Alkaline Water Scam

Posted in Category(ies): Alternative, Health, Water

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Is The Alkaline Water Craze a Ploy to Take Your Money?

There is a lot of controversy these days over alkaline water, ionizers, and if they really do what they say they do. I want to produce the opposing view point and comment at the end. Here is a quote from well known Dr Weil (who makes a fantastic living n the internet selling his own products!).

Does Alkaline Water Promote Health? Manufacturers of water ionizers state that their products produce more alkaline water, which allows your body to better absorb minerals and antioxidants from water. Are these health claims real? Do you recommend ionizers?

Home water ionizers, which I’ve seen offered for sale on the internet, are just the latest twist in the ongoing effort to promote the notion that alkaline water is somehow protective of your health. The underlying idea is that you can prevent disease by balancing your body’s pH. Promoters claim that alkaline water is energizing, hydrates the body more effectively than regular water, improves the taste of food when used in cooking, promotes "regularity," helps the body absorb nutrients more effectively, and on and on. I’ve even seen claims that it can cure everything from obesity and high blood pressure to breast cancer.

None of these claims are true. Furthermore, your body needs absolutely no help in adjusting its pH. Normally, the pH of blood and most body fluids is near seven, which is close to neutral. This is under very tight biological control because all of the chemical reactions that maintain life depend on it. Unless you have serious respiratory or kidney problems, body pH will remain in balance no matter what you eat or drink. As for water, you should consider the fact that alkaline water is common throughout the western states but to my knowledge it has not protected anyone from the diseases and disorders that occur elsewhere in the U.S.

The health claims for water ionizers and for alkaline water are bogus. Save your money.

Andrew Weil, M.D.

So are health claims for ionizers and alkaline water bogus? Dr Weil doesn’t give a reason for stating that health benefits are bogus so it is difficult to address his assertion. 

I can, however, address the "your body needs no help adjusting its pH" claim.

Let us look at this rationally. Your body DOES have an intricate system that maintains the internal pH of your body. What happens if you continuously stress that system? 

We already know that there is acidity in our outside environment. (Think Acid Rain) Acid rain is caused from chemicals, pollutants and a number of other materials both man made and natural (volcanic ash). The air we breath is acidic for the same reasons. The food we eat (processed and pesticide/herbicide treated) are often acidic. 

So we breathe, eat and drink compounds that are already acidic or create acidity once in our bodies. Our body must work very very hard to combat these toxins and poisons and it is not adapted to that through evolution yet. When it gets overcome with poisons (which cause acidity) then disease occurs. Now what about in the meantime… before our body shows signs of over toxicity by way of disease, our body is working overtime to maintain a pH of around 7. It has a number of controls (buffers) that allow it to do this. 

Do you think that if you removed some of the exposures to acid inducing pollutants, detoxified the body of heavy metals and toxins, and drank alkaline, oxygenated water instead of acid rain… do you think that there would be LESS burden on this delicate buffering system. IF there was less burden on this buffering system, does it make sense that it would last longer and continue to be able to maintain a safe and healthy pH? 

To say that this system needs no help to maintain body pH is ludicrous. DEATH occurs when this system fails without help. I have a tremendous respect for Dr Weil and what he does for the health movement. What he doesn't seem to understand is that all of his recommendations for more fruits and vegetables, and less sugar, red meat and processed foods ARE helping this pH system in our bodies. His recommendations mean that there is less strain on the system that maintains the pH balance in our body.

Drinking alkaline water is another positive step on our journey to health. Why drink acid rain when you can drink filtered, ionized alkaline water.

I believe alkaline water is a MUCH healthier alternative to drinking Acid Rain. Does Dr Weil REALLY disagree with that? How could he?

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Shelley Penney is a RN (retired) with a keen interest in health, peace and abundance.
Shelley has penned several e-books, currently runs several successful business ventures
from her home office, and has time to write, meditate, travel, and spend time with her
family. Visit Shelley at http://www.shelleypenney.com for interesting articles and
stimulating discussion.
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