Does alkaline water really work? The Evidence

Does alkaline water really work? The Evidence by Life Water Ionizers

Yes, alkaline water really works; it’s ability to hydrate your body, balance your pH, and provide essential minerals that make a real difference in health is unmatched by any food or supplement. To understand how alkaline water can benefit your health, you need to understand first what alkaline water works for. Health is a very complex subject, good health comes from a number of factors: Nutrition, exercise, hydration, and even stress all have an effect on your health. That’s why there is no such thing as a miracle cure. Alkaline water is one part of a healthy lifestyle that leads to overall better health.

Why alkaline water works for hydration

Your body is about 75% water, and to maintain your health you have to maintain your hydration level. If you lose even 1% of the water in your body, your body will slow your metabolism, steal water from nonessential organs, and begin dumping essential electrolytes that you need for good health in an effort to maintain a healthy balance of electrolytes to water. Dehydration can be lethal, it will cause you to have a heart attack or stroke in your sleep, and it’s the #1 killer of firefighters.

Why hydration is pH dependent: Alkaline water hydrates better than plain water because the channels in your cells that allow water to enter – called aquaporins – are pH dependent. If water is acidic, cell aquaporins will block the water. If water is alkaline, aquaporins will allow it to enter the cells.

Scientific research proves that alkaline water is best for hydration

The benefit of alkaline water for hydration has been demonstrated in multiple studies. Research on firefighters and hydration has shown that drinking alkaline water can help firefighters prevent the debilitating dehydration that leads to lethal heart attacks and strokes.

The study, called Effect of Hydration on Whole Blood Viscosity in Firefighters examined 15 healthy, nonsmoking firefighters to see what effect dehydration had on their hearts. The study showed that dehydration makes a firefighter’s heart work harder because it thickens their blood. Scientists had the firefighters conduct a mock firefight to dehydrate the firefighters. After the firefight, each firefighter received half their bbody weightin ounces of alkaline water. Within 45 minutes, the alkaline water nearly restored all of the firefighters to healthy hydration levels. It would take over an hour for plain water (pH of 7) to restore hydration to the same level.

The findings in Effect of Hydration on Whole Blood Viscosity in Firefighters built upon another study that was conducted on cyclists at Montana State University by Professor Daniel P Heil. The study, called Influence of bottled water on rehydration following a dehydrating bout of cycling exercise compared the effect of drinking alkaline water on dehydration to the effect of drinking plain water on dehydration.

Influence of bottled water on rehydration following a dehydrating bout of cycling exercise examined 10 male cyclists who were an average of 40 years old. Each of the cyclists were put through a dehydrating bout of cycling, until their bodies had lost 2.5% hydration, which is severe dehydration! The cyclists then drank either plain water or alkaline water. In each case, the cyclists that rehydrated with alkaline water gained 17% better hydration than the cyclists that drank plain water. Two weeks later, they tried the experiment again. This time, the cyclists that drank plain water previously drank alkaline water, and vice versa. The result was the same: Cyclists that drank alkaline water had 17% better hydration than cyclists that drank plain water.

How well hydrated are you? How to test your hydration status

Alkaline water best for heart health

“The more alkaline the water, the greater the protective effect on the arteries” That’s an exact quote from a study called Hard water and the heart: The story revisited The study reviewed and summarized research that followed tens of thousands of people over the course of decades to see what effect the type of water you drink has on your heart. The study found that if you drink soft water, you have a much higher risk of heart disease. If you drink hard water – which is alkaline water – your risk of heart disease drops significantly.

The reason alkaline water is the best water for heart health is that your body absorbs minerals 30% easier and faster from water than it does from food. Mineral deficiency is a major factor in heart disease, the CDC estimates that about 3 out of 4 of Americans face higher risk of heart attack and stroke because of magnesium deficiency  – even if they get enough magnesium in their diet! The reason you can be deficient in magnesium even if you get enough in your diet is that magnesium can be hard for your body to absorb. An enzyme found in vegetables, called phytate, binds to magnesium in your digestive tract. When that happens, your body can’t absorb that magnesium. When you drink alkaline water, the magnesium in it is very easy to for your body absorb since water doesn’t require digestion.

Did you know? The World Health Organization says the best source of minerals is water and recommends you get up to 20% of your daily requirement for minerals from drinking water.

Better bone health and the link to alkaline water

The strongest scientific evidence to date for the health benefits of alkaline water is the link between alkaline water and bone health. The evidence is so strong that even the Mayo Clinic agrees: There is a link between drinking alkaline water and bone health. Why does the Mayo Clinic say there is a link between drinking alkaline water and healthy bones? They based their conclusion on four studies:

1. 1. Acid-base balance and hydration status following consumption of mineral-based alkaline bottled water. This study compared the effect of drinking alkaline water on blood and urine pH levels to drinking plain water. The study found that – compared to plain water – drinking alkaline water “improved acid-base balance (i.e., an alkalization of the blood and urine) and hydration status”. Drinking plain water did not have the same alkalizing and hydrating effect that alkaline water did.

1. 1. Alkaline mineral water lowers bone resorption even in calcium sufficiency. Evaluated the effect of water pH on bone loss in people that got enough calcium in their diet. Researchers found that drinking alkaline water reduces bone loss – even if you get enough calcium from your diet!

1. 1. The effect of the alkali load of mineral water on bone metabolism Showed that just having a lot of minerals in your water isn’t enough, for good bone health your water must also have a high alkaline pH. The study also showed that water rich in calcium with an acidic pH has little or no benefit for bone health – your water must be alkaline!

1. What impact does pH have on food and nutrition? Showed that the pH of the water you drink and the food you eat affects your body’s pH balance, as measured by urine and blood pH. The study also showed that your pH balance affects your body’s ability to absorb and use nutrients.

Alkaline water raises the body’s pH balance

The difference a half of a pH makes on your health

Your body’s pH balance has a huge impact on your health. Metabolic syndrome is a “constellation” of physiological problems that include: Obesity, high blood pressure, kidney stones, high blood sugar, high cholesterol. A person with metabolic syndrome is very sick, they are at high risk of heart trouble, diabetes, and many other health problems. The difference between having all of the symptoms of metabolic syndrome and being perfectly healthy? It’s just a half of a pH (measured as urine pH).

Alkaline water raises both blood and urine pH, and it’s that change in pH balance that many health experts believe is the reason alkaline water is good for health. Why do health experts believe the change in pH balance has such a big impact on health? Because there are studies that say so:

1. 1. The effect of daily consumption of 2 liters of electrolyzed water for 2 months on body composition and several physiological parameters in four obese subjects Followed four obese middle aged subjects for two months after they started drinking alkaline water. This is what scientist found:

      1. 1. Weight Loss – Average of 12 pounds in two months

      1. 1. Lowered Cholesterol

      1. 1. Detoxification – 10 heavy metals were excreted by test subjects

      1. 1. Reduced bone loss

      1. Improved hydration status

1. 1. Hydrogen-Rich Water Affected Blood Alkalinity in Physically Active Men. Compared the effect of drinking alkaline water to drinking plain water on blood pH. Researchers found that alkaline water can raise blood pH from 40 -70% inside it’s normal range. Plain water had no effect on blood pH.

1. Acid-base balance and hydration status following consumption of mineral-based alkaline bottled water. Showed that alkaline water can raise both blood and urine pH. Maintaining an alkaline pH balance improves athletic endurace. This study showed that cyclists had improved their physical endurance with alkaline water.

Alkaline water helps the body detoxify

Research on the harmful effects of mercury has shown that maintaining an alkaline pH balance can protect the body from mercury’s harmful effects. The body’s ability to expel heavy metals and fluoride is directly related to its pH balance, an alkaline balance enables your body to get rid of harmful toxins:

1. 1. Hair element concentrations in females in one acid and one alkaline area in southern Sweden compared hair samples from women in Sweden who drank alkaline water to those that drank acidic water. The hair samples showed that women who drank alkaline water absorbed higher amounts of beneficial nutrients like calcium and magnesium. Women who drank acidic water absorbed higher levels of toxic metals like mercury.

1. The effect of daily consumption of 2 liters of electrolyzed water for 2 months on body composition and several physiological parameters in four obese subjects showed that drinking alkaline water increased the levels of 10 heavy metals being discharged in the test subjects urine. By the end of the study, 2 months later, test subject’s heavy metal levels had declined significantly, suggesting that their bodies were successfully getting rid of the toxic metals.

Alkaline water really works!

There are many other areas where alkaline water’s benefit to health has been documented in health research. Athletes benefit by alkalizing their bodies, alkaline water has also been shown to improve the body’s antioxidant defenses, and protect against other degenerative conditions that are triggered by excess body acidity. In all, Life Ionizers has over 40 medical studies that show health benefits from alkaline water. If you want to check out the studies that the health benefits discussed in this article are based on, links to all of them are given in the references below.

Need information on a health condition? Call us at 877-959-7977 if you want to know if alkaline water can help.

References

Holsworth, R, , and et al. “Effect of Hydration on Whole Blood Viscosity in Firefighters.” ebscohost. Alternative Therapies, n.d. Web. 27 Dec 2013. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=d19a888b-bdf2-4a84-8138-fca11b03df01@sessionmgr4005&vid=2&hid=4112>.

 

Heil, P and Seifert, J. Influence of bottled water on rehydration following a dehydrating bout of cycling exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition  Springerlink July 2009. http://www.springerlink.com/content/kn41764j65165u3x/fulltext.pdf

 

Gumashta, J, R Gumashta, and et al. “Hard water and heart: the story revisited.” IOSR Journal of Pharmacy and Biological Sciences. IOSR Journal of Pharmacy and Biological Sciences, n.d. Web. 5 Jul 2013. <http://iosrjournals.org/iosr-jpbs/papers/vol1-issue1/B0110720.pdf>.

 

Heil, D. “Acid-base balance and hydration status following consumption of mineral-based alkaline bottled water..” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 13 Sep 2010. Web. 26 Mar 2014. <http://www.jissn.com/content/7/1/29>.

 

Wynn, E, MA Krieg, JM Aeschlimann, and P Burckhardt. “Alkaline mineral water lowers

bone resorption even in calcium sufficiency: alkaline mineral water and bone metabolism.” Bone. Elsevier, 27 Oct 2008. Web. 1 Jul 2013. <http://www.thebonejournal.com/article/S8756-3282(08)00781-3/abstract>.

 

Burckhardt, Peter. “The Effect of the Alkali Load of Mineral Water on Bone Metabolism.”

The Journal of Nutrition. American Society for Nutrition, n.d. Web. 26 Mar 2014. <http://jn.nutrition.org/content/138/2/435S.long>.

 

Cunningham, Elise. “What Impact Does pH Have on Food and Nutrition?.” Journal of the

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, n.d. Web. 26 Mar 2014. <http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/yjada/article/S0002-8223(09)01521-1/fulltext>.

 

Abraham, Guy, and Jorge Flebas. “The effect of daily consumption of 2 liters of

electrolyzed water for 2 months on body composition and several physiological parameters in four obese subjects: a preliminary report.” Highbeam Research. Original Internist, 01 Sep 2011. Web. 2 Jul 2013. <http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-269433201.html>.

 

Rosborg, I, B Nihlgard, and L Gerhardsson. “Hair element concentrations in females in one

acid and one alkaline area in southern Sweden.” PubMed NCBI. Ambio, n.d. Web. 3 Jul 2013. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14703901>.