Pure water has a pH of 7.0, neutral, neither acidic nor alkaline. Interestingly, most beverages are quite acidic. Wine, beer, sodas, and juice drinks all have pHs well below 7.0, usually around 4.0. Conversely, the pH inside a healthy human body is slightly alkaline, around 7.40. Many people have proposed that health-supporting beverages should have an alkaline pH to match the human body, like tea and alkaline water.
What Does pH Mean?
The pH system is a way of measuring how acidic or basic (alkaline) a liquid is. Neutral substances have a pH of 7.0, acidic substances have a pH lower than 7.0, and alkaline substances have a pH higher than 7.0. It is vital to remember that the pH scale is logarithmic, not linear. This means that a liquid with a pH of 2.0 is not twice as acidic as a liquid of pH 4.0; it is a hundred-fold more acidic. This is why beer, with a pH of 4.0, is delicious, while hydrochloric acid, with a pH of 2.0, is able to dissolve metal. Mildly acidic and alkaline substances, within the range of around 4.0 to 10.0, are commonly used in daily life, such as in foods, beverages, personal hygiene products, and cleaning solutions.
What is Alkaline Water?
Alkaline water is water that has a pH of around 8.0 to 10.0. It is mildly alkaline, slightly more alkaline than the human body. Alkaline water is created in one of two ways: by dissolving minerals in water (mineral water), or by ionizing pure water. Drinking mineral water can result in a mineral overload, which can have unpleasant side effects like kidney stones, but ionized alkaline water has no such side effects. It’s just pure water with a high pH.
Why Drink Alkaline Water?
Many people think that drinking alkaline beverages, such as tea and alkaline water, is a healthy practice. It is well-established that drinking acidic beverages, such as soda, has detrimental effects on the body. Acidic beverages have been linked to undesirable effects, like tooth damage and weak bones.
Conversely, alkaline beverages may have many health benefits. In addition to helping to maintain the body’s natural alkalinity, alkaline beverages could protect the teeth, reduce acid reflux, and act as natural antioxidants. The molecules in alkaline water react with damaging oxygen radicals, neutralizing them and preventing oxidative damage.
Oxidative damage has been linked to cancer, aging, heart disease, inflammation, obesity, diabetes, and many other conditions. Thus, consuming alkaline water, with its negative oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), may help prevent these conditions.
What is the Evidence?
Although research into alkaline water is in its infancy, a number of studies have found beneficial effects of drinking alkaline water on a regular basis. For example, studies have found that:
- Alkaline water reduced markers of aging in mice.
- Alkaline water alleviated the effects of fatty liver disease in mice.
- Alkaline water improved bone density in postmenopausal women.
Other studies have found positive effects of alkaline water on hydration, skin health, blood viscosity, and colon function.
Are there Side Effects?
Drinking alkaline water has no downsides. Some people worry that consuming alkaline beverages will make their bodies too alkaline, but this does not happen. The human body carefully regulates its internal pH.
How do I Get Alkaline Water?
The most convenient way to get a regular supply of alkaline water is to install a home ionization system, such as the UCE-13 Plus. These systems purify and ionize your tap water right before you drink it. It is important to avoid purchasing an inferior ionization system. Some critics of alkaline water point to badly designed systems that ionize impure water, introducing toxins and pathogens into the water. This will never happen with a quality system like the UCE-13 Plus, which thoroughly purifies the water before ionizing it. All you get is clean, pure, health-supporting alkaline water.
