Yes. Reverse Osmosis water has lost most of its calcium and magnesium. For most people this is not a real worry. Food gives us most of our calcium and magnesium, not water. The World Health Organization looked into this, and found the same thing.
What Does RO Actually Remove From Your Water?
This is not just a chemistry question. It is about what your kids drink each day. A glass at dinner. A cup of tea. A baby's bottle.
Reverse Osmosis System is very good at removing chlorine, heavy metals, PFAS and other things you do not want in your water. But that same fine filter also takes out calcium and magnesium, along with the rest.
So, the minerals do come out. The real question is: does that matter?
What Does the Evidence Say About Water and Minerals?
In 2009, the World Health Organization ran a major study. It is called Calcium and Magnesium in Drinking Water: Public Health Significance. WHO brought in food scientists, water experts and doctors. Their task was clear. Work out how much water adds to our calcium and magnesium intake. And what happens once RO takes it out.
Their main finding is simple. Food is our main source of both minerals. Dairy alone gives us over half our calcium, in most diets. Veg, grains, fruit and nuts fill in the rest, along with magnesium.
Water can matter more, but only in one case. Some bottled water is sold as "mineral water" for its high mineral content. That kind of water can supply up to a quarter of someone's calcium. It can add around 6 to 17 percent of their magnesium too, if they drink a lot of it. That is a real amount. But it is true of mineral rich bottled water. It is not true of normal Irish or UK tap water, which has a low, changeable mineral level to start with.
So, Is RO Water Bad for You?
That is the view I share: If you eat a normal diet, with regular dairy, veg and grains, your tap water was never doing much of that work anyway. Taking out its small, shifting mineral level through RO will not leave a real gap. Your body gets its calcium and magnesium from your plate, not your glass. That holds true whether your water comes straight from the tap or through a filter.
The picture is different for someone on a very limited diet. Say, little to no dairy, and no other calcium in their meals. In that case, total diet matters a great deal. It is worth a chat with a GP or dietitian, rather than relying on tap water either way.
Source: Calcium and Magnesium in Drinking Water: Public Health Significance
Why we recommend Reverse Osmosis
RO does remove calcium and magnesium from your water. WHO's own research backs that up. For most families on a normal, varied diet, that loss is too small to matter. Food was always doing most of the work. However, without a RO system you'll keep facing the amount of contaminants everyday.
Want the contaminants gone? The ArkkZ system handles everything.
Prefer minerals put back? You can search for the ION II, our reverse Osmosis system with remineralizer that adds minerals back in.
Renewell Water is trusted across Ireland and rated by 2,000+ customers.
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