I have been consuming RO (reverse osmosis) water for last 11 months. The water is not very tasty but it is clean. The RO system consists of 7 stage filtration (including sediment filter, activated carbon filter and reverse osmosis membrane) with alkalining unit. So, technically, the system should produce perfect quality water.
The initial TDS of incoming water suppy was around 500 ppm.
The initial TDS of output from RO system was around 80 ppm.
After 6 months of consumption, I started to ahve the following symptoms.
1. Lower leg pain - especially after standing during lecturing for more than 3 hours. The lower calf muscle was paining the most.
2. Diarrhoea - passing watery stools two times a day; This happened after antibiotic exposure after 3 months of consumption of RO water.
3. Gastroesophageal refulx - burning sensation in the chest before meals. The hunger becomes very severe if I delay the meals, especially at lunch as I take a small breakfast.
Now, I have checked the TDS of incoming supply water and output from RO system.
The TDS of incoming water suppy is around 240 ppm.
The TDS of output from RO system is around 40 ppm.
Also, I checked the TDS of water cans (18 L) supplied locally. The TDS is around 100 ppm.
All the above symptoms, disappeared almost completely with calcium supplementation.
