Heather Bedard, C.H.E.
One of the health products that has become all the rage the past few years is alkaline water. Many brands market this water as a way to slow bone loss, absorb nutrients better, slow aging, and even fight cancer. While all of this sounds amazing (why would we not want to do these things?), let’s take a closer look to make sure that these claims stand up under closer scrutiny.
To begin, let’s talk about what alkaline even means. PH is the scale used to determine the acidity or baseness (alkalinity) of a solution. A PH of 7 is considered neutral, while anything less than that is moving towards more acidic, and higher than that is more alkaline (less acidic). While alkaline may sound better than acidic, many bodily functions need either one or the other. Your stomach acid ranges from 1.5-3.5, blood between 7.35-7.45, saliva 6.2-7.6, and urine anywhere from 4.5-8.0. Any changes in the PH levels can result in health issues. In other words, more alkaline isn’t always better for every part of the body.
One of the concerns comes in when alkaline water is marketed as a way to change the PH of the blood. Blood PH is very tightly controlled between 7.35-7.45. Blood PH that is just slightly lower (6.45) results in coma or death, and baser (7.7) results in muscle spasms and convulsions. Drinking water, and particularly alkaline water, does not change the PH of the blood as the hydrochloric acid in the stomach neutralizes it before its absorbed into the blood stream. Many proponents of alkaline water point to one study on how hydrogen-rich water affected blood alkalinity in physically active men.[1] However, as you will have learned in HealthCARE Basics 1.0, we shouldn’t base our healthCARE decisions on the result of one study, but on the preponderance of evidence. Besides, we don’t want what we eat and drink to affect our blood PH so easily!!
The body will do almost anything to keep the blood PH in its narrow range which means that it will pull from other systems in order to do that. Eating lots of foods that are more acidic (animal foods, grains, processed sugars) can increase the acid load on the body causing the body to pull minerals such as calcium from the bones in order to maintain a more alkaline PH.[2] It’s tempting to be drawn to alkalinizing products as a magic bullet when people hear this, thinking that they can change the effects of a poor diet with a glass of water or a pill. However, we’re looking for a dynamic life - one that consists of healthy eating patterns and long-term health rather than masking symptoms with magical water.
Another common misconception is that drinking alkaline water is a prophylactic exercise to keep cancer at bay. Some alkaline water companies make statements like, cancer cannot live in an alkaline environment. This is untrue as blood cancers seem to do quite well in the blood PH of 7.35-7.45.
“But it helps with hydration!” you may say. The study used to support this is one small study on how alkaline water improves exercise-induced metabolic acidosis and enhances anaerobic exercise performance in combat sport athletes. This was a study done on 16 people and direct correlations could not be found due to methodological complexities.[3] As we also learn in HealthCARE Basics 1.0, small studies do not always express the truth of the group at large. The other study that I found, which I will link here, is poorly done and not properly controlled – they also could not prove a direct link.[4] While studies like this are interesting and have potential, one should not place a whole lot of weight on these findings until better research comes out.
You’ve probably also heard health “experts” recommending that you check your body’s PH by checking the PH of your urine. This is a waste of time for several reasons. Your urine PH is different than your blood PH and as stated above, blood PH will not change unless you are seriously ill. Urine is also a mixture of many different processes in the body and is not a reliable indicator of the PH of all the systems. In studies that compared the output of urine PH vs blood PH they found that the kidneys are effective at excreting acid to maintain systemic pH balance and that urine pH does not provide a measurement of systemic pH.[5],[6],[7]
When it comes to water, water that contains more minerals such as calcium, potassium, sodium, and magnesium is more alkaline. In one sense, this is good. You want to drink water with lots of natural minerals. You, however, don’t want to be messing with this water and changing it to affect the body in such a drastic way. Doing this consistently over time could affect the digestive process by causing the body to compensate for loss of acid base.
If you are looking to support the PH of all of your body’s systems, then eating a nutrient rich diet full of fresh vegetables and fruit is the best way to do this.[8] Follow a health promoting diet such as the one we promote at Dynamic Health Freedom and you won’t need to worry about your body’s PH. Your body will have the nutrients that it needs to make these adjustments on its own.
There aren’t many quality studies that have been done on humans so this is definitely an area that could use more research. However, just because there is an absence of data doesn’t mean that drinking super-alkalinized water is beneficial to your body or worth your money. While drinking alkaline water, occasionally, probably isn’t going to hurt you, if you are spending a lot of money on this type of product, you would do just as well saving your money and saying no to this type of H20.
-------------------- [1] Ostojic, Sergej, and Marko Stonanovic. “Hydrogen-Rich Water Affected Blood Alkalinity in Physically Active Men.” . Research in Sports Medicine: An International Journal, 06 Jan 2014. Web. 20 Feb 2014. <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15438627.2013.852092>. [2] Massey LK. Dietary animal and plant protein and human bone health: a whole foods approach. J Nutr. 2003 Mar;133(3):862S-865S. doi: 10.1093/jn/133.3.862S. PMID: 12612170.
[3] : Chycki J, Kurylas A, Maszczyk A, Golas A, Zajac A (2018) Alkaline water improves exerciseinduced metabolic acidosis and enhances anaerobic exercise performance in combat sport athletes. PLoS ONE 13(11): e0205708.
[4] Weidman, J., Holsworth, R.E., Brossman, B. et al. Effect of electrolyzed high-pH alkaline water on blood viscosity in healthy adults. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 13, 45 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-016-0153-8
[5] Buclin T, Cosma M, Appenzeller M, Jacquet AF, Décosterd LA, Biollaz J, Burckhardt P. Diet acids and alkalis influence calcium retention in bone. Osteoporos Int. 2001;12(6):493-9. doi: 10.1007/s001980170095. PMID: 11446566.
[6] https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajprenal.00212.2002
[7] https://journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/ajprenal.1995.268.5.F802
[8] Barzel US, Massey LK. Excess dietary protein can adversely affect bone. J Nutr. 1998 Jun;128(6):1051-3. doi: 10.1093/jn/128.6.1051. PMID: 9614169.