Most people including you do not think much about the composition of the water that they drink. More often than not, a person will just be quick to take a drink with the aim of quenching their thirst and will rarely think beyond that point about the water that they have just drunk.
No matter the kind of liquid that you drink, be it coffee, tea, a soft drink or even alcohol, the underlying factor is that they have water in them, or chemically speaking, H2O molecules. What this means is that we can have H2O or water generally in different forms. These forms can broadly be classified as either artificial or natural. An example of this is alkaline water.
Alkaline water has been said to have amazing health benefits like great health, disease prevention and in some cases, it has been rumored that it acts as an anti-aging factor. To understand whether this is true, it is important to first understand the science behind water composition. The first thing that to understand is pH.
What is pH?
pH is an abbreviation for potential Hydrogen. It is the measure of how acidic water is. It is measured on a range of 0-14. Any measure below 7 is considered acidic and a measure above 7 is considered alkaline. The intensity increases as you move away from 7. That is, 0 being the most acidic, an example being battery acid and 14 being the most alkaline, for instance, liquid drain cleaners.
pH and ecosystem
From the above, it is evident that pH extremes might not be very friendly. pH levels in water bodies greatly affect marine life. Changes in marine pH no matter how slight it may be will most likely cause great damage to life in the seas and oceans. This has even led to decimalization and in some cases, extinction of some marine life.
The scenario is no different in homes, with a lower pH, comes corrosion of pipes. When the pH is high the water might become bitter and the salts might clog the pipes and drainages.
pH and our bodies
For humans, pH imbalance is catastrophic to a human body. The normal pH is about that of tap water, around 7.3 if it goes way too high, it leads to alkalosis, a condition that might result in a coma. When it falls too low, it leads to acidosis characterized by organ failure and if left untreated, death. This brings us to the importance of alkaline water.
Alkaline water
Alkaline water posses a higher pH than normal tap water. This is mostly because of the presence of alkalizing minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium. A number of benefits have been associated with alkaline water including combating acid reflux and lowering blood pressure. Other unconfirmed benefits include improving metabolism, slowing aging and reversing bone loss conditions.
Some skeptics, however, believe that alkaline water is nod different from tap water. They have also pointed out that though who drink too much of it are at a higher risk of suffering from alkalosis. The same sentiments were echoed by Malina Malkani of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Is alkaline diet a better alternative?
For those seeking to reduce their health, turning away from acidic diets and drinks is without a diet a healthy decision. However, for those seeking to lower the pH of their blood by taking alkaline water, this will not work as it only affects your pee. There is however no harm in eating healthy fresh lettuce.
According to Katherine Brooking, a registered dietician, since most of the alkaline diet is plant-based, it will be beneficial, not because it will lower your pH but because it doesn’t contain processed sugars that will lead to weight gain. Again, balanced diets will save you from chronic diseases like diabetes. She, however, cautions that care should be taken so that the right portions should be adhered to.
Conclusion
In conclusion, taking alkaline water is perfectly safe but one should not hope for any special benefits any different from those of the tap water. One should be wary of the risks involved in overconsuming alkaline water. Alkaline water should be no excuse to avoid exercise or any other healthy exercise that one should undertake. With that said, however, the broader alkaline diets have some advantages in that most of these are fresh vegetables which are beneficial to the body.
The most important thing to ensure is to exercise moderation in what we consume. Seeking advice from a medical professional will also assist you in making the right decisions on what you should eat and what you should avoid. To learn more about alkaline water, the benefits and the dangers that you might be exposing yourself to, feel free to visit https://connectforwater.org/is-alkaline-water-good.
