Water is made of hydrogen and oxygen atoms, and isn’t truly dead or alive. But using the terms dead and living water have now become a popular way to describe certain types of water.
Dead water doesn’t contain any minerals, salts, gases, or dissolved solids. Living water contains these mineral substances and hasn’t been overly purified or altered. Purification processes like distillation and reverse osmosis can produce dead water, while water found in nature is almost always living water.
This article contains everything you need to know about “living water” and “dead water”. It also discusses the pros and cons and some examples of both types of water.
Dead Water vs. Living Water
Let’s breakdown how different dead water really is from living water, and then what that means for our favorite brands of bottled water.
Originally, dead water was just a nautical term used to describe water that made it hard for boats to move forward, but now it has a new meaning…
Dead Water
Dead water has no minerals, salts, gases, or other dissolved substances. Which is exactly why dead water isn’t natural – it’s certainly not something we find in nature at any rate.
Minerals, salts and even metals are released from rocks and soil over time and then enter our water. Because of this, almost all natural water contains some amount of these substances.
Although, depending on the location of the source, some water contains more minerals than others. Water that comes from underground, for example, can have a higher mineral concentration because of the rocks surrounding where the water is held underground, usually in aquifers.
Dead water is created by treating living water with one of three purification processes:
- Reverse osmosis
- Distillation
- Deionization
Living Water
It’s not named “living water” because it can breathe or has any other features of life. Instead, it’s a simple term used to describe the water’s content. Living water is basically the opposite of dead water.
Minerals, salts, and ions are all found in living water. The specific substances and their concentrations depend on the water source.
Naturally occurring water is living water. River, lake, sea, glacial, ice cave, and well water all contain minerals and other dissolved substances, which means they are all living water. Our tap water, which comes from these same places, is also living water.
But there is a different kind of living water – one that’s not natural.
When water is treated to remove or reduce the contaminants it contains, sometimes minerals and other substances are re-added to this purified water in controlled amounts. This is a common practice in the water bottling industry. Bottled water that has this treatment is also referred to as living water.
Unlike dead water, which is created primarily by purifying water, there are numerous sources of living water, including:
- Surface water (rivers, lakes, etc)
- Well water
- Glacier water
- Spring water
- Treated wastewater
Some examples of living water we use in everyday life are:
- Carbonated water
- Water from the taps in our homes
- Bottled still water
- Mineral water
Well water and spring water are underground water sources with a larger concentration of natural minerals than other living water sources.
But let’s take a closer look at bottled water:
Bottled Water
Whether bottled water is living or dead isn’t often shown on a label, or when categorizing bottled water brands.
Instead, bottled water is often classified according to its source, treatment procedure, and mineral content. Here are some examples of common varieties of bottled water and whether they are living or dead.
Spring water
Spring water comes from natural springs and is often viewed as being the most “living water” because of its natural origin.
It usually contains minerals in quite high amounts, but this does depend on the spring’s location.
Before sale or distribution of any kind, spring water is typically treated to remove microorganisms (germs) and harmful substances to make sure it’s safe to drink. However, none of the minerals are removed, so it’s still living water.
You can read more about bottled spring water here.
Mineral Water
Mineral water is absolutely living water.
It can come from a natural spring, river or underground, and has to have a minimum amount of minerals. The amount of minerals in this type of water is usually much more than regular water. In fact, you can read more about which brands of mineral water have the most magnesium here.
Purified Water
Purified water is water that has undergone treatment to have all its contaminants completely removed. Purification processes, such as reverse osmosis and distillation are usually used to do this.
This type of water is effectively dead water.
We have a full breakdown of bottled water that is reverse osmosis available here.
Distilled water
Distilled water is made by boiling water and then condensing the steam back into water. This method removes almost all minerals and contaminants, producing very pure but dead water.
Artesian water
Artesian water comes from a well that taps into a restricted aquifer. It’s frequently regarded as a safe source of water and a good source of living water. These aquifers are surrounded by rocks, soils, and other natural structures.
Minerals and other substances seep from these surrounding structures and are dissolved in the water. As a result, artesian water is living water.
It’s important to note that the perception of “living water” is subjective, and there are no specific industry standards or definitions for this term. When choosing bottled water, you can look at the source, treatment processes, and mineral content to find a product that aligns with your personal water preferences.
Benefits Of Living Water Over Dead Water
The health effects, taste, and pH level are the major differences between dead and living water.
1. Health effects
The methods used to produce dead water remove all minerals, gases, and dissolved solids from the water. While this removes substances that may hurt your health, it also removes healthy substances too.
Water is a potential source of beneficial minerals like zinc, magnesium, calcium, bicarbonate, iron, etc. These minerals play vital roles in several biochemical processes occurring in your body.
They support healthy bones, muscles, and a healthy immune system too. Living water contains these minerals in varying amounts depending on the water source. This makes it more beneficial to your health than dead water that lacks all forms of minerals, gases, and dissolved substances, including the beneficial ones.
Contaminants that are bad for your health should be removed for living water to be completely safe to drink. Doing this produces healthy water containing just beneficial minerals.
This can be done by using a water purification method that only removes chemical contaminants and germs, while leaving the minerals, such as a water filter pitcher. Or, you can use a more effective filter, like a reverse osmosis or whole house system to remove all the dissolved substances in the water and then just reintroduce some minerals.
You can read more about how to add minerals to your water here.
Although dead water may not be able to supply these healthy nutrients, it’s not unhealthy water.
It’s safe to drink because it doesn’t contain substances that may be toxic to the body, such as heavy metals, dangerous chemicals, microorganisms, etc.
2. Taste
Living water tastes better than dead water. Simple as that.
Minerals, like magnesium, calcium, and dissolved gases give water a pleasant alkaline taste with a slightly sharp and sweet flavor.
Compared to living water, dead water has a bland taste that is generally not enjoyable. It’s commonly described as tasting ‘flat’. On the positive side, dead water is free from contaminants, such as hydrogen sulfide, which can make water smell and taste unpleasant. So while dead water might taste bland – it also never tastes yucky.
3. pH Level
The minerals, salts and gases in living water increases its pH level. This makes living water less acidic (more alkaline) than dead water.
Though living water and dead water have different pH levels, neither of them are too acidic or too alkaline for your health.
For example, the pH of dead water created by reverse osmosis often ranges from 5 to 7. On the other hand, the pH of living water is usually between 6.5 and 8.5.
