Do you want your body to be and feel healthy, vital, and energetic? Do you want to drink clean, healthy water? Does something so simple as water and hydration have a significant impact on your health? Most people would answer yes to the first two questions, though many may be uncertain about the third question. What follows will explore possible answers to these questions to empower you to make better decisions for your own health.
Research is beginning to show us that the myriad of diseases and poor health conditions we have come to know and accept as normal - such as, arthritis, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, heart disease, arteriosclerosis, lethargy, aches and pains, asthma and allergies may be preventable. So, what can we do?
Research is also showing us that the solution may be as simple as proper nutrition with nourishing foods and water, which provide the body with what it needs to maintain and regenerate itself. One of those choices appears to be water; clean, healthy water rich in alkalizing minerals and anti-oxidants like negative ions and molecular-hydrogen (H2). "Studies carried out on alkaline reduced water (ARW)...which is characterized by supersaturated hydrogen, negative high pH, and a negative redox potential... has been introduced as a therapeutic strategy for health promotion and disease prevention." [5]
According to Schwalfenberg (2012), an alkaline diet should be considered as it may be beneficial in reducing chronic disease and deaths. In addition, research has demonstrated that “alkaline ionized water can be considered as a major safe strategy in the management of metabolic acidosis…” as compared with water treated by Reverse Osmosis (RO). [6] According to research, some of the benefits of alkaline water include:
• Influence to “…the acid-base equilibrium of the body by which even small changes in pH can have significant effects on cellular function” [4], the benefits of which could be far reaching because some research indicates that the “correction of acidosis may preserve muscle mass in conditions where muscle wasting is common…”, such as in
• Alkaline ionized water provides intracellular free-radical scavenging activity. [7]
• Alkaline ionized water suppressed free radical levels in living organisms, which resulted in
• Alkaline ionized water was also beneficial in suppressing oxidative stress related diseases, such as
• Increasing the alkalinity of the urine increases the excretion of pharmaceuticals and toxins
Therefore, to help understand why alkaline ionized water may be more important today than in the past, let’s look at where we are and how we got there. The human body is 60% to 80% water because of the critical functions water serves. Water’s physiological functions through proper hydration are critical to human health and cannot be understated.
• The flow of water facilitates
• The atoms and molecules derived from water are essential for the body to function optimally, such as:
• Minerals and compounds dissolved in water are also critical for the body to function optimally, such as:
As important as water and hydration are, so is the pH of the body. Fluid pH levels in and around living cells and organisms are critical to life on earth. The pH of the body organs and systems vary relative to their functions. [2] Though the pH of the various organs and systems of the body vary, the pH of the body must be balanced and maintained for optimal health, for example:
• Human life itself depends on a tightly controlled alkaline pH range in the blood serum of 7.35 to 7.45 to survive.
• Stomach acidity is a pH of 1.35 to 3.5 for digestion
• Skin has a pH of 4 to 6.5 as a protective barrier to harmful micro-organisms [2]
• Body tissues are maintained at about a pH of 7. [3]
Any extended disturbance of the acid-alkaline balance of the various systems may disrupt cell function, transport or signaling processes. To protect itself from over-acidification, the body must get rid of the excess acid to maintain the acid-alkaline balance throughout the body. Some of the methods used are:
• Chemical reactions at the cellular level that generate or consume H+ (hydrogen cations)
• The release of carbon dioxide from the lungs [3]
• The release of acids and toxins from the kidneys.
Unfortunately, our bodies are being overwhelmed because of poor nutrition, stress and pollution, and the systems used to rid our bodies of waste, toxins and acids can’t keep up. There has been a considerable change in the pH and acid-load of the human diet over time, especially over the last 200 years, resulting in various degrees of metabolic acidosis. The intake of essential fiber and alkalizing minerals in our diets, like potassium and magnesium, have decreased. Instead, there has been an increased intake of foods and drinks rich in saturated fats, simple-sugars, chloride, and sodium, all of which appear to contribute to metabolic acidosis, especially when combined with a diet of foods and drinks that have relatively high acid loads, such as meats, fish, dairy products, grain products, and low phosphorus and alkali poor beverages (e.g., pale beers, cocoa). The change in the pH and acid-load of our diets appears to be inducing metabolic acidosis. [2] Another contributing factor to the increase in metabolic acidosis is a decline in kidney function in the aging population and the resultant decline in toxin and acid removal via the kidneys. [4] The question is, what is the cost of chronic metabolic acidosis on our health? Since the body pH is primarily alkaline, then it is logical that the corrosive nature of acids is at the least disruptive and at worst destructive to the living cells of the body.
The regular consumption of foods and drinks with relatively high acid loads have been well documented to result in a low-grade state of metabolic acidosis. If the body cannot remove the excess acid via normal methods such as, urination or breathing, then in response, the body works to maintain the acid-alkaline balance of the various body systems by borrowing alkaline reserves from other systems, such as calcium and magnesium reserves in the bones. Some of the long-term results of chronic metabolic acidosis are conditions such as bone dissolution or decomposition, kidney stones, kidney damage, cell death, or muscle wasting [2]; in addition to such abnormalities as invasion and growth of tumor-cells. [4]
In conclusion, life in the modern world, while being rich and exciting in many ways, can be hectic and stressful. Our fast-paced existence has created life-styles filled with stress, not enough rest and leisure, as well as diets that are severely lacking in proper nutrition and thus draining. All this results in our bodies, over time, being overwhelmed with acids and toxins. The choice is yours as to what path you will pursue. Just remember, no one cares more about you than you! What do you choose?