Alkaline Water May Stop Bone Loss, experts agree

Experts aren’t certain what causes bone loss

Medical experts are now acknowledging that there may be a connection between drinking alkaline water, and maintaining bone health. This is surprising because alkaline water has faced a lot of criticism. Skeptics claim there are no studies supporting the benefits of alkaline water, and some even suggest that it is a modern “snake oil”. But  health experts, such as Katherine Zeratsky of the Mayo Clinic disagree. This article examines the link between alkalinity and bone loss, which even skeptics of alkaline water admit exists.

Columbia University Health Advice: Drinking alkaline water can lead to decreased bone loss

Columbia University provides health & wellness advice on its website for faculty and students. An advice column called Go Ask Alice addresses a question about alkaline water posed by one of Columbia’s students. The student asks about alkaline water wondering if: “if it’s actually good for me”. The author of the article recounts some of the claimed health benefits of alkaline water and states that  more research has to be done to conclusively prove many of the health benefits of drinking alkalized water.

However, the article also points out that “studies have shown that alkaline water can lead to a decrease of bone loss in pre-menopausal women”. The author describes how bones are used to store calcium in the body and states that if a person maintains alkalinity in their body through diet and drinking alkaline water that bone loss caused by calcium depletion may be prevented. The article goes on to state that researchers have found that a low-acid diet (alkaline diet) “may lead to stronger bones”.

The Mayo Clinic and alkaline water

The Mayo Clinic answers questions from the general public about health on its website at MayoClinic.com. On the site, Mayo Clinic nutritionist Katherine Zeratsky tackles the question: “Is alkaline water better for you than plain water?” Zeratsky briefly outlines the some of the health benefits attributed to alkaline water. She takes no position on any of the claims because not enough research has been done.     Even though Zeratsky states that plain water is “fine for most people”, she also points out that research indicates that alkaline water may slow bone loss. Zeratsky states that further study is needed in order to learn if the positive effects of alkalinity can be “maintained over the long term.”

Why aren’t health experts sure?

The medical establishment performs a critical role in protecting public health. Any new device or medicine must be demonstrated effective through extremely rigorous clinical trials which can take decades to complete. Large pharmaceutical companies can afford to spend the billions of dollars that it takes to conduct these clinical trials, where much smaller water ionizer makers cannot afford to. By way of comparison, the annual revenues of any one of the large pharmaceutical companies easily exceeds the annual revenues of the entire water ionizer industry combined!

While the writers of both of the articles discussed above mentioned that there are studies which support the use of alkaline water to slow bone loss, neither author is willing to say that it does for sure. Each writer points to the need for long-term studies of alkaline water’s ability to prevent bone loss. Unfortunately, “long term studies” take decades and cost billions. No ionizer company, no matter how much it believes in its products, can afford to conduct the studies that the medical establishment demands.

Life Ionizers has a full line of water ionizers that produce alkaline water with high pH levels. People interested in maintaining healthy bones may wish to consider high performance models such as the Life 9000 series which can produce alkaline water with a pH of up to11+.