Examining the pros and cons of Alkaline water
Alkaline water has become very popular and even trendy. It can be purchased bottled in the store OR you can make your own at home with a machine or specialized bottle. The bottles are geared to alkalize smaller amounts, to enable you to make alkaline water on the fly. take The machines, though more costly, provide an unlimited supply at home. The machines also allow you to select the exact level of alkalinity to your preference. But is this the healthiest water for humans (and pets?) Below we'll examine some of the pros and cons so you can make the best decision for yourself. You will recognize what applies to you.
Pros of Alkaline Water:
Proponents of Alkaline water make the case that in order to heal, counter the aging process or to achieve radiant health, 3 factors need to be addressed which are considered the cornerstones of dis-ease and degeneration. These three cornerstones are hydration, acidity, and oxidation.
Hydration
They argue that an ideal water source would be richly hydrating, i.e., have the molecular structure and mineral balance to be highly absorptive and assimilative into the cells. The presence of minerals and the molecular structure what make alkaline water not only alkaline, but more hydrating.
Acidity
The "for" alkaline water camp maintains that acidosis is the root cause of many dis-eases like cancer, and is also a factor in chronic dis-ease which plagues humanity. The body is always producing acids as it goes about its metabolic process. If the acids become too prevalent, inflammatory symptoms of all types can arise. They make the case that when alkaline water is consumed over time, an overall decrease in body acidity will result, and thus degenerative dis-ease is prevented or healed.
Free Radical Damage
Considering oxidation or free radical damage of cells, they maintain that the ORP or oxidation reduction potential of ionized, hydrogen rich alkaline water is unsurpassed and it far outweighs even the ORAC (measure as it applies to food) of well known antioxidant food, such as blue berries, green tea, spirulina or other anti-oxidant rich foods.
Mineral Content
What actually makes alkaline water alkaline is the presence of minerals: magnesium, potassium, sodium and calcium. Alkaline water is high in dissolved minerals. The mineral content is actually what determines the alkalinity of the water. Alkaline water proponents claim these minerals are absorbed by the body more easily and prevent minerals leaching from the bones. They say this makes the water more hydrating as well as flushes toxicity from the cells.
To understand these points more in depth, you can check out these two pro-alkaline water videos below.
Cons of Alkaline water
Some of the arguments against alkaline water include the following:
Cost:
Weather you buy your alkaline water in bottles at the store or install a machine in your home, be ready to fork over some cash.The cost of alkaline water is definitely higher than other types.
No verifications or official studies backing the beneficial claims
Many complaints with with alkaline are around lack of supporting evidence for its claims. Consumers should do their own research and also that consider that artificially made alkaline water can actually contain fewer beneficial minerals than advertised and drinking too much of it may leave the consumer depleted in minerals! (The opposite of what the pro-alkaline camp claims...) Also, some machines may not purify the water to the same level that RO or distillation would, which can leave pathogenic contaminants behind.
Alkaline water is not naturally occurring
It's pointed out that super high alkalinity water, such as 8-10 is rarely if ever found in nature. This argument maintains that if it's not found naturally occurring, how can it be beneficial? Wouldn't nature provide high alkaline water for us if it was so important? Even in highly mineralized natural springs water over a pH of 7 is rarely if ever found.
Digestive Disturbance:
Alkaline nay-sayers argue that your stomach is supposed to be acid and stay acid. They maintain that drinking alkaline water can cause digestive disturbances and trigger chronic dis-eases such as SIBO. (small intestine bacterial overgrowth).
My personal opinion would be that if you're going to drink water at a pH level above 7, do it on an empty stomach!
Complicated installation:
Alkaline water machines normally come with their own built-in activated carbon filtration system which filters your tap water before it is ionized. People complain that the installation can be complicated.
If you want to explore further down the rabbit hole you can check out these two videos:
4 minute video with Dr. Mercola discussing water types
3 minute video with Dr. Eric Berg sharing his thoughts on Alkaline water
Conclusion:
Whether or not alkaline water will be a friend or foe to you will largely depend on what your condition is currently and how / when you utilize alkaline water. From my own research, I've found alkaline water is not "one size fits all" water. It is more like a medicine, and the drinker needs to be conscious and intentional as to when or how he / she is going to utilize alkaline water. I personally would never slosh down a 9 pH glass of water with a meal. That sounds like a recipe for trouble. However if I wanted to make my morning coffee less acidic I might well use 9 pH. Each person needs to do their research to know what they are doing. I do not doubt it could yield fabulous results in healing if used properly. Follow your heart and your gut too!
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