the two elements.

Professor Ragnar Rylader notes that studies in Switzerland, Germany and Sweden show that when the Mg in drinking water exceeds 10-15
mgIL, the rate of mortality fails in comparison to neighboring communities with lower levels of Mg in the water. Some studies recommend 20 t~igIL as the ideal Mg level. However, there are studies showing 6 to 8 mgIL is highly beneficial while some bottled water manufactu1rers go so far
to claim that 90 mgIL is best. (46)(33)(34)(35). At this time I do not believe that Mg is the all encompassing &~silver bullet” that some claim. But I do believe it is important. Knowing the levels of Ca and Mg in your drinking water is
worthwhile. Look at both the hardness levels and the specific amounts of Ca and Mg.

Before highlighting some of the major studies, let’s discuss TDS, total dissolved solids. TDS is a measurement of all the minerals in drinking water. TDS not only includes calcium and magnesium (the hardness factors), but also zinc, copper, chromium, selenium and so on. Sauer analyzed .23 drinking water characteristics in 92

cities (“Relationship. of Water to the Risk of Dying”) and found people who drank water higher in TDS had lower death rates from heart disease, cancer, and chronic diseases than people who drank water with lower amounts of
TDS. (47)

Frequently, where the water is hard, the water is also high in TDS. Although most studies on heart disease have not looked at
TDS, but only at hardness, this factor has been ever present and may be playing a very significant role.

The more we try to isolate and study the impact of individual minerals the more we can lose sight of the unifying,
comprehensive, beneficial factors present in water like hardness, TDS, and pH. Perhaps one of the main reasons there are inconsistencies in the water story is simply because we are obsessed to locate a
specific isolated element that is responsible for the beneficial effects of healthy drinking water.

Let’s look at some of the major studies. In Great Britain, the British Regional Heat Study analyzed 253 towns from 1969 to 1973. They found 10% to 15% more cardiovascular deaths in soft water areas than in hard water areas. They suggest that the ideal amount of hardness is approximately 170 m~IL (or
ppm-parts per rnillion). (50)

In the United States, Greathouse and Osborne studied 4200 adults, ages 25 to 74 in 35 different geographic areas. Their
findings also showed less heart disease mortality in hard water areas than in soft water areas. (26) A report by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory found that the calcium and magnesium in hard water reduces the risks of heart attacks and strokes. This study compared the health records of 11,400 Wisconsin male farmers who drank well water from their own farms. The farmers who drank soft water
suffered from heart disease, whereas, the farmers who drank hard water were, for the most part, free of the problem. (63)

Sometimes, the best experiments are those nature has been silent-ly conducting for years. Some of the most revealing water studies highlight two neighboring towns in which one town alters its hard water to create a softer water. What are the results of this action? A higher rate of heart disease mortality. We see this in the English towns of Scunthrope and Grimsby. Both towns drank the same water with 444 mg/L of hardness and had identical heart disease mortality rates. Scunthrope softened its water to 100 mg/L of hardness and within a few years a striking increase in cardiovascular deaths occurred. Whereas in Grimsby the rate was virtually the same as it had been. (51) This pattern has also been reported in the Italian towns of Crevalcore and Montegiorgio and the Abruzzo region of Italy. (31) (44)

The National Academy of Sciences concluded, “An optimum conditioning of drinking water could reduce the amount of cardio-vascular disease mortality by as much as 15% in the U. S.”(37) When looking at the research, two facts stand out. First, there is a definite relationship, a clear association between water hardness and heart disease mortality. We should try to drink water that has approximately 170 mWL of hardness; the level found ideal in Great Britain. Second, there is a definite relationship with TDS and heart disease mortality. Higher levels of TDS results in less heart disease. Proper levels of hardness and TDS are two of the beneficial properties In
drinking water constituting a healthy drinking water.


Source: HEALTHY WATER Martin Fox, Ph.D.

Several studies have been published on sodium in drinking water and its effect on blood pressure. First some background.

Many researchers believe a reduced salt intake can help lower blood pressure. There is evidence that low salt diets could help prevent high blood pressure in humans. However, many factors are involved in high blood pressure besides sodium. Diets high in potassium, rich in vegetables and less meat consumption have been shown to be effective in reducing or preventing high blood pres-sure. Also adequate calcium and magnesium intake are
instrumental in lowering blood pressure. And chloride, not sodium, has been found to be a key factor in raising blood pressure. Salt is a
combination of sodium and chloride. Many experts worldwide claim 2 to 5 grams of salt daily does not pose any real problems for most people. However, in Western
cultures, dietary intake of salt is between 8 to 15 grams daily. Ninety percent of all the salt we consume is from food; 10% from water. Now let’s look at the research on sodium, hypertension and drinking water.

Some studies have reported that higher levels of sodium in drink-ing water resulted in higher blood pressure. (55) (28) However, most studies have not supported this finding. No correlation was found between high blood pressure and high levels of sodium in the drinking water in Illinois, Michigan, Iowa and Australia. (4) (27) (22) (39)

However, the vital question is: Are there studies showing a cor-relation between high levels of sodium in the drinking water and higher mortality rates? When we ask this question and look at the studies, we come up lacking.

Robinson in England and in Wales and Schroeder, Sauer1 Greathouse and Osborne in the United States studied this. None of these investigations showed that higher levels of sodium in
drink-ing water resulted in higher levels of mortality. In fact, some of these studies indicated that higher levels of sodium resulted in lower death rates. (45) (48) (47) (26)

What about water softeners? Many people use them for their laundry and drinking water. Are they healthy? Some water
softening techniques add sodium to the water replacing significant amounts of calcium and magnesium. Other procedures do not add sodium but still reduce the hardness of the water.

Earlier, we discussed that people drinking harder water have less heart disease
and lower mortality rates than people drinking soft water. Softened water is unhealthy to drink – not because of the sodium, per se, but because of the lack or lower amounts of calcium and magnesium in the water. If you are now using a water softener, have a separate cold water line installed for your drinking water and on this line install a proper filter unit.

Recent statements from the American Heart Association and the World Health Organization recommend limiting the sodium in drinking water to 20 mg/L.. In the United States, 40% of all the drinking water exceeds 20 mg/L of sodium. If we follow this advice, many people will have to purchase either low sodium
bottled water or de-mineralize their own drinking water through reverse osmosis, distillation or de4onization.

But, if we adopt these procedures, we will create a soft
, a water low in hardness and low in
TDS. The effect of this is to create an unhealthy drinking water.

Frequently water supplies high in sodium are also high in hardness (Ca and Mg) and
TDS. Higher levels of hardness and TDS protect us from potentially harmful substances and have been shown to result in lower heart disease and cancer
mortality rates. If we want to lower our sodium intake, we should look to our diets, 90% of all the sodium we consume is in the food we eat.