Alkaline water benefits for digestive health

Alkaline water benefits for digestive health

There is a war being fought in your gut right now. It’s a battle between beneficial probiotic bacteria and harmful bacteria. Which side is winning? That depends on your digestive health. If you suffer from frequent digestive problems, the bad guys are winning. If the bad guys are winning the war in your gut, you can help “tip the scales” in favor of the good guys by drinking alkaline water. How can alkaline water benefit digestive health? Because a major factor that decided which side wins is the Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP) of fluids in your gut.

How ORP affects bacteria in the gut

The beneficial probiotic bacteria in your gut hate oxygen. They are known as anaerobic bacteria. Harmful bacteria in your gut thrive on oxygen. They are known as aerobic bacteria. So to tip the scales in favor of the beneficial probiotic bacteria, you want to have as little free oxygen in your gut as possible. You can do that by raising the increasing the negative ORP of fluids in your intestines.

How ORP works

The ORP of a fluid measures it’s ability to stop oxygen from chemically combining with other substances. It’s a process called oxidation. A negative ORP reduces or prevents oxidation. A positive ORP promotes oxidation. Because alkaline water from a water ionizer has a negative ORP it has antioxidant potential. Increasing the antioxidant potential of fluids in your gut helps prevent harmful oxidation. Alkaline water with a negative ORP will have no free oxygen in it.

When you drink alkaline water with a negative ORP, you deprive harmful bacteria of oxygen. That starves them. Beneficial probiotic bacteria grow in the gut at a negative ORP of between -300 and -400 mV. Harmful gut bacteria grow when ORP is positive, up to +400 mV.

Does the stomach acidify alkaline water?

No, not on an empty stomach. Your stomach produces acid only when it needs to. Acid production is triggered by the smell of food and by proteins and carbohydrates. Alkaline water doesn’t trigger stomach acid production. When you drink alkaline water on an empty stomach it passes right through the stomach. Then it goes right into the intestines so the body can absorb it. You should only drink alkaline water on an empty stomach so you don’t interfere with your stomach acid while digesting a meal.

Causes of harmful oxidation in the gut

A perfectly healthy body given a healthy diet will naturally have beneficial negative ORP in the gut. But many stresses and toxins, and unhealthy diets can upset the gut’s natural negative ORP balance.

Some factors that lead to an unhealthy ORP balance in the gut:

• • Pharmaceutical drugs: Antibiotics, immunosuppressants

• • Pesticides

• • Radiation treatments

• • Acidic diet

• • Stress

• Illness

Once the gut’s ORP balance has been disturbed, it can be difficult to get it back. Many people consume yogurt with prebiotics. Those prebiotics help form probiotics once they are in the gut if the gut’s ORP is negative. Alkaline water supports the formation of probiotics by providing the needed negative ORP balance.

Alkaline water benefits for gastrointestinal reflux

Another part of digestive health where alkaline water may help is with acid reflux. The pain and damage of acid reflux is caused by excessive hydrochloric acid in the stomach, which refluxes up into the esophagus. For hydrochloric acid to do this damage, it must be triggered by a stomach enzyme called pepsin. Alkaline water has been proven to inactivate pepsin.

Update: Recent research confirms that alkaline water and a healthy diet are as effective against acid reflux as PPI medications.

Research conducted in Japan reveals that drinking alkaline water can provide relief of mild digestive upset. It’s benefits build up gradually, results in the Japanese research were seen after about two weeks.

How to use alkaline water for digestive health

Always drink alkaline water on an empty stomach. Stop drinking alkaline water a half hour before your meal. Wait a half hour after eating before starting again. During your meal you can drink purified water from your water ionizer. Try not to drink too much water of any kind during a meal so you don’t dilute your digestive juices.

How much water you should drink:

Take your body weight (in pounds) and divide it in half. The resulting number is the number of ounces of water you should drink every day. For example, if you weigh 140 pounds, that divided in half is 70. That means you would need to drink 70 ounces of water per day. You will need to drink more if you work out to replace the hydration you lost.

Take the number of ounces of water you should drink in a day, and divide it by 4. That is the number of glasses of alkaline water you need to drink.  You also need to drink a glass of water an hour before bed (this will save your life!).

Below is the schedule that a person weighing 140 pounds would follow to make sure they drink enough water. A person weighing 140 pounds would need to drink about 9 glasses of alkaline water per day.

Schedule for daily consumption of alkaline water (A glass of water = 8 ounces)

• • Wake up: Two glasses of alkaline water will get the intestines moving – a process called peristalsis

• • After breakfast: Two glasses of alkaline water before lunch

• • After Lunch: Two glasses before dinner, more if you’re working out

• • After Dinner:  Two Glasses

• Hour before bed: One glass

Benefits of preparing foods with alkaline water

You also get water from the foods you drink and from many beverages. Prepare your foods and beverages with alkaline water for this very reason. Alkaline water can make beverages like fruit juices and coffee less acidic. It also increases the antioxidant benefit of tea. Alkaline water also triples the antioxidant potential of Vitamin C.

A great way to take advantage of the benefits of alkaline water and vitamin C is to add a squeeze of lemon to your glass. Drink your alkaline water and lemon juice first thing in the morning to give your intestines and extra boost!

Yes, you can take charge of your health. Call us today at 877-959-7977 for a free consultation. Discover the amazing things that the right kind of water can do for you.

References

Vorobjeva, N.V.. “Selective stimulation of the growth of anaerobic microflora in the human intestinal tract by electrolyzed reducing water.” Medical Hypotheses. Elsevier, 14 Jun 2004. Web. 5 Jul 2013. <http://www.medical-hypotheses.com/article/S0306-9877(04)00489-X/abstract>.

 

Koufman, Jamie, and Nikki Johnsten. “Potential Benefits of pH 8.8 Alkaline Drinking Water as an Adjunct in the Treatment of Reflux Disease.” Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology. Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology, n.d. Web. 5 Jul 2013. <http://www.annals.com/toc/auto_abstract.php?id=15887>.