The Alkaline Water Consipracy

The Alkaline Water Consipracy

This article is sure to stir up some controversy between those pushing and/or consuming alkaline water products and those who are not. However, more article like this need to be written so that people can come to their own conclusions by way of research, experience and/or experimentation with the concept of alkaline water. 

 

Fortunately water is now becoming America’s #1 beverage of choice (beating soda and other soft drinks) and because of this it is becoming much clearer to the public that drinking pure water is a necessity for their health. Pure, clean water is invaluable when it comes to getting and staying healthy, as it’s one of the foundational pillars to keeping the body and the mind in excellent condition.

 

Of all the reasons that are driving the bottled water industry to new heights, the number one factor pushing this trend is that it’s become common knowledge that almost all water sources available to most people on the planet are far from pure and, unfortunately in many cases, downright toxic.

 

Fluoride, chlorine, trace pharmaceuticals, chromium 6, heavy metals, and the countless other toxic elements that are now confirmed to be present in water coming from municipality treatment plants are only the beginning of how toxic our public water supplies actually are.

 

The Flint, Michigan disaster is an ongoing and catastrophic scenario where already toxic municipality water was given the wrong treatment and then further contaminated with neurotoxic lead leaching into it through miles and miles of antiquated and failing city infrastructure plumbing, which resulted in mass poisoning. Thousands upon thousands of children, families, and adults were affected. 

 

Moreover, the Flint, Michigan disaster was not an anomaly. Many, if not most or even all city plumbing infrastructures are corroded, polluted and potentially highly toxic. Flint, Michigan simply highlights what a precarious and toxic situation we’re in.

 

Water is the universal solvent. Anywhere it goes it erodes, weathers and absorbs the substances that come into contact with it. Unless you have a naturally bubbling spring in your backyard that has been thoroughly tested to demonstrate its unwavering purity then you are unlikely to encounter naturally pure water in today’s modern world. Obviously all of us who care about and love the sanctity of life wish it were another way, and mourn the daily erosion of this most vital of Earth’s natural resources.

 

The promise of alkaline water

 

In light of rampant water toxicity, environmental pollutants, abounding electromagnetic frequencies (and an endless host of other harmful health and stress conditions), a new niche in the bottled water industry emerged to address all of the above concerns. 

 

Their logic is that because of all the above factors, human beings (whose blood PH is slightly alkaline) are now becoming acidic and that by drinking alkaline (ionized) water (a powerful antioxidant loaded with many electrons) we can neutralize or reverse the destructive effects of becoming ‘over acidified’. 

 

Let’s think critically about these claims, though. The idea that we can all “alkalize” in order to buffer acidity is at best a gross oversimplification, skipping over many biological processes. And while many people see initial positive results when beginning to drink alkaline water, these results usually begin to diminish quickly.

 

There are some incredible claims being made about the benefits of alkaline water that are then backed up with a lot of pseudoscience and very little real science. 

 

While there are many different issues with this entire concept I’m only going to examine alkalinity as it pertains to digestive issues so that you can see the bigger picture and form your own opinion. 

 

While you may or may not agree with my opinions (based on decades of my own direct experience and research as well as others whom I have known) you are free to form and express your own. Different things work for different people at different times in our lives and ultimately it is up to us as individuals to make choices that can or will best support our health.

 

Each organ system in our body has a different ideal PH range and with proper homeostasis (which can be attributed to by far more than just water), our bodies’ innate intelligence does an incredible job at maintaining these different PH levels. 

 

The GI tract is acidic, not alkaline

 

Let’s look at the organ system that is first affected (and possibly the most dramatically) by alkaline water-the GI tract. 

 

We are acid digesting creatures, which means we digest our food via an acid environment. Our blood is supposed to be slightly alkaline but our GI tract is not. Our stomach PH is 1.5-3.5, but dousing that digestive fire with alkaline water is destructive to that process causing your stomach to start generating profuse amount of acids (as your bodies’ innate intelligence tries to reduce the PH of your now alkaline stomach) resulting from the alkaline water you just drank. 

 

This in turn can cause acid reflux and GERD because the acids overcompensate the influx of alkalinity (from consuming alkaline water) and rise up into the esophagus. People then think they have acid reflux and continue to drink more alkaline water (thinking that their symptoms are being neutralized even thought its only a temporary solution that actually keeps creating the same problem).

 

What many people don’t want to acknowledge in the whole acid/alkaline water debate is that alkaline water can then neutralize stomach acidity which then leads to the inability to breakdown food, leading to further and more complex digestive issues. 

 

Micro-flora of the intestinal tract

 

Another issue with the GI tract and alkaline water is the effect that high PH water has on the micro flora itself. Lactobacillus acidophilus (which actually means ‘acid-loving milk-bacteria') is a species of bacteria that grows readily at low pH values (below pH 5.0) and has an optimum growth temperature of around 37 °C (99 °F). 

 

L. acidophilus is perhaps one of the most abundant microbes that occur naturally in a healthy human digestive tract. We need these little bacteria to help us further digest nutrients and produce certain compounds that are beneficial for our health. How do you think filling your mouth and GI tract with 4-5 Liters of alkaline water every day is going to affect both your naturally low stomach PH and the acid loving bacteria that is predominantly present in your GI tract? 

 

By drinking alkaline water constantly the alkalinity of your stomach is raised which then opens up the door to parasites, candida and bacteria that isn’t beneficial for the digestive process, and can lead to resistant and difficult to treat infections, reduced nutrient absorption, and damaged intestinal walls which can lead to increasing food allergies.

 

Why don’t alkaline foods have this effect?

 

Eating alkaline foods usually doesn't have this effect because you aren't saturating your entire G.I. tract with as much fluid as you are with this alkaline water. Foods, eaten in normal amounts, even those with a very high pH, go through the normal digestive process and are acidified by the stomach for proper digestion. 

 

Additionally, by thoroughly masticating (chewing) your food before you swallow it you are making a tremendous enzymatic contribution to the breakdown of your food, assisting with the digestive process even before you swallow.

 

On top of that, it isn’t necessarily the alkalinity of the foods you consume that affect your bodies’ pH, it's your metabolism and your bodies’ ability to break down the foods you eat that influences your overall pH. A great example of this is that tomatoes, lemons, and limes are highly acidic in taste and chemistry, but when your body metabolizes their chemical components, the result produces an alkalizing effect.

 

 

Alkaline hydration

 

Another interesting point to consider is the means by which alkaline water is made. Water is alkalized by increasing certain minerals that don’t naturally occur in water at the amounts that are added to high pH water. Minerals, even if they are naturally occurring in water, are considered "inorganic." The reason for this is because the human body isn't able to assimilate them without a living catalyst (such as plants who convert minerals from the soil into bio-available nutrients that the human body recognizes and can use).

 

In that regard water that isn't highly alkalized is much more hydrating because it doesn't cause of water retention due to the minerals (which are mostly salts). Cellular facilitated transport of water and minerals is a little beyond the scope of this article, but the short story is that water with too many minerals and mineral salts can’t enter cells and isn’t easily disposed of by the kidneys, so it collects in the tissues until conditions allow for it to be removed.

 

Deep breathing is probably the most effective “alkalizer” of all, since the body can use oxygen to help balance the pH of the blood. The lungs are rich with capillary blood vessels, after all, though the reader should be cautioned on supplemental oxygen therapy as well, since this carries its own set of risks. Good, fresh, clean air is as beneficial as healthy, natural water.

 

There is one caveat when considering drinking alkaline water. For some people, drinking water that leans more towards the alkaline end of the spectrum can be beneficial, in extremely limited doses for a short period of time. The best way to try this is by adding a pinch (about ¼ of a teaspoon or less) of pure organic baking soda to an 8-12 oz glass of water. This can be beneficial for digestion, and is best done right before bed. In this way, the acids are cleared from the esophagus before laying down to sleep, and the bicarbonate of soda is used by other digestive processes and can help to normalize whole body pH. Occasional and limited application of this method can be very helpful, though daily or multiple times per day use can cause just as much harm as repeated consumption of bottled alkaline waters.

 

 

Try this at home

 

Perhaps one of the most visibly noticeable aspects of alkaline water is an experiment that anyone can try at home, and I encourage you to do so. Buy a bottle of really alkaline water (9.5 or higher), a neutral PH bottled water and a bag of Yerba Mate or some other type of green tea. Then take about a teaspoon to a tablespoon of the green tea out of the bag and add into both samples of bottled water. 

 

The first thing you will notice is how fast the alkaline water will literally pull all of the alkaloids out of the tea and into the water, causing it to become bright green or yellow. Imagine what is happening to the plastic that these alkaline brands are contained within? This is a compounded issue especially because most companies do not factor in the leaching of chemicals from hot, thin, freshly blown plastic bottles. They have not thought far enough forward to use heavyweight plastic that is blown and off-gassed weeks or months before use, as these bottles should only be cold filled. 

 

This is actually a really eye opening experiment in that it not only potentially negates the supposed health benefits of alkaline water, it also infuses the water with virtually hundreds of chemical plasticizers, BPA’s, endocrine disrupters and heavy metals from the plastic manufacturing process. And if alkaline water is pulling nutrients out of green tea so quickly what is it doing to the tissues of your body? You guessed it, it’s pulling the minerals out of your blood, bones, and other tissues, and disrupting your digestion in the process.

 

In regards to plastic, are the companies who are selling these alkaline bottled water products providing you with years of comprehensive chemical analysis testing that shows non-detectable levels of all these plastic chemicals of concern? If not, then why? 

 

In conclusion

 

As I mentioned earlier, water is the universal solvent, so both alkaline and acidic waters will both yield the same results from the project above, however, I don’t really know of any companies pushing or promoting the health benefits of acidic bottled water products.

 

Based on the observed effects, it would seem that the middle road-a neutral pH water, might provide you the greatest health benefits.

 

Looking at the pH of water obviously isn’t enough to determine its value. The more that I personally have researched water the more clear it has become that natural purity is of paramount importance juxtaposed to the ability of man’s machines to artificially purify water. 

 

It all comes down to whether or not you think man’s machines can do a better job at processing water than Mother Nature herself. However, even if you subscribe to the latter, make sure the spring water you are drinking offers comprehensive water analysis testing from a laboratory with ISO 17025:2005 Accreditation or purchase bottled spring water from a small family owned business who does provide water tested in labs with this accreditation (they do exist).

 

This is the best way to ensure natural purity and support robust health in a world that has become very toxic due to man’s industrial pollution.

 

(People you are destroying your intestinal flora by drinking alkaline water. And nearly everyone who has drinken alkaline water for an extended period of time will attest to the destructive nature of alkaline water on the GI tract. 

 

Horses and cows eat two different types of hay. Horses are acid digesting creatures and cows are alkaline digesting creatures. If you give hay to a horse that was designed and packaged for a cow to a horse, it will kill it. 

Tourmaline Spring happens to be a perfectly balanced ph, perfected by Mother Nature for longer than anyone knows!

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