Why is Alkaline Drinking Water better?

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Nobody can imagine a life without water. In other words, there is no life without water. Every living being on this earth should be drinking plenty of water every day to maintain a healthy body. Even though many of us fail to reach our recommended daily target, we sure understand the extremely vital role of water in our daily health and well-being. Recently, Advertisements and promotional materials on alkaline drinking water claim that alkaline water helps neutralize acids and remove toxins from the body. Few people even go to the extent of emphasizing that it slow down the aging process and prevents cancer. However, there is no significant scientific evidence to support any of the claims made by manufacturers and promoters of water alkalizing machines.

What is the difference between normal water and alkaline water?

Alkaline water has more excess oxygen and alkaline minerals then neutral or acid tap water. It is highly oxygenated water with the oxygen in the stable bias OH- form that is needed by our cells. Each of these ions is bonded with an alkaline mineral in the all important colloidal form. At pH between 8 to 10, ionized alkaline water will have 100's of times more excess oxygen then neutral tap water and no acid elements or toxic substances in it.

Why alkaline water is considered good?

Human body functions best within a pH range of 7.35 and 7.45 neither too acid nor too alkaline. Unfortunately, most of the things we eat and drink are very acidic which causes our body to become more acidic an increases our risk of disease. Alkaline gets rid of the acid wastes produced by the body. These wastes come from the different food and beverages that we drink. Alkaline water also helps eliminate other toxins within the body as they have smaller clusters of water molecules. It acts like a filter that throws out the harmful elements in the human body. At the same time, it fortifies the organs by cleansing them.

What are the ways of making alkaline water?

• Alkaline drinking water is produced at home by a water ionizer unit. This unit is an electronic water filtration system. If it is connected to the kitchen water supply, it will perform controlled electrolysis on water before it leaves the tap. Inside the unit, ordinary tap water is first filtered. It passes through activated charcoal to remove contaminants that are common in municipal water supplies. The filtered water then continues on into a chamber containing electrodes, where the electrolysis should occur. This special water charger pulls alkaline (negative) minerals to the positive electrode, and acidic (positive) minerals to the negative electrode by means of electrolysis. The resulting alkaline drinking water comes out of the faucet.
• Distillation: Distillation destroys all the microorganisms, germs, bacteria and other contaminants present in the water. At the same time, viruses and other harmful metals are removed too. The process makes the water pure. This takes out the acid toxins and sets the pH level right.
• Lemon: Alkalinity can be increased by putting in certain ingredients like lemon. However, it is best to add these ingredients after running the water through an alkaline filter.

What is chemistry behind water?

Pure water is made completely of H2O molecules loosely bound in a network-like structure in which individual molecules are constantly changing associates. Water molecules show a very slight tendency to dissociate ("ionize") into hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions such as:
H₂O → H+ + OH–

However, the extent of this reaction is strictly restricted by the fact that the reverse of this reaction is much quicker, so that on the average, only about two out of every billion H2O molecules are dissociated. No electrical device or chemical additive is capable of increasing these ion concentrations in pure water above this very minute level which is so small that for most practical purposes pure water can be considered to be ion-free, as evidenced by the fact that it will not conduct an electric current.

What is acidic and alkaline water in chemical aspect?

All water and all aqueous solutions have both H+ and OH– ions. If the quantity of H+ surpasses that of the OH–, the water is known to be acidic. If there are more OH– ions than H+, the water is alkaline. Pure water has equal numbers of both ions and is known to be neutral. Generally, chemists indicate the degree of acidity or alkalinity on the pH scale which runs from about 0 to 14. Acidic solutions have pH values of less than 7, alkaline solutions more than 7. Pure water, being neutral, has a pH of exactly 7. Each unit on the pH scale depicts a hundred-fold change in the ratio of the two kinds of ions; for instance, if the pH is 8, there are 100 times as many OH– ions than H+ ions (that is, [H+] = 10–8, [OH–] = 10–6). Whether water is acidic or alkaline, it will always contain equal numbers of positive and negative electric charges. As, alkaline water contains an excess of OH– ions, it must also contain some other kind of positive ion in addition to H+ in order to balance the opposite charges. This extra positive ion is mostly a metal ion such as sodium, calcium or magnesium. Likewise, acidic water must always contain negative ions in addition to OH–; the most common of these is bicarbonate HCO₃–. This means that waters whose pH differs from 7 are never "pure" in the chemical aspect.

What are the benefits that are believed in drinking alkaline water?

• Alkaline water can help reduce the overall acidity level of the body, making it more resistant to problems such as heart disease, cancer, allergies, weight problems, and premature aging.
• Maintaining an alkaline pH level can help the body to get rid of toxins and boost the energy level and metabolism naturally, which will result in overall better health.
• Alkaline water is able to fight off disease in people drinking alkaline water more easily than those who don’t use it.

What is the bottom line?

• According to the latest research, there is no convincing evidence in standard medical or scientific literature to support claims that alkaline water is better for human health than drinking regular water.
• All water ionizers use electrolysis to produce an alkaline (basic) solution. They basically use sodium hydroxide (which is used in drain cleaners) and an acid solution. The alkalinity of the water is fairly weak and is neutralized immediately by the stomach contents - with no change to the pH of the body.
• Majority of the 'evidence' used to support health claims for alkaline water is in the form of testimonials that are someone's individual insight and story of how the product helped them, as an alternative of well constructed scientific studies.
• There is no evidence that water forms stable clusters of any size and that water clusters are different in alkaline water, or that it would make any difference if the cluster size were different. Likewise, dissolved hydrogen will have no effect on health.
• According to research, the statements, such as, alkalinity of alkaline water can survive the digestive system, alkaline water can change the blood's or body's pH, ionized water gives more energy by providing lots of oxygen, alkaline water is better at hydrating or detoxifying than regular water are never true.

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