Does a water softener help your health?

No, water softeners do not help your health - in fact, there's evidence that the opposite is true (albeit at a really marginal level). Conventional softeners use sodium chloride to remove dissolved minerals like magnesium and calcium (the things that make your water hard). Unfortunately, these minerals are actually good for your health, and the health of your pets and plants.

Furthermore, the water softener replaces the minerals with sodium. The amount of sodium added to your tap water is too small to matter for most people, but those who are on low sodium diets need to be aware of this and may want to talk to their doctor. Having said all that, most people don't want to drink their softened water anyway, and the more sodium is in it, the less drinkable it becomes.

There are salt free water softeners you can buy that avoid all these problems. However, they're still somewhat unproven. For really hard water, you need a conventional, salt-based softener. Just plan on switching to bottled water or getting a filter system for your tap.