Health Benefits of Alkaline Water & How to Make Alkalizing Water
Posted: Wednesday, December 07, 2005
by Ross Bridgeford
Energise for Life
Alkaline Water for Better Health
There has been much discussion over the past few years about the quality of the water we drink and the effects that this may have on our health. Many health experts believe that the low-quality of tap water in the UK can pose health concerns, particularly if we rely upon this as our main source of water when consuming the recommended 2+ litres each day.
What is Alkaline Water? Why Make Our Water Alkalizing?
Water is one of the most important factors when becoming and staying healthy and vibrant. Our bodies are 70% water and our blood is 94% water - if we follow the recommendation to drink at least two litres of water per day and this water is acid and polluted - imagine what this will do to our bodies?!
As the majority of the foods we eat create acid wastes in our system, it is important to drink alkaline water in order to maintain a optimal health and energy, particularly as acid water ((less than pH 7) is a hotbed of microorganisms, bacteria and viruses.
Acid wastes (from the lifestyles we lead - not only from food and drink, but also from stress and other pollutants) are dumped into the bloodstream and lymph, and then are transported to the liver and kidneys for the detoxification processing and elimination. The pH level of our internal fluids affects every living cell in our bodies and the effect that over-acidification can have upon the health of our bodies is immense, with a chronically over acidic pH creating an extremely negative environment which affects all cellular functions from the beatings of the heart to the neural workings of the brain.
In order to hydrate your body optimally, you need to drink water that is alkalizing and mineral rich. Alkaline water helps to neutralize acids and remove toxins from the body. Alkalizing water also acts as a conductor of electrochemical activity from cell to cell. Ideally, water should have a ph between 9 and 10, and you should be drinking 3-4 liters of it daily. As you hydrate your body properly, you’ll develop more of a thirst for water. Food cravings are often the body’s cry for water. You might already have more of a thirst than you even realize.
Home Water Distillers, Ionisers and Filters
When we think of increasing the quality of our drinking water, we naturally think of a water filter such as a Britta™. Make no mistake, these handy and affordable filters go a long way towards making our drinking water more beneficial and healthful. However, if you are looking for life-giving, energy-boosting nourishment from your drinking water then these only really scratch the surface.
Taking your water from being something that simply quenches your thirst (or goes in the kettle) to being something that you crave due to the energy and vitality it gives you is not a complex, difficult process, nor does it have to be expensive. You can massively increase the quality of your drinking water using one of the following techniques:
Home Water Distillers
Water distillers heat tap water electrically to boiling point. The purified condensation then drains into a clean container - leaving all of the impurities behind in the boiling chamber. Distilled water comes closes to rain water, which would be our ideal water source if the atmosphere was not so polluted!
Distillation kills and removes bacteria, viruses, cysts and heavy metals. Although there is some debate about the effects of distilled water removing beneficial minerals as well as these disease forming metals and germs, it is useful to note that the mineral content in water is so minute that one would have to drink approximately six-hundred 8oz glasses of water to attain the RDA of calcium and 1,800+ glasses to fulfil their daily requirement of magnesium.
Another common myth surrounding distilled water is that it leaches minerals from the body. This is not only false, but impossible. The human body is incredibly efficient and effective and in no way could allow water to force out essential body elements. What distilled water does do, is transport inorganic minerals and toxins out of the body, helping to cleanse and purify the body's internal environment.
Distilled water also has more oxygen ions and fewer hydrogen ions, making the water far less acidic and more alkaline than other types of water.
Water Ionisers
Water ionisers are, unsurprisingly, products that ionise water. The water is ionised (electrically enhanced) by running it over positive and negative electrodes. This separates the water into alkaline (70%) and acidic (30%). This is exceptionally beneficial as the alkaline water is then used for drinking, while the acidic water can be used on the outside of the body as it is proven to kill many types of bacteria.
The quality of ionised water is reputed to surpass water from any other source. For instance, ionised water is the only type of water that has a low surface tension which allows for greater absorption of water and nutrients into the body.
Some water ionisers also come with an alkalinity adjustment which allows you to set your preferred level of alkalinity. This is an incredibly useful benefit which is unique to this type of machine.
Reverse Osmosis Water Filters
Reverse Osmosis utilises a fine membrane to filter water - known as hyperfiltration. This allows the removal of bacteria, salts, sugars, proteins, particles, dyes, and other damaging elements.
Reverse osmosis uses a membrane that is semi-permeable. This allows the water to pass through whilst the contaminants are removed. In the majority of reverse osmosis filters, this membrane is self-cleaning, allowing for the purest water to be provided.
Reverse osmosis units can use between 2-3 gallons of water to make 1 gallon up to as much as 10 gallons of water or more, to make 1 gallon of pure water.
As with distilled water, reverse osmosis water is far more alkaline than tap or bottled water.
How Else Can I Increase the Alkalinity of my Water?
Using home water distillers, purifiers or ionisers will give you pure water with varying degrees of alkalinity. To further increase the alkalinity of your drinking water the either of the following are recommended:
- squeezing fresh lemon or lime juice into the water
- adding an alkalizing, pH boosting supplement to the water such as Alkalive pH Booster
More Alkaline Diet Resources
Energise for Life is a health resource with a focus on the alkaline diet approach to health. You can find more free alkaline diet resources and alkaline water resources within our health resources section.
This Article has been viewed 114,977 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
More commentsFrom reading this article and then reading the comments, I've discovered a correlation between drinking (or not drinking) alkaline water and an affinity (or lack thereof) to chess and crossword puzzles.
well then I drink a gallon of water a day, filtered of course.I think I'll just start squeezing limes into my daily water jug!
hello. my name is isabel diaz,i'm asl .visually impaired and hard of hearing. i don't it yet... maybe i'll ask my doctor about kangen water formy diabetics ;d let see...
Yes I found this information helpful however I would have to disagree with the information about r/o water being more alkaline than tap water. Tap water is a set standard of 7ph it is actually neutral. R/o water is actually acidic at 6.5. As a water store owner I am certain of it.I can only speak from here in the Niagara region of Canada. I can also tell you that the pioneers of alkaline water, the Japanese call r/o dead water, because everything is either removed or killed in the process. I would like to say that in my many hours of water research I have found that alkaline water is the most beneficial water to consume. I have seen amazing results but the most important thing to remember is that if your not drinking 50% of your body weight in water a day you risk dehydration which is the cause of 75% of illnesses. If you don't replenish the body its forced to rob water from other organs and causes degeneration, hence illness. Love, blessings and optimum health to all.RO water has had much removed, especially TOXINS like fluoride. Removing atomic bomb waste is far more important than 'alkaline.' Out with the the bad first...then in with the good. This article was written FOR people to ADD alkaline to their "flat" water. Therefore this comment is moot. But typical 'logic' first perspective. Not only does our water contain fluoride, in most cases it has had NUMEROUS TYPES OF ACIDS & TOXINS added to it. Please visit Homefacts dot com and put your town's name in the search bar. Then you'll REALLY see what's in your water. Your statement that "tap water" is adjusted is also FALSE. Most tap water around the globe are now having additives and poisons discovered leaving most wondering "how did they get there?"
Here is the list of Chemicals in Punta Gorda, FL tap water. Punta Gorda is a small, upper middle class, adorable little vacation spot in Florida:
--Chloroform
--Haloacetic acids (HAAs)
--Bromodichloromethane
--Dichloroacetic acid
--Bromoform
--Dibromochloromethane
--Arsenic
--Lead
--Radium
--Nitrate
--Barium
--Dibromoacetic acid
--Nitrite
--Trichloroacetic acid
--Monochloroacetic acid
Their water didn't even rank a 3 out of 10 on the 'potability' scale. You are seriously misinformed if you think all tap water meets standards....it does not. Here's what all of those chemicals cause--please note the "Neurotoxicity" & "Bio-Accumulation"--as it isn't the "minute dose" that matters--these chemicals are building up in our systems over time no different than meth or heroine would in an addict. This is why OVER TIME these chemicals, even in small doses WILL HARM US! Below is what the chem's can really do--
SEEK TRUTH!
Biochemical or Cellular Level Changes, Neurotoxicity, Bio-Accumulation, Severe Candida, Severe Acidosis/Reflux, Organ System Toxicity/Failure, Cancer, Developmental/Reproductive Toxicity, Ecotoxicology
I weigh 75 kilos , surely you're not suggesting that if I don't drink 37.5 litres of water per day i"ll dehydrate !!.Ken,Qld AustraliaThat's 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water. You weigh about 165 lbs. 1/2 your body weight is 82.5 lbs which would be 82.5 ounces of water a day or about 10 1/4 - 8 oz glasses of water a day. (or 2 1/4 litres a day) You may require more depending on activity level.Jean,CanadaFYI, the information is that we are to drink half our body weight in OUNCES, not liters, so you would be drinking 37.5 OUNCES of water a day to avoid dehydration. Seems like a lot also, but hopefully I will get used to it. It's hard for me. Good luck.
where does one purchase and alkalive PH booster??
I never took chemistry, but I'm baffled at how you can add anything acidic like lemon or lime juice and make the water more alkaline. Is there an explanation for this apparent magic?Acidic foods like lemon are alkalising on the system. It's the way in which the body metabolises it. Your PH balance can become more alkaline by eating foods like lemon, green vegetables, etc, the list can be googled. Look for alkaline foods and you'll see that alkaline foods like red meat are acid forming in the body which is bad.
Due to some pretty bad luck I have had to use/ drink truly horrible and terrible quality water from my apt in Washington DC. I for one believe the "landlord" knows of the problem and is too cheap to spend $300 to solve the entire problem for all of us. It has ruined my complexion and scarred my skin which I will have to have treated surgically, and can only imagine how much damage this has caused me internally. I have been desperately trying to figure out what is wrong and after a battery of physical tests it comes out to be what few seem to really believe... It has everything to do with the WATER. Anyhow I have recently been searching water filters and had heard of alkaline vs. acidic which is what luckily brought me here... Now I know thanks to this article a water ioniser os the best choice now and for the rest of what used to be my life. Aside from a chance to therapeutically tell my story to many of my suffering at 1904 Calvert Street NW Washington DC 20009 I am very fortunate and quite thankful for the existence of this webpage and extremely relieved to have found it.
"As with distilled water, reverse osmosis water is far more alkaline than tap or bottled water."
FALSE.
Both distilled water and RO water are acidic.
One reverse osmosis system uses a remineralization filter to mae the water alkaline, but that is a unique system. The Tap Master Artesian Full Contact.
"Distilled water also has more oxygen ions and fewer hydrogen ions, making the water far less acidic and more alkaline than other types of water."
Erm, well, despite the fact that this is false, aren't the cell wall destroyers of our body (aka free radicals) electron hungry oxygen atoms?? Positive hydrogen ions (aka antioxidants) are what help minimize this damage. I very highly agree that drinking more Basic/Alkaline PH water is beneficial (though a ph of 9 or 10, as the article suggests seems extreme since household BLEACH has a ph of 9.5), that drinking a ph of 8 (like figi water!) should help bring an acidic body closer to our blood's natural ph level (~7.4) to a more homeostatic and healthier state. My question is, does the higher concentration of free-radicals outweigh the benefits of alkaline water?
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