10 Facts About Alkaline Water As More S’poreans Are More Interested in It

With the sales of alkaline water systems increasing by a respectable 30% over the years, alkaline water seems to be the latest trend for the health-conscious Singaporean.

However, is alkaline water any better than regular drinking water? Well, to find out, we did a whole lot of digging and have come up with a well of 10 facts about alkaline water that you’d be interested in.

Alkaline water is just plain water that has its pH changed from a neutral 7.0 to 8.0-9.0.

A typical alkaline water system would take in normal water from the tap and run the water through a process called electrolysis.

The process uses a component called an ionizer which would then raise the pH of the normal water artificially.

According to the makers of the ionizers, the ionizer works by using electricity to split water that’s more acidic from the more alkaline.

The acidic water is then flushed out so that only the alkaline water remains.

Alkaline water occurs naturally as well.

Water becomes alkaline naturally when it runs over rocks and picks up some extra minerals along the way.

This is true for authentic spring water which usually has a pH between the ranges of 7.8 to 8.2.

However, the pH may vary throughout the year and hence, the actual pH of real spring water would depend on the pH level of the spring at the time of bottling.

Alkaline water might be helpful for people with high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.

According to a study done in Shanghai, China, the researcher discovered that the levels of blood pressure, blood sugar and blood lipids decreased significantly, even to normal ranges, after prescribing alkaline water to the subjects of the study for 6 months.

However, note that this study isn’t corroborated by any other study or researcher since.

Alkaline water might be helpful for people with severe acid reflux disease

The enzyme, pepsin, causes the laryngeal damage suffered by patients of severe forms of acid reflux, laryngopharyngeal reflux and gastroesophageal reflux disease.

A study was done in 2012 that shows that a pH8.8 alkaline water is able to inactivate this offending enzyme in a lab setting and provide good acid-buffering capacity, which might be beneficial for patients with the reflux disease.

However, there is no proof nor any follow-up study done to show that this result is obtainable when the human body is involved.

Alkaline water might be helpful for recovery after strenuous exercise-induced dehydration.

A randomized, double-blind, parallel-arm trial involving 100 healthy participants was conducted to check the effect of high-pH water on four hydration biomarkers after exercise-induced dehydration.

The results? The alkaline water was found to have a significant impact on whole blood viscosity, one of the four biomarkers studied, reducing it by 6.3% as compared to 3.36% with the usual purified water.

FYI, lower blood viscosity means that your heart will not need to pump as hard when circulating blood around your body, and that is usually a good thing.

However, please take note that a few of the researchers involved in the study has conflicts of interest. All potential forms of conflicts of interests are declared at the end of the journal article.

Alkaline water has a negative oxidation reduction potential (ORP) and hence, has anti-oxidizing properties.

What is oxidation reduction potential (ORP)? ORP is a standard of measurement commonly used in water-testing, such as the water-quality testing of chlorinated swimming pools as well as in the food-processing and water treatment industries.

To put it simply, it’s used to measure a substance’s ability to oxidize or reduce another substance. When a water has a high ORP, this means that there is lots of oxygen present in it.

As alkaline water has a negative ORP, this means that it’s a reducing agent or a.k.a. an anti-oxidizing agent.

Naturally-occurring alkaline water usually contains more minerals.

Alkaline water is shown to contain more minerals such as calcium, potassium, magnesium and bicarbonate, which could supplement any mineral deficiency in the body, if there is any.

However, this only applies to naturally-occurring alkaline water due to how natural alkaline water is made, and well… unless you consume nothing else except water, it’s very unlikely these extra minerals would be helpful since you could have easily got enough amount of them from your daily diet.

Consumed alkaline water will be neutralized by the stomach acid, turning it into plain water.

Here’s a pop quiz for you! Do you still remember how the digestive system works?

Here’s a recap: When something is consumed, it will move from the mouth, down the throat and oesophagus, and end up in your naturally-acidic stomach where most of the digestion process takes place.

According to Dr Liu Mei Hui, a senior lecturer in the Department of Food Science and Technology at NUS, “Our stomach’s pH is already acidic. Thus, it is unlikely there are benefits from its (alkaline water’s) alkaline properties.”

Dr Fahir Khiard, director of medical services at mobile clinic Speedoc, concurred, adding that the hydrocholoric acid in the stomach would rapidly neutralise the pH of the alkaline water, turning it into plain H2O (water).

So basically, you wouldn’t even get to experience the supposed benefits of the alkalinity of the water, all thanks to your stomach’s gastric juices.

Most health benefits touted by advocates of alkaline water aren’t supported by any scientific research.

If the proponents of alkaline water are to be believed, you’d think alkaline water is some sort of miracle water.

There have been plenty of unsubstantiated health claims surrounding alkaline water, including having anti-aging and detox properties, bolsters the immune system, promotes skin health, facilitates weight loss, offering cancer resistance, and many more.

Some even believe that alkaline water can cure certain diseases, like cancer.

Snake oil, anyone?

Consumption of alkaline water can be harmful to people with kidney conditions.

According to the director of medical services at mobile clinic Speedoc, Dr Fahir Khiard, alkaline water could have negative side effects on the kidneys.

Thus, people with chronic kidney disorders or are taking medication that may affect their kidney function should be cautious if they want to switch over to consuming alkaline water.

And as with anything, consuming alkaline water in excess can also be harmful to your body. The stomach is naturally-acidic for a very good reason, and if enough alkaline water is consumed, enough to lower the stomach’s acidity, you might end up with a bad case of stomach flu, or worst, the pathogens may find their way into your bloodstream.

Having too much alkalinity in the body may also disrupt the natural body pH, causing metabolic alkalosis, which has its host of symptoms.

It can potentially affect bone health since alkalosis decreases the amount of free calcium in the body as well.

So, is alkaline water worth the extra cost? Well, you’d have to decide yourself.

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