First, we have to learn about what alkaline means. Alkalinity and acidity are measured on the pH scale, which is a scale from 0-14 that measures the concentration of hydrogen ions in compounds from batteries to food. Neutral is measured at 7.0, while acids are below 7.0 and alkaline compounds (or bases) are greater than 7.0 Alkaline water is water that measures anywhere above a 7.0 on the pH scale.
Advocates of alkaline water say that it can neutralize acid in the bloodstream, act as an antioxidant, boost metabolism, and even cure or prevent disease. This theory is linked with a popular fad diet, the "alkaline diet." However, research does not support these claims. Unites States tap water is regulated so that it must measure between a 6.5 and 9.5 on the pH scale, but the exact number varies depending on location. Making your tap water more alkaline (or basic) can be achieved by purchasing filters, faucet attachments, or using additives like drops or powders to increase the pH. It can also be purchased at some health food stores.
The body is extremely good at controlling its pH level. Blood pH is sustained between 7.35 and 7.45, which is slightly alkaline, and the body is very good at controlling this level through mechanisms in the lungs and kidneys. If your blood is too acidic, for example, our lungs expel more carbon dioxide (or, we hyperventilate), which helps bring the blood back up to normal. Unless you have medical problems with your lungs or kidneys, blood pH is very well controlled no matter what food or drink you consume.
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What is it about alkaline water that makes it so healthful?
The body is perfectly capable of maintaining its own pH balance provided it receives the proper nutrients. When the body is not getting enough alkaline minerals from food and water, it must rob calcium from its own bones to neutralize acidity. This is not ideal and once the body's readily available alkaline mineral supplies are depleted, it becomes overly acidic. It is important to note that water can be either naturally alkaline or artificially alkaline.
Why? Naturally alkaline water contains the alkaline minerals the body needs to combat acidity. Artificially alkaline water, such as water from a typical alkaline water ionizer machine, has a pH that is artificially increased and does not have any more alkaline minerals than the original water used to supply the machine. Artificially alkaline water has also been proven to cause side effects, and from a chemical perspective, such a water cannot be found anywhere in nature. Are there any other alkaline water benefits?
Naturally alkaline, enhanced water helps to neutralize acids and remove toxins from the body. Alkaline water also acts as a conductor of electrochemical activity from cell to cell. Other alkaline water benefits include:
- Increased intracellular hydration
- Decreased likelihood of developing acidosis
- Constant replenishment of essential minerals for pH balancing
- Increased ability of cells to expel wastes
How Alkaline Water Can Improve Your Health
Alkaline water also known as ionized water, has a higher pH than regular tap water -- which means it's less acidic. While alkaline diets might seem to be just another fad, you may actually reap some health benefits from drinking alkaline water.
Reduced Gastric Reflux - Because of the high pH value of alkaline water, it may help improve symptoms of gastroesophogeal reflux disease. According to a study published in 2012 in The Annals of Otology, Rhinology, and Laryngology, typical tap and bottled waters have pH balances of 6.7 to 7.4, but alkaline drinking water has a pH of 8.8 and helps buffer hydrochloric acid in your stomach. This process could help improve unpleasant symptoms of gastroesophogeal reflux disease, and reduce damage to the larynx and esophagus caused by the disease:
- Improved Metabolic Acidosis
- Potential Effects on Bone Health
- Other Possible Benefits
What Are the Benefits of Alkaline in the Body?
When your body is in an alkaline state, you are less likely to suffer from chronic diseases. The foods and beverages you consume each day have a direct impact on the acid and alkaline balance in your body. This balance is measured by determining your pH value, which tells you if your body's fluids and tissues are more acidic or alkaline. On a pH scale of negative 4.5, which is very acidic, to positive 9.5, which is highly alkaline, your body is considered healthy and alkaline if you have a pH level of 7.0 or above.
If you have a slight pH fluctuation, and your body becomes more acidic than it should be, your body immediately begins to exhibit symptoms of an imbalance. These symptoms may be considered little things, like a runny nose, fatigue, a skin breakout, or a slight case of irritable bowel syndrome. However, these minor health issues are actually the first sign that your body might be too acidic and needs to reach a more alkaline state.
Although exposure to germs and contaminants, stress and other external life factors can cause all of these symptoms too, you are more likely to have clearer skin, better digestion, more energy, and a nose that runs less often when your body is alkaline.
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Kangen Water: Doctors, Scientists & Nutritionists
“I have examined more than 300,000 people’s stomachs and intestines for 35 years and realize that our health depends largely on our dietary life. And from my experiences I would like to teach you healthy, dietary habits to help you enjoy your life!”
“It is widely recognized in the medical profession that a healthy and clean colon is one of the most important precursors to good health and that the great majority of body ailments and diseases originate in an acidic and dirty colon. Water is essential for your health. Drinking “good water;” especially hard water which has much calcium and magnesium keeps your body at an optimal alkaline PH.”
“Kangen Water is alkaline rich water (ph 8-9), and is considered the very best drinking water because of its incomparable powers of hydration, detoxification, and anti-oxidation.”
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Water ionizer
A water ionizer (also known as a alkaline ionizer) is a home appliance which claims to raise the pH of drinking water by using electrolysis to separate the incoming water stream into acidic and alkaline components. Proponents claim that consumption of the alkaline stream results in a variety of health benefits, making it similar to the alternative health practice of alkaline diets. Such claims are not generally accepted in chemistry and physiology.
The machines originally became popular in Japan and other Far Eastern countries before becoming available in the U.S. and Europe. Water ionizers are often marketed on the basis of health claims; normally focused on their putative ability to make water more alkaline. A wide variety of benefits have been claimed, including the ability to slow ageing, prevent disease and even offer protection from nuclear fallout.
There is no empirical evidence to support these claims, nor the claims that drinking ionized water will have a noticeable effect on the body. Drinking ionized water or alkaline water does not alter the body's pH due to acid-base homeostasis
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Alkaline water dangers: why you should not drink it
As much as the alkaline water might seem the solution to problems such as Acidosis, the outcome is not always what you expect. The logical explanation to why doctors are yet to approve the use of the alkaline water is because of the likely side effects that people get. Most of the documented researches show that the tests were only carried on dogs and plants.
How do you even translate the results of plants to be used on humans? So far, there has been no extensive research on the benefits that the alkaline water can do for the humans.
By now you know that the use of alkaline water is not the solution to your health problems. It is time to follow the recommended methods in order to live a healthy life. Consult a nutritionist who can help in coming up with an impressive diet plan for you to use.
Common side effects associated with drinking alkaline water:
- Digestion malfunctions
- Cardiovascular problems
- Metabolic abnormalities
- Puts extra burden on kidneys
- It can actually make you dehydrated
Is Alkaline Water Extra Healthy or a Hoax?
pH strips testing the acidity or alkalinity of different types of water. Photo Credit Matt Meadows/Photolibrary/Getty Images
Many alternative health experts say that alkaline water -- whether purchased in bottles or created from your own tap with a pricey do-it-yourself ionizing purifier -- is an extra-healthy type of water to drink, with claims that it slows the aging process, increases energy, helps people with fertility issues, regulates your body’s pH level and prevents chronic diseases like cancer.
Does alkaline water hold up to all this hype? Let's consider regular water first. Drinking at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water every day is important to our overall health. More than fifty percent of our bodies are made of water, and staying properly hydrated is essential to every bodily function.
If you think about it, regular old water is practically a miracle drink. It keeps our bodies hydrated, and it's calorie-free! Those of us who live in the U.S. are lucky to have access to clean drinking water. According to Water.org, 750 million people around the world lack access to safe water -- approximately one in nine people. So, first let's appreciate our access to safe water.
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Alkaline water: Legit health food or high-priced hoax?
Many people believe that the typical North American diet contributes to chronic low-grade acidosis – a condition that may be associated with poor health outcomes including heart problems, altered hormonal status, and the loss of muscle or bone.
Proponents of alkaline water believe that it can neutralize the acid in your bloodstream and help your body metabolize nutrients more effectively, leading to better health and performance.
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Can Drinking Alkaline Water Keep You Extra-Hydrated And Disease-Free?
Can trendy alkaline water cure what ails you? (Photo: Stocksy/Aleksandra Kovac/Yahoo
Water is nature’s perfect beverage. Hydrating, calorie-free, and readily available, the simple drink is as good as it gets for ensuring proper functioning of all your body’s organs. But what if there was a different water, an even more hydrating liquid that goes farther to keep you healthy and thriving?
That’s the premise behind alkaline water, a version of H2O with a pH level higher than 7. (A pH above 7 is considered alkaline, while a pH lower than 7 is acidic — normal water typically has a pH of 7).The thinking is this: Maintaining a bodily pH level of 7.4 is key to optimum health. Because so many foods in the modern diet are considered acidic, drinking water with a higher pH than normal can help your body stay alkaline and disease-free, improving all aspects of health. Proponents call it a better form of hydration, and some drink alkaline water exclusively.
The water comes in two forms: “natural” alkaline water, gathered from areas like Hawaii’s volcanic regions, or “artificial” alkaline water, which is ionized by a machine or made by adding an alkalizing salt to normal water.
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Alkaline Water Exposed
What They Don't Tell You
Did you know that water can be either naturally alkaline or artificially alkaline?
It's true. Naturally alkaline water has a chemical makeup that differs significantly from artificially alkaline water. More important, however, is the fact that artificially alkaline water causes side effects and should generally be avoided as a daily drinking water.
What they don't tell you...
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Is alkaline water better for you than plain water?
For most people, plain water is best.
Because alkaline water has a higher pH level than does plain tap water, proponents say that it can neutralize acid in your bloodstream, boost your metabolism and help your body absorb nutrients more effectively. Some even say that alkaline water can help prevent disease and slow the aging process. However, researchers haven't verified these claims.
Some studies suggest that alkaline water may help slow bone loss, but further investigation is needed to determine if this influences overall bone mineral density and if the benefit is maintained over the long term.
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"Ionized" and alkaline water - Snake oil on tap
"Ionized water" is one of many products and panaceas that the wonky-water wellness industry flogs onto the large segment of the general public that lacks the scientific background to distinguish scientific fact from pseudoscientific hype when the two are closely intertwined. The purpose of this page is to critically examine some of the claims about "ionized" and alkaline waters from the standpoint of modern chemistry and physiology in order to provide you with the information you need to make your own informed decision before opening your wallets to the hucksters of these products and whose claims are totally lacking in scientific support.
What most of these outfits actually sell are grossly overpriced electrical devices that purport to produce "ionized" and alkaline water by the process of electrolysis. Many of these "water ionizers" appear to have their origins in Japan and Korea, two countries whose populations seem to be particularly susceptible to being taken in by pseudoscientific water-treatment schemes. In North America, distribution of these dubious devices has depended largely on multi-level marketing schemes that enroll science-ignorant dealers to exploit even-more-vulnerable consumers while enabling the manufacturer to maintain a low profile to regulatory agencies such as the FTC.
It doesn't help that quackery-filled "alternative health" books such as pH Miracle Living and Alkalize or Die by "Doctor" Theodore Baroody (whose scientific credentials seem highly dubious) plug alkaline water as one way of preventing cancer or of increasing one's lifespan. There is even a company that offers complete "alkaline diets" for which they make ridiculous claims. Even the otherwise respectable Kurzweil and Grossman's Fantastic Voyage (see below) goes off the track on this craze.
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