<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> My daughter heard a doctor speak in Seattle recently about the dangers of the prolonged use of distilled water. I'm wondering whether this might explain my dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) condition, which requires me to maintain a gluten-free diet. Here's my story. I'm a 63 year-old woman. At age 49, at the recommendation of a friend, I bought a water distiller and began to drink only distilled water. Three years later, within one month of returning from a 4-week vacation in Germany, I began to suffer from DH symptoms. During the vacation I drank tap water and consumed a lot of German bread products. For the next six years I continued drinking distilled water, an average of more than 1/2 gallon per day according to my distiller usage records. So, for nine years I drank distilled water. There is no history of Celiac Disease or DH in my family except for my case. For the past five years I have been drinking Reversed Osmosis water, which I understand still contains some minerals. Is there any research to support the claim that prolonged use of distilled or RO water can cause CD or DH? Could my body have reacted to the reintroduction of distilled water after taking a one-month break? I'm very curious. Barb Smith