What is Electrolyzed Reduced Water?

Electrolyzed reduced water is the name used by chemists for alkaline water with antioxidant potential. It is important to keep in mind that not all alkaline water has antioxidant potential. For example, tap water with a pH of over 7 is alkaline water, but tap water doesn’t have antioxidant potential. The same goes for the alkaline water sold in stores; brands like Essentia and Aquahydrate have a pH of greater than 7, so they’re alkaline waters, but they don’t have any antioxidant potential, so they aren’t electrolyzed reduced waters.

The alkaline water produced by a water ionizer does have antioxidant potential, which is why electrolyzed reduced water is valued for its health benefits.

Redox: Reduction and oxidation happen at the same time

Redox: Reduction is one-half of a chemical reaction that also includes a reaction called oxidation. A substance is oxidized when it loses electrons. A substance is reduced when it gains electrons. When a substance is reduced by accepting electrons, the substance that gave up those electrons is oxidized at the same time. These two reactions are known to chemists as a redox reaction.

Reduction: Happens when a substance gains electrons, the reason that the substance is said to be reduced is that its ability to oxidize another substance has been reduced.

Oxidation: Happens when a substance loses electrons. When a substance loses electrons, it’s ability to take electrons from another substance increases. That increase in ability to take electrons means that the substance’s oxidation state has been increased.

Example of a Redox Reaction: Iron rusting

One of the most common redox reactions happens when iron rusts. The process of rusting is called oxidation because the substance being oxidized gives up electrons to the substance oxidizing it. In the case of iron, the iron is being oxidized by oxygen, because the oxygen is getting electrons from the iron. At the same time that’s happening, the iron is reducing the oxygen, because the oxygen loses some of it’s ability to take electrons.

Oxidation Reduction Potential

The ability of a substance such as electrolyzed reduced water to give – or receive – electrons in a redox reaction is called Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP). Since redox reactions involve the movement of electrons, ORP is measured electrically as voltage. A substance with electrons to give in a redox reaction will have a negative ORP because electrons have a negative charge. A substance that can take electrons from another substance in a redox reaction has a positive ORP, because it has a positive electrical potential. The ORP of any substance is measured in millivolts (mV) because ORP is a measure of electrical energy potential.

Oxidation Reduction Potential vs. Reactive Oxygen Species

Healthwise, oxidation reduction potential measures the ability of a substance like alkaline ionized water to reduce the damage that reactive oxygen species (ROS) – substances that have highly reactive oxygen ions – can do. ROS’s do damage to tissues and DNA by oxidizing them. ROS’s in the body that do this include the free radicals that doctors recommend eating a diet rich in antioxidants to fight against. The easiest way to think about the kind of damage ROS’s do to the body is that they cause your tissues and DNA to rust – just like iron – and fall apart, just like rusty iron.

Antioxidants have oxidation reduction potential, they stop the damage done by reducing the oxidation potential of ROS’s and free radicals by reducing them. So the reaction inside your body that saves your tissues and DNA from damage is a redox reaction.

Electrolyzed Reduced Water, Ionized alkaline water, and Redox

The more common name for Electrolyzed Reduced Water is Ionized Alkaline Water. The reason water ionizers make electrolyzed reduced water is that a water ionizer puts a negative electrical charge into water, which gives it reduction potential. For example, Life Ionizer’s new M-13 can reach an oxidation reduction potential of over -900 mV, that’s nearly one full volt of electrical power! Water with that much reduction potential is able to neutralize the oxidative charge of ROS’s. The higher the reduction potential of the ionized alkaline water you drink, the more ROS’s it can neutralize in your body. The high reduction potential of alkaline water is the reason it has antioxidant potential.

Ionized alkaline water neutralizes harmful hydrogen peroxide

Ionized alkaline water’s ability to neutralize reactive oxygen species has been extensively tested in the lab. The most common reactive oxygen species in the body is hydrogen peroxide. Ionized alkaline water reduces hydrogen peroxide down to water and hydrogen gas. Scientists have studied this in the lab extensively. It has been demonstrated that alkaline water can help you recover from a hangover. It is able to do this because when you drink too much, hydrogen peroxide builds up in your liver, which damages and kills liver tissue. In lab experiments on rats, scientists have demonstrated that rats intoxicated with alcohol that drank alkaline water had much lower levels of hydrogen peroxide in their livers than rats that drank plain water.

Make a powerful antioxidant beverage: Ionized  Alkaline water and vitamin C

Three studies have shown that mixing alkaline water with Vitamin C significantly increases Vitamin C’s antioxidant power, in fact it triples it! You can take advantage of this by mixing alkaline water with lemon juice or other citrus fruits, or with any powdered Vitamin C supplement. Make sure you drink it as quickly as possible, positively charged ions in the air literally attack antioxidant beverages and destroy their antioxidant benefits very quickly. For example, if you leave a glass of orange juice exposed to the air, it’s antioxidant potential will be nearly wiped out in less than two minutes!

Stop harmful ROS’s before they stop you! Call us today at 877-959-7977 and put the power of ionized alkaline water to work for your health.