Lessons I have learned about Alkaline Water
When I began drinking ionized alkaline water I didn’t even know what an ion was.
I failed gloriously at chemistry at school. I was the class disruptor. The idea of a universe of elements confined to a single table of values was anathema to me. I wanted infinite possibility rather than the confines of a periodic table that explained the ‘Theory of Everything’.
Well, things have changed.
I’m still no expert in chemistry but I’ve grown to love the process of learning about a subject that fascinates me; the relationship of pH balance to my – and others’ – health.
Alkaline Water and pH Balance
As I learned that the world in general refuses to accept the huge advantage of an alkaline body, I delved into physics, chemistry, biology and psychology.
Strangely, I look back on myself at school and understand that unless a person is ready to learn – and change – they simply can’t hear even hear the words of their best friends when it interferes with their idea of normal life.
Enough of the philosophy; you are reading this to learn about alkaline water, so let’s get on with it.
If you’ve come this far you’ve probably already been exposed to some form of information, most likely from someone attempting to sell you a water ionizer. So let’s begin at the beginning with the word ‘ion’.
An ion is an atom. Got that? Good.
You are half way. But it’s an atom that carries an electrical charge, or is in need of an electrical charge.. so if you like, it’s an electrically unbalanced atom.
Of course nothing is imbalanced in nature. So an atom with a positive electrical charge has just one purpose in creation; it is looking for an ion that is missing a charge so it can donate its charge, and return to normal atomic state of equilibrium. It’s a completely beneficial meeting for both atoms involved because they both return to being just atoms instead of ions.
They return to balance.
Photographer: Elena Mozhvilo | Source: Unsplash
It took me some time to see the significance of this and I wish my chemistry teacher had told me about ions and what I’m about to share. (Of course, he did, but I was busy disrupting.)
We read about chemical reactions everywhere; in the air, in the earth, in industry and medicine, and within our body. A chemical reaction is the action of ions co-operating to create a new molecular substance.
They give and they take and they form a stable substance rather than simple separate atoms. So ions are the key to all chemical reactions plus the formulation of new substances.
This extends from simple salt – a joining of ionic sodium and ionic chlorine – all the way up the high level multi-atom substances.
But we don’t need to worry about getting into the understanding of complex substances because ionized water is a very simple ionic transfer. Basically, it’s the creation of a new form of water that has more negatively charged ions in it than usual.
You probably think that there’s just one way to do this. That’s not true; there are a number of ways including magnetics, electrolysis and passing water over certain reactive elements. The latter is the cause of the amazing so-called ‘healing’ springs around the world, evidenced simply by a lighter molecular weight of these special waters.
I have experienced excellent health (in the main) over my 21 years of alkaline water based life.
I don’t attribute all of it to ionized alkaline water but it’s my personal belief that so many years without my usual annual colds and flu has something to say about the water’s immune support abilities. You’ll find hundreds of testimonials for the water online and although in my opinion most of them are real, I need to caution you that nothing fixes everything and every case needs to be seen in the context of their previous lifestyle choices.
To give a simple example – when did you ever see a diet that didn’t claim miraculous benefits from ‘Mrs J. Smith of Alabama”.
The reality of all diets is that if a person is already slowly killing themselves with the SAD (Standard American Diet) anything a little healthier will provoke a healing response.
Was it the specific diet? Yes..and no.
The specific diet provoked the response but any diet of equal quality would probably have done the same. So please be a little careful in your research.
I think I can assist you hugely today because I’m going to share a meta-analysis of over 100 international studies of the health effects of natural alkaline water. And then I’ll attempt to show you the differences between electrically created – and natural alkaline water. There are very important differences as well as very important similarities.
The study: and what I learned.
The study linked to here is the best piece of information on alkaline water I have read for 13 years. It is completely crossreferenced to actual studies, which makes it head and shoulders above any other form of document you would usually read on the net. What it says is as correct as science has managed to make it. (The foundation of scientific inquiry is that your study’s result is correct only until someone proves otherwise.)
So what does it say about Alkaline Water?
Photographer: Manki Kim | Source: Unsplash
It concentrates on the two major elements of alkaline water in nature; Calcium and Magnesium.
“Both of these elements are essential for thehuman body. Calcium is a part of bones and teeth. In addition, it plays a role in neuromuscular excitability (decreases it), good function of the conducting myocardial system, heart and muscle contractility, intracellular information transmission and blood coagulability.”
It goes on to say that osteoporosis and osteomalacia are the most common symptoms of Ca and Mg deficiency.
Please note: it does NOT say directly that more calcium will cure these conditions. We’ve independently researched this and there’s a much bigger story here. But let’s move on. (If you’d like to know more go here)
The report then talks about the superstar of alkaline minerals, Magnesium:
“Magnesium plays an important role as a cofactor and activator of more than 300 enzymatic reactions including glycolysis, ATP metabolism, transport of elements such as Na, K and Ca through membranes, synthesis of proteins and nucleic acids, neuromuscular excitability and muscle contraction etc. … Magnesium deficiency increases risk to humans of developing various pathological conditions such as vasoconstrictions, hypertension, cardiac arrhythmia, atherosclerotic vascular disease, acute myocardial infarction, eclampsia in pregnant women, possibly diabetes mellitus of type II and Osteoporosis.”
Think about it.
Is there a pill anywhere on earth that gives so much benefit? It’s so commonly available, so well researched to PROVE these claims, yet most of us (according to the report) are severely lacking magnesium in our diet!
Although there were some scattered studies as early as 1927 recommending hard water over soft, it wasn’t until 1950 when Japanese scientists concluded that hard alkaline water was more beneficial than soft water in the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
To be very clear, they found higher mortality rates from cerebrovascular diseases (stroke) in the areas of Japanese rivers with more acid (i.e. softer) water compared to those with more alkaline (i.e. harder) water used for drinking purposes.