By Chua Guan Cheong

BRUNEI - DRINKING distilled and reverse osmosis (RO) water for long periods can be detrimental to your health, so warns Dr Andy Sun, a senior doctor from National Taiwan University Hospital.

In Brunei recently to conduct two health seminars on cancer prevention and immunology, Dr Sun took time off his busy schedule to provide an exclusive interview to The Brunei Times, with the topic revolving around water quality.

"Many people have the misconception that 'pure' water is very healthy, but besides being clean, the water is not exactly that healthy for the human body," said Dr Sun.

According to Dr Sun, distilled and RO water are bad water choices as they lack the minerals that the human body requires.

Minerals in water, especially calcium and magnesium ions, are crucial for human body and are known to protect the body system from harmful elements.

Dr Sun commented that studies had already been carried out long ago by ex-Soviet Union scientists on different types of water, namely, water with different levels of "hardness".

To explain simply, water with 100 milligrams of calcium and 100 milligrams of magnesium per litre will have a "hardness" of 200.

Tests were conducted on water with hardness of zero (distilled or RO water), 50, 100, 250, 500, 1,000, and the results revealed that distilled or RO water are the worst, followed by a water "hardness" of 1,000, 500, then 250.

It was said that water with "hardness" of about 150 to 200 is best for the human body.

"After a long period of drinking distilled and RO water, it not only affects one's growth and development, you can also be overcome by fatigue easily," said Dr Sun.

"The process of making the water 'pure' does clear the water of harmful elements, but the problem is it also clears away the useful elements that our body needs."

Asked on what remedies anyone has if he or she usually only get to drink distilled or RO water, Dr Sun replied that these people should counter the problem by taking multi-vitamin pills.

"The vitamin pills should solve their problem, but preferably, they should still try to drink better water."