The alarming version of this question, that distilled water strips minerals from your body or turns it acidic, is not supported. Distilled water is drinkable and is used routinely by people with no ill effect. There are real considerations, but they are practical ones about diet, taste and cost rather than the dramatic claims that circulate online.
The leaching claim, examined
The argument borrows a plumbing fact and applies it to people. Low mineral water is aggressive toward metal pipes, which is why utilities manage corrosivity in the distribution system. Your digestive tract is not a copper pipe: it is a regulated environment where mineral balance is controlled by intake, absorption and the kidneys. Water passing through does not scavenge calcium out of bone. If the concern were real, everyone drinking naturally soft mountain water would show it, and they do not.
The mineral question, honestly
Water does contribute some dietary minerals, and distilled water contributes none. The USGS classifies hardness as dissolved calcium and magnesium, with soft water at 0 to 60 mg/L, moderately hard at 61 to 120, hard at 121 to 180 and very hard above 180 mg/L, so even hard water carries modest amounts next to food. For a person eating a normal diet the difference is small. For someone with a restricted diet or a specific medical picture, it is a question for a clinician, not for a filter salesperson.
What is actually worth watching
Two practical points. First, distillation removes fluoride along with everything else, so in a household relying on fluoridated tap water for dental protection, switching entirely is a change worth discussing with a dentist. Second, volatile organic compounds can carry over with the steam unless the distiller has a carbon stage, so a distiller is not automatically the answer to a solvent or fuel contamination problem. Neither of those is a reason to fear distilled water; both are reasons to know what it does.
The sensible way to decide
If you are drinking distilled water because you like it or because you have a specific reason, carry on. If you are drinking it because something scared you about your tap, test the tap instead: you may find nothing that justifies the switch, or you may find something a carbon filter or a reverse osmosis system handles more conveniently. Our well water testing guide covers which panel answers which worry, and a result beats a rumor every time.
Questions people ask about is distilled water bad for you
Does distilled water pull minerals out of your body?
No. That claim confuses corrosion of metal plumbing with human physiology, where mineral balance is regulated by diet, absorption and the kidneys.
Is distilled water acidic?
It drifts slightly acidic as it absorbs carbon dioxide from the air, but it has almost no buffering capacity and the effect on you is negligible.
Can you drink distilled water long term?
People do so without harm on a normal diet. If your diet is restricted or you have a medical condition, raise it with a clinician rather than a vendor.
Does distilled water remove fluoride?
Yes, along with everything else dissolved. Where a household relies on fluoridated tap water for dental protection, that is worth discussing with a dentist.