What is alkaline water? Is it really good for our health? And how does it work?
Alkaline water has become very popular recently. Many people believe that drinking alkaline water helps them to stay healthier. They also claim that alkaline water machines are better than alkaline tablets or drops because they produce pure alkaline water.
However, there are no scientific studies proving that consuming alkaline water can improve your health. In fact, some experts say that alkaline water is harmful to human health. So, what exactly is alkaline water, and why do so many people think that it's healthy?
What is Alkaline Water?
Alkaline water contains a high amount of minerals such as magnesium, calcium, potassium, sodium, and other trace elements. It is commonly found in natural springs, mineral-rich lakes, rivers, and oceans.
Why Do People Drink Alkaline Water?
People drink alkaline water because they want to maintain their body pH levels at 7.35. The reason behind this is that the normal pH level of blood is slightly acidic (7.35).
When you take an acidic diet, your body produces more acid. This leads to a decrease in the pH level of your blood. If your body's pH level goes below 7.35, then your health will be affected.
Moreover, when you have an acidic stomach, you may experience heartburn, indigestion, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, gas, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, headaches, muscle cramps, joint pain, and skin problems.
If your body's PH is too low, then your immune system will not function properly. Your body will not be able to fight off infections, viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, and germs.
How Does Alkaline Water Work?
The main purpose of your body's organs is to keep its internal environment stable. For example, if your liver works hard to detoxify toxins from your body, then your blood becomes clean.
Your kidneys filter out waste products from your blood. When your kidneys are working well, your urine turns clear. However, when your kidneys don't work correctly, your urine turns yellowish-brown.
Your lungs help you breathe by removing carbon dioxide from your blood. When you inhale oxygen, your blood gets full of oxygen. But when you exhale carbon dioxide, your blood loses oxygen.
Your digestive tract breaks down food into nutrients and absorbs these nutrients. Then, your cells use these nutrients to build new tissues and repair damaged tissues.
Your brain controls all the functions of your body, including breathing, digestion, metabolism, circulation, elimination, immunity, and reproduction.
All of these processes depend on the proper functioning of your body s organs. Therefore, maintaining the correct pH level of your blood is essential.
According to Dr. Mark Hyman, author of “Eat Fat Get Thin: An Expert Reveals Why We Should Never Diet Again,” alkaline water is beneficial for our bodies. He says that alkaline water cleanses your body.
Drinking alkaline water helps to eliminate toxic substances like heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, and industrial chemicals from your body.
Drinking alkaline water also improves your gut flora. Gut microbes play an important role in keeping us healthy. They produce vitamins and hormones that regulate our moods and energy levels.
Alkaline water also strengthens your bones. According to research conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, drinking alkaline water can reduce bone loss caused by osteoporosis.
Alkaline water has been used since ancient times.
- In China, people drink it to improve their eyesight.
- On the other hand, people used it to treat eye diseases in Japan.
- While in India, they used it to cure diabetes and asthma.
Today, many people around the world drink alkaline water to stay healthy.
Benefits of Drinking Alkaline Water
Here are some benefits of drinking alkaline water:
1. Eliminates Harmful Free Radicals
Free radicals cause damage to your DNA and other parts of your body. Free radicals are produced during normal metabolic activities.
When your body is exposed to high amounts of free radicals, your immune system cannot defend against them. This results in cell damage and disease.
When your body produces more free radicals than it needs, your body starts producing extra antioxidants. These antioxidants neutralize free radicals.
However, when free radicals accumulate in your body over time, they start damaging your cells. The result is aging and disease.
To prevent this problem, you need to eliminate as many free radicals as possible. Drinking alkaline water helps to do this.
2. Reduces Inflammation
Inflammation causes pain and discomfort. If left untreated, chronic inflammation can lead to serious health conditions.
One way to reduce inflammation is to eat anti-inflammatory foods. Another way is to consume alkaline water.
The reason why alkaline water reduces inflammation is that it removes toxins from your body. Toxins irritate your skin and make you feel uncomfortable.
Alkaline water has also been shown to reduce inflammation by lowering the level of inflammatory chemicals called cytokines.
3. Prevents Cancer
Cancer is one of the most common diseases today. There are many factors that contribute to its development. One of them is exposure to environmental pollutants.
Some studies have shown that consuming alkaline water may help prevent cancer.
It increases the effectiveness of chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy is the treatment of choice for many types of cancers. However, chemotherapy can be very painful and even deadly.
If you want to increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy, you should drink alkaline water before each treatment.
4. Helps Boost Your Immunity
Immunity refers to the ability of your body to fight infections and disease. When your immune system is strong, you will not get sick often.
Immunity is also associated with good digestion. Good digestion means that your food gets digested properly, and nutrients are released into your bloodstream.
This allows your body to function optimally.
Drinking alkaline water improves your digestive system. It also stimulates your appetite so that you eat healthier.
5. Promotes Weight Loss
Consuming alkaline water helps you lose weight naturally. It does this by cleansing your liver.
Your liver filters toxins out of your blood and stores them in your tissues. Over time, these toxins build up inside your body.
Your liver then becomes congested. This makes you gain weight.
By removing toxins from your body through alkaline water, your liver returns to its original state.
6. Treats Arthritis
Arthritis is an inflammatory condition that affects joints. It causes joint pain, stiffness, and swelling.
There are several ways to treat arthritis. Some people use medications, while others rely on alternative treatments.
Alkaline water has been proven effective in treating arthritis. It relieves joint pain and reduces inflammation.
7. Strengthens Bones
Bone strength is essential to overall health. Bones support our bodies and protect vital organs.
They also provide us with mobility.
When we age, our bones become weaker. This leads to osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is a bone disease that weakens bones. It results in fractures and broken bones.
Drinking alkaline water helps strengthen bones. It also protects them against damage.
8. Lowers Cholesterol and Improves Heart Health
Heart problems are among the leading causes of death worldwide. Heart attacks and strokes are two examples of heart problems.
To improve your heart health, you need to maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Cholesterol builds up when there is too much fat in your diet.
A study showed that drinking alkaline water lowers cholesterol levels.
Cholesterol is a fatty substance produced by your liver. Your body needs cholesterol to make hormones and vitamin D.
Cholesterol is also necessary for healthy cell growth.
In excess amounts, however, cholesterol can clog arteries and raise your risk of a heart attack.
9. Helps Heals Wounds Faster
Wounds heal slowly if they are exposed to air. The longer they remain open, the harder it is for them to heal.
However, alkaline water speeds wound healing. It works because it neutralizes bacteria and prevents infection.
10. Fights Diabetes
Diabetes is a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia (high levels of glucose).
High levels of glucose cause damage to cells throughout the body. This damages your kidneys, nerves, eyes, heart, and brain.
High blood sugar levels also lead to long-term complications like blindness, amputations, kidney failure, stroke, and heart attacks.
People who suffer from diabetes must take insulin injections or consume special diets.
However, some people find it difficult to control their blood sugar levels. They need something else to help manage their condition.
Alkaline water helps diabetics balance their blood sugar levels naturally. It also prevents the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which are harmful compounds that form when glucose binds to proteins.
Other Research That Back Up The Heath Benefits of Drinking Alkaline Water
The following studies have shown how alkaline water benefits human health:
- A study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology showed that drinking alkaline water increases oxygen uptake during exercise.
- Another study published in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition & Exercise Metabolism showed that drinking alkaline waters improved endurance performance in athletes.
- A research published in Nutrients showed that consuming alkaline water increased antioxidant activity in the body.
- Clinical Biochemistry showed that drinking alkaline tap water reduces total cholesterol levels in humans.
- Diabetes Care showed that drinking alkaline drinks reduced fasting blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes.
- Food Chemistry showed that drinking alkaline beverages improves the digestion process.
- Biochimica et Biophysica Acta showed that consuming alkaline drinks decreases inflammation in the body.
- The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that drinking alkaline liquids reduces the risk of developing cancer.
- Cancer Prevention Research showed that drinking alkaline liquid reduces the risk of colon cancer.
- A research published in Nutrition & Dietetics showed that drinking alkaline water lowers the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
- Frontiers of Bioscience showed that drinking alkaline fluids protects against Parkinson's disease.
Conclusion
Drinking alkaline water has been proven to be beneficial for our health. However, there are still many unanswered questions about this topic.
For example, we don't know if drinking alkaline water can prevent all types of cancer. We also don't know if drinking acidic water will increase the risk of cancer.
So, until more research is done, we recommend you try drinking alkaline water at least once every week. You may notice improvements in your health after just one day.
Furthermore, if you want to drink alkaline water for its health benefits, then you should purchase an alkaline water ionizer machine or read our Kangen Water machine review here.
Making your own alkaline water at home without a proper machine can be dangerous because you should only drink alkaline water if it has been properly filtered and purified.
