When it comes to our health, water is essential and there’s no other substance as necessary for our bodies as water. If we’re drinking enough water, we’re already doing something great for the benefits of our health You may have heard the rumors about alkaline water which say that it can help you in various health problems. It seems that it can also slow the aging process and it has the ability to prevent some chronic disease like cancer.
Let’s have a look at what exactly this alkaline water is, what’s the chemistry behind it and why there is all this hype around it:
What is Alkaline Water?
The term alkaline refers to the water’s pH level. This pH level represents a number which measures the acidity or how alkaline a substance is on a scale of 0 to 14. For instance, if a substance has a pH of 1 this means that it is a very acidic one, and if another substance has a pH of 13, it’s a very alkaline one.
Alkaline water has a higher pH than tap water or than any other regular drinking water, and this is the main reason for which lots of specialists claim that alkaline water can neutralize the acidity in our bodies. Regular water has a pH of 7 and alkaline water’s pH is generally 8 or 9.
Naturally alkaline water is found when it passes over rocks (we’re talking for instance about springs) and it picks up some minerals which will have the effect of increasing the water’s alkaline level.
There are already lots of companies who sell their products – ionizers- and they claim that through some chemical processes called electrolysis water becomes alkaline. They say that electricity is used in order to separate the acidic molecules from the water or from the ones that are more alkaline.
Simple Alkaline Water vs Alkaline Ionized Water
There’s a difference between simple alkaline water and alkaline ionized water. Alkaline water is any water which has a pH above 7.0 and it’s important that this can be achieved in more ways. You can add baking soda to regular tap water and this way it becomes alkaline. You can also make the water alkaline by adding some alkaline minerals to normal water and this is a very natural process. On the other hand, alkaline ionized water can be created by water ionizers which we have already mentioned above through the process called water electrolysis. As said before, this process occurs in electrolysis chambers of water ionizer machines.
The benefits our article talks about are referring to alkaline ionized water not just simple alkaline water. There’s a sharp difference between alkaline water and alkaline ionized water because they’re two entirely different things. The confusion appears because the two terms are usually interchangeable creating confusion among the uneducated users.
Some producers and sellers of the so-called natural water filters are preying upon this whole confusion and they’re tricking naïve customers by selling them a very high priced mineral adding a filter to raise the pH of regular tap water and this is just like adding baking soda to regular water. This way we obtain everyday alkaline water which lacks the benefits of alkaline ionized water. This whole sham even has a name: the alkaline water scam.
In many medical studies, water is called reduced water or electrolyzed reduced water which means that the water is created by electrical processes called ionization or electrolysis. Some sellers of “natural alkaline water” are claiming that the water from ionizers is not natural, but artificial, because the use of this process to create alkaline ionized water would be a harmful thing. This is false, because all medical research studies have already proven that the health benefits only come from alkaline ionized water. [1]
The Science behind the Benefits of Alkaline Water
Alkaline ionized water contains many active hydrogen molecules, therefore it can act as a very powerful antioxidant which finds and destroys the free radicals called reactive oxygen species. These free radicals are created by digestive and metabolic processes from our bodies and as they travel through our organisms, they have the ability of damaging DNA and cells, becoming responsible for various diseases including cancers. This damage also increases the risk for diabetes and ulcers. When the hydrogen molecules from alkaline ionized water find and eliminate these bad free radicals, they also have a beneficial effect on preventing and even lowering the risk level of developing the disease.
Alkaline water is very rich in alkalizing compounds including silica, calcium, potassium, bicarbonate and magnesium. There are also people who claim that a more alkaline diet, apparently including the use of alkaline water, is able to help our bodies to buffer acidity and this will lead to better overall health. There are already some studies which support these claims, but there are also people who remain skeptical to all of these.
Water Basics and the Acid-Based Balance in our Body
We all know the great importance for our health of drinking enough water. Our bodies are mostly made of water, and there are no substances which are this beneficial to our health and physiology. So there’s no wonder that many of us are feeling concerned about the problems regarding increased pollutants and the great variety of contaminants in the tap water we usually drink.
Our bodies are doing an excellent job of maintaining the blood pH within a quite tight range and this means that some “chronic low-grade acidosis” definitely won’t appear on the lab reports.You might ask yourselves whether those lab reports might be deceptive or not. This is an entirely legit question and there are some proponents of alkaline water who have been arguing for a very long time that even if our pH levels look fine, our bodies might be drawing on stored buffers from our muscles and bones in order to maintain the pH within the optimal range. They say that this is not okay.
The human body is incredibly complex and claiming that we all need to alkalinize might be too simple. For one thing each one of our organ systems has its very own unique range of pH. There are plenty of ways in which our bodies maintain the pH balance, and if the pH is not optimal it’s critical that we find out the cause. That’s why we definitely need to see a specialist because without knowing the cause, we’ll never be able to know if alkaline water will actually help us. But it can help, that’s for sure and it has already been proven.[2]
Benefits of Alkaline Ionized Water
-
Alkaline Ionized Water has Powerful Antioxidant Properties
Antioxidant substances have the ability to protect our bodies from free radicals which are one of the leading causes of various health issues ranging from superficial to very severe. As shown above, free radicals can cause considerable damage to our bodies especially by hurting our immunity. When our immunity becomes compromised, this can cause infections and all kinds of diseases ranging from minor to extremely severe degenerative ones.
There are a variety of sources for these free radicals and they include: pollution, exposure to various toxic substances and even to everyday household products with harmful effects on our health. Our bodies need antioxidants in order to be able to combat the adverse effects of free radicals, and a great source for these is alkaline ionized water.
It’s as simple as this: in order to help our body and protect it from serious health problems, it’s a big plus if we drink this kind of water. Studies have already reported that alkaline ionized water has a more effectiveness than most capsules or products available on the market. The reason is simple: alkaline water is in liquid form therefore it’s better assimilated and absorbed by our organism.
-
Alkaline Ionized Water Optimizes the pH Levels from Our Bodies
Fortunately, our bodies naturally try to maintain a proper balance in the acid-alkaline levels, but when they’re overly acidic our systems have to work extremely hard to keep that balance in good shape. Such a thing can produce adverse effects like stress in different areas of the body. When our bodies become too acidic, this acidic environment can interfere with the activity of every cell from our organism.
Our typical diets consist of cheeses, fatty meats and butter and they contribute to creating an overly acidic environment. Also drinking coffee, smoking, alcohol consumption and the processed sugars play some hard negative roles. Consuming all these in large quantities will have the effect of depositing acid waste in our bodies and this will automatically cause disease because health issues thrive in acidic environments.
Alkaline ionized water has the ability to neutralize acid levels from our bodies and it works both as a prevention measure and also as a cure which promotes a quick recovery.
-
Alkaline Ionized Water Hydrates our Bodies
It’s fascinating that alkaline ionized water has a smaller molecular content than regular water and this makes it easier for it to be absorbed by the body. This means a better hydration and a more efficient one, so it’s obviously better if you drink alkaline ionized water instead of tap water. The ionized minerals from its composition will also help the blood circulation to be more efficient which will lead to better functions and processes of our bodies.
-
Alkaline Ionized Water Can Detox Our Bodies
An essential benefit if we drink alkaline ionized water is the fact that it has the ability to eliminate toxins and bad substances which may cause the developing of infections and illness in our body. Also drinking plenty of alkaline ionized water is crucial for optimal health.
Every detox diet we read about in all kinds of magazines and medical articles stresses the importance of drinking enough water every day. Eating healthy and lots of vegetables and fruits will help as well, but there’s nothing better than drinking at least 8 glasses of water every day for a great foundation of detoxing our body.
Many detox programs also began to recommend purchasing an alkaline water machine or filter which can ensure that our water is free of impurities or harmful minerals. There’s obviously no benefit for our health if we drink those 8 glasses of nasty water loaded with all kinds of bacteria if we’re trying to cleanse our organism.
-
Alkaline Ionized Water Boosts our Immunity
We can boost our immune system by keeping our bodies in a more alkaline environment because this is a natural result of neutralizing the free radicals and their harmful effects. An alkaline state for our bodies will also help in cleansing the body of toxic substances.
Studies and lots of research have proven that a regular intake of alkaline water can significantly contribute to improving our immunity and this is crucial to our long-term health.
-
Alkaline Ionized Water Helps with Weight Loss
Alkaline ionized water is beneficial for people who have problems related to weight excess. Today’s diets are mostly and unfortunately based on junk food and this increases the acidic environment from our bodies. In exchange, our bodies create a large number of fat cells in order to neutralize the acid, and this will, of course, result in unwanted kilos.
Alkaline ionized water will naturally neutralize the acids from our bodies, and people who regularly consume it won’t need to create more fat cells in order to neutralize the acids. This way, drinking alkaline water will help with weight loss by reducing fat storage. If our bodies have a healthy level of alkaline, we’ll be able to lose unwanted weight much easier than someone whose body has higher levels of acidity.
-
Alkaline Ionized Water Prevents and Fights Cancer
It’s important to remember that cancer cells won’t be able to live in an environment with a pH which is neutral. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. An alkaline balance in our bodies is essential for preventing the growth and the development of malignant cells. Everything we eat has the ability to contribute to the acidity levels in our bodies, and if we use alkaline ionized water this will keep the acids from our organism neutral. We should maintain a pH level of 7.0 to 7.2 in our body in order to be as healthy as possible, and we can do this if we drink alkaline ionized water.
Alkaline ionized water is very useful in the prevention of the development and growth of cancer cells. So, even the healthiest person is advised to drink it as a measure of prevention.
-
Alkaline Ionized Water Prevents Diabetes
Some studies which have been released confirm the importance of the relationship between alkaline water and our sugar intake. Dr. Theodore Baroody talks in his study about the dependency of our pancreas on correct alkaline diets. As a result, the pancreas will produce alkaline digestive enzymes and sodium bicarbonate, reducing the acidity excess. Our pancreas also has the ability to regulate the levels of blood sugar and to create energy in our bodies. As a conclusion, an optimal blood sugar balance will be maintained by alkaline forming diets.
Japanese Dr. Keijiro Kuwabara who has been treating diabetes using alkaline ionized water has become popular for many years. His opinion is that even if you drink alkaline water for only a month, this will significantly optimize your blood sugar levels.
-
Alkaline Ionized Water Can Reduce the Symptoms of Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a skin disease which we already know has no cure. Its symptoms include silver flaky patches of skin on the neck, face, legs and more affected areas. This is a chronic disease which develops when our immunity is threatened by the healthy skin and the result is an inflamed and red appearance.
It seems that alkaline water can reduce the symptoms of the disorder when applied to the affected skin. It’s also very helpful to switch to drinking only alkaline ionized water instead of regular tap water.
-
Alkaline Ionized Water Can Reduce the Symptoms of Alzheimer’s
Studies have shown that alkaline ionized water generated a much lower glycation level and reduced liver damage in rats which had poor sugar blood. If you’re wondering why this is important, we’ll also give you an explanation.
Glycation represents the reaction which takes place when simple sugar molecules such as glucose and fructose become attached to lipid fats or to proteins without the regular moderation which comes from an enzyme. This causes the formation of rogue molecules which are known as advanced glycation end products or AGEs. They are linked to high health risks such as diabetes and also Alzheimer’s.
-
Alkaline Ionized Water Helps In Other Health Conditions such as Acid Reflux, High Blood Pressure or High Cholesterol
There are also a few more studies which show that alkaline ionized water can also help in case of other health conditions. A study from 2012 demonstrated that by drinking alkaline ionized water with a pH of 8.8 you could deactivate pepsin which is the most important enzyme that causes the development of acid reflux. Other studies suggest that it may also have benefits for patients who suffer from high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
-
Alkaline Ionized Water Helps People Who Don’t Exercise
Along with diet, exercise can also alter our pH balance. A diet high in fresh veggies will result in greater levels of alkalinity. It’s also important that the benefits of drinking alkaline ionized water are more visible in people who don’t exercise much or in those who have lots of processed foods in their diets.
Healthy individuals who have healthy diets and who regularly exercise might fail to notice much change in their state from drinking this kind of water, but it’s also beneficial for prevention. Be very sure that even if you don’t notice much change, you’ll definitely benefit from drinking alkaline ionized water.
-
Alkaline Ionized Water is Great for Athletes
Intense physical activity results in the production of more hydrogen ions by our muscles which our body has a hard time removing efficiently. This will cause an increased fatigue and drink alkaline ionized water will enhance the body’s buffering capacity, tempering the acidity levels and also improving the physical performance.
The minerals have the ability to decrease cardio-respiratory stress and blood lactate responses, and it also improves power output in endurance athletes.
-
Alkaline Ionized Water Maintains Gut Health
Oxidation reduction potential also known as ORP represents a measure of the tendency to gain or lose electrons when a new species is present. ORP seems to be related to bacteria from our gut and it can influence it. Alkaline ionized water possesses a negative ORP which means that it might offer some powerful disinfectant properties and it protects our gut from dangerous microorganisms.
-
Start Saving Money With an Alkaline Water Machine
If you purchase an alkaline ionized water machine, you’ll see that it is significantly cheaper than lots of products which are available on the market and this is also a one-time purchase. You can consider the costs of some fancy supplements over the years, buying bottled water and don’t forget lots of visits to the doctors. It’s better if you invest in an alkaline ionizing water machine which you’ll have for the rest of your life having access to antioxidants that will ensure an overall good health.
As you can see, the benefits of drinking alkaline ionized water are plenty, and taking into consideration all the ways in which this kind of water can improve your health, you shouldn’t wait any longer before making the switch. By drinking alkaline ionized water you diminish the risks of developing serious health issues.
Drinking alkaline ionized water is generally considered a safe thing to do since its composition includes minerals which are beneficial to our overall health, but – important to remember- only for some people, and only in certain circumstances.
References