Dancing with Water – Debunked

I recently read a book called Dancing with Water by MJ Pangman and Melanie Evans that makes seven allegations about ionized alkaline water. What all seven of the claims made in Dancing with Water had in common is that they are based on pseudo-scientific nonsense. The book makes claims such as water being microclustered, that have been thoroughly debunked, on this blog and elsewhere.

Below are the seven claims made by the Author of  Dancing with Water and the facts which prove the claims are not true. The purpose that  Dancing with Water was written was to sell you (among other things) water filtration products. So it’s not surprising that the author would look for any reason to discredit the health benefits of alkaline water.

1. Claim: Alkaline water hinders digestion. The author points out that fifty percent of people over the age of 60 are hypochlorhydric. This is true, but then the author claims that: “people who begin to drink alkaline ionized water end up with digestive trouble” (false) and that “Most of those who promote alkaline water are aware of this problem” (false)

Fact: Life Ionizers has been selling water ionizers in the US since 1996. In this time, we have received exactly zero reports of customers developing digestive trouble. Clinical testing done in Japan shows that 88% of people with upset stomachs actually found relief from their symptoms by drinking alkaline water.  We do recommend you don’t drink alkaline water before and during meals, and that goes  for all water, not just alkaline mineral water. Water dilutes your digestive juices when you eat.

2. Claim: Alkaline water does not balance the body’s pH. One of the arguments used in favor of alkaline water, supposes that its consumption will alkalize the body and negate the buildup of acids caused by our modern diet and lifestyle.

Fact: Life Ionizers doesn’t subscribe to the Acid/Alkaline theory this author is quoting. In fact, we debunk the Acid/Alkaline Theory in this article.

Fact: Alkaline water supplies alkaline minerals (calcium and magnesium). As the Author of Dancing with Water suggested, it is alkaline minerals that your body uses to buffer acids. You can test the pH of your urine and prove this  yourself. Urine pH  increases when you drink alkaline water. 

3. Claim: Another reason NOT to drink alkaline ionized water is that a water ionizer allegedly “damages” the  molecular structure of water.

Fact: Water molecules DO NOT form any kind of molecular structure in liquid form. Claims that water is somehow “structured” “micro clustered” or hexagonal” are pseudo-scientific rubbish.

The Physics: There are three states of matter: Solid, liquid, and gas. In solid form, water becomes ice. The molecules  form hexagonal crystal structures (the familiar snowflake form). In liquid or gas form, water molecules DO NOT form structures. they move about freely, independent of one another.

4. Claim: Alkaline ionized water contains calcium hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide that contribute to arterial plaque and joint disorders.

Fact: Calcium hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide are both completely safe for human consumption and used to fortify food with nutrients. Who says? The FDA Both of these minerals are listed in the FDA’s Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) database:

http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/GRAS/SCOGS/ucm260885.htm

http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/GRAS/SCOGS/ucm260463.htm

Fact: Calcium hydroxide is also used by municipal water authorities to raise the pH of tap water – millions of tons of it in fact.  Calcium hydroxide is used to fortify infant formula and orange juice with calcium. Magnesium hydroxide is also commonly used to fortify foods with magnesium.

5. Claim: Alkaline water is imbalanced. Water ionizers separate water into two streams.  One contains the acidic ions.

Fact: Alkaline water from a water ionizer contains mineral cations, AND hydroxyl anions. It is physically impossible to have water with only calcium and/or magnesium in it. It is physically impossible to have “imbalanced” water.

The Chemistry: If you put a piece of pure calcium or magnesium into water, you may very well cause an explosion! Calcium and magnesium in water will release hydrogen gas and heat. This is because calcium and magnesium in water MUST reach chemical equilibrium – balance. According to Le Chatelier’s Principle: All things MUST find equilibrium! The laws of nature do not allow anything to remain unbalanced – especially water!

6. Claim: Alkaline ionized water causes cell death and fibrosis of the heart.

There are zero reports of alkaline water causing any kind of heart trouble. The studies the author cites were done on rats. There was a major flaw in those studies. The researchers used a dilute solution of salt water to make the water they fed to the rats.

Salt water in a water ionizer makes bleach! This study was literally feeding dilute amounts of bleach to the rats! Research conducted by the Livermore National Laboratories shows that chlorine in water with an alkaline pH is not good for the heart. The bleach that the scientists didn’t realize they were making caused all the trouble cited in the study.

This is why water ionizers, and Life Ionizers in particular have taken extensive measures to ensure there is no chlorine in the water they make. Life Ionizers developed our laboratory-grade Vitamin C Ceramic Block technology  specifically to eliminate chlorine from the water our machine produce. Testing performed by ETL certified labs shows that there is no detectable levels of chlorine in water produced by a Life Ionizer.

Another claim: The author goes on to claim that  Dr. Hidemitsu Hayashi, a cardiac surgeon and Director of the Water Institute in Japan, determined that the benefits of alkaline ionized water were due to hydrogen in the water.

Fact: This is more pseudo-scientific rubbish. Hydrogen in water has NO EFFECT on your health. If you drink water with hydrogen in it, the hydrogen will simply come back up as a burp. The ONLY organs in your body that can absorb gases are your lungs.

7. Claim: Alkaline ionized water is aggressive and unnatural.

The author presents no medical references to support this statement. Alkaline water is nowhere near as aggressive as a can of soda. In fact, we tested this. It took 18 glasses of level 4 alkaline water from a water ionizer to neutralize the acid in one can of soda.

Alkaline water from a water ionizer resembles artesian well water. Both get their alkalinity from calcium hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide. People have been drinking alkaline water from water ionizers for over two decades. People have been drinking artesian well water for centuries (because of it’s superior benefits for health!) Alkaline water from a water ionizer is natural and beneficial, just like artesian well water. That is why both kinds of water are highly prized for health.

8. Claim: Alkaline ionized water can be therapeutic for short periods of time but it should never be consumed on a regular basis unless you are prepared for digestive problems, organ failure, arterial build-up, joint calcification, and metabolic imbalances.

Fact: There are no reports of ANY ill health effects from drinking ionized alkaline water. The Author of Dancing with Water has obviously never heard of the US FDA. If you sell an unsafe health product in the US, the US FDA will shut you down. In fact, if you sold something for health that caused “digestive problems, organ failure, arterial build-up, joint calcification, and metabolic imbalances” (which the author claims) You would be arrested, your company would be seized, and you would go to prison! Also, you would be sued by everybody that got hurt by your product.

Dancing with Water – Don’t believe the hype

Any competent chemist, physicist,  or doctor can give you many reasons why the information presented in the book  Dancing with Water is complete nonsense. Water ionizers, just like every other machine on Earth must obey the laws of chemistry and physics. The claims made in  Dancing with Water defy the laws of chemistry and physics. That makes those claims untrue.

Yes! Alkaline water is good for you and we have the studies that prove it. Get the facts about alkaline water for health, call us today at 877-959-7977