[revolvingocelot]

>But I'm not convinced that "drinking water" is a significant contributor of minerals to the human diet.

I don't think I'm claiming that. I'm sure kidney functions work so long as some salts get in 'em, whether dietary or water intake, I just suspect that the body expects the minerality to already be in the water directly, because the vast majority of non-human-curated drinking water seems to be that way.