Alkaline Water: Good Health or Junk Science?

There’s a lot of misconceptions out there about alkaline water, and it’s easy to see why. The correct name for alkaline

water is “Electrolyzed Reduced Water” in chemistry, there is no such thing as alkaline or kangen water. Both of these are simply marketing terms. That’s why if you do a Google Scholar search for alkaline water studies, you won’t find any. To find the studies that have been done, you have to search for Electrolyzed Reduced Water.

An article online called Alkaline Water: Good Health or Junk Science by Jan Roberts claims that alkaline ionized water can’t have any effect on the body because it’s neutralized by stomach acid. But later in the article, Roberts warns that if you drink alkaline water, it will interfere with your digestive enzymes. I found that mighty confusing, you can’t have it both ways: If it did nothing, then there’s no way it could interfere with your digestive enzymes.

I tried to reach out to Roberts to ask about this contradiction, but strangely enough, the company she wrote the article for says that no such person works there.

Can alkaline water help fight disease, combat acidity, enhance longevity and even cure cancer?

Alkaline ionized water promotes general wellness, it’s not a drug. You drink it to enhance your health. Research shows that drinking it can raise blood and urine pH when they are low. It can fight acidity, and that drinking alkaline water brings gradual relief of digestive upset caused by acidity, it also brings gradual relief of the symptoms of Gastrointestinal Reflux.

Do the health claims being made for this new ‘wonder-water’ stand-up to scientific scrutiny?

Alkaline water isn’t a “new wonder water”. Springs like Noredneau in Germany have been prized for centuries for their health-restorative properties. Water ionizers simply turn tap water into the same kind of water you get from springs like Nordeneau.

There are over 40 studies that document health benefits from drinking alkaline water. It helps with digestive upset, bone health, athletic performance, and many other conditions

More importantly, is there any evidence that some forms of ‘alkaline water’ might even be harmful?

No. Alkaline water is generally recognized as safe by health experts. In fact, there is only one “form” of alkaline water, because all alkaline water gets its alkalinity from the same place – calcium and magnesium. No negative health effects have ever been reported in humans from drinking alkaline ionized water in the over 200 years of documented medical history that it has been consumed.

How water ionizers work

Ionizers use a process called electrodialysis to separate the ions in water into alkaline and acidic fractions, each are discharged separately. It’s important to note that the dissolved mineral ions in alkaline water are naturally present. Water ionizers can’t alter them in any way. Because of this, the water from a water ionizer is exactly the same as antioxidant natural spring water – good for your health, and 100% natural.

Is there medical evidence to support the health claims made for alkaline water?

Yes, there are over 40 studies that support the health benefits of alkaline ionized water.

Why did Dr. Weil say alkaline water claim there’s no scientific evidence?

Dr. Weil was specifically referring to implausible health claims made by Enagic Kangen about cancer. He’s right, the Enagic claims are bunk. Dr. Weil failed to discuss the actual health studies done on alkaline water because he doesn’t even realise they exist! Scientists call alkaline water “electrolyzed reduced water” to find the medical studies on it, that is what you must search for. Dr. Weil searched for “alkaline water studies” so he missed all of the available research. See for yourself:

Scholar search results: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=%22electrolyzed+reduced+water%22&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C5&as_sdtp=

Alkaline water warning?

The rat studies referred to in the article have never been reproduced. They are considered to be outliers which are not supported by the medical facts.

Digestion interrupted?

Earlier in the article, the author states:

“our stomach contains hydrochloric acid with a pH of around 3 to 4.  If we drink water with a pH 8.5 or 9 it is immediately neutralised by our gastric acids and loses its ability to alkalise our body as soon it enters the highly acidic stomach environment.”

At the end of the article the author states:

“We noted before that weakly buffered ‘alkaline water’ (even at pH 11) is immediately neutralised by the stomach acids. However, it does have an effect on our digestive system.

Every time you drink artificially high pH ‘ionized’ water your stomach produces more acid to compensate for the dilution of acid in the stomach.”

Which is it? Is alkaline water destroyed by the acidic stomach? Or does it have an effect? The fact is – you are not supposed to drink alkaline water with meals – because it does have an effect.

The article closes with a “theory” (unsupported by evidence) that drinking alkaline water disrupts enzyme production. Alkaline ionized water from water ionizers has been in use since the 1950’s. How come we have never heard of a single case of any negative effects. In our lawsuit happy society, any harm from a defective product quickly results in a lawsuit! Nobody has ever sued an alkaline water company for harm. There is no evidence that alkaline water interferes with any enzymes.