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The Ugly Truth about Alkaline Water If I told you there was a special kind of water that improves your overall health, would you drink it? Most people are continuously looking for ways to improve their overall health; so yes, the majority would drink it. As Fitness Health Magazine refers to the ancient Roman poet Virgil, he would say, The greatest wealth is health (2010). National Review states that drinking five glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and you are 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer (2006). Obviously, water has major health benefits; however, the statistics are referring to regular tap water. If regular tap water is able to benefit our bodies this way, can alkaline water that has been advertised to be the most beneficial water benefit the human body even more? The answer is no. Alkaline water provides no true benefit to the human body despite all the hyped advertisement about its potential. Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter expresses how when it comes down to it, the hype about alkaline water is all propaganda. Dr. Glodzik suggests that the biggest fallacy associated with alkaline water is that due to its pH levels that are usually above the neutral level of 7 that it will be easier for the body to reach optimal equilibrium (2009), or a state of chemical balance in the body, reached when the tissues contain the proper proportions of various salts and water (2003). PhD Huddy states I know of no credible scientific studies that indicate that the pH of water is important. The stomach is highly acidic anyway so any water you drink is not likely to make a difference once it enters the highly acidic stomach (2009). I highly agree with Doctor of Philosophy, Huddy, about how alkaline water lacks scientific evidence that it actually does have significant benefits for the human body.

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Alkaline water has absolutely no scientific research to prove that it benefits the human body (2009). Dr. Dawson-Hughes claims that just simply eating more fruits and vegetables can provide our bodies with what alkaline water has been claimed to do (2009). Dr. Dawson-Hughes states, "When fruits and vegetables are metabolized, they add bicarbonate, an alkaline compound, to the body (2009). Bicarbonate, or a central buffering agent in blood (2012), is identified as an alkaline compound and stabilizes the acid-base balance in the body (2009). If you are able to receive bicarbonate by eating fruits and vegetables regularly, then why would you even bother buying such an expensive drink like alkaline water? Dr. Dawson-Hughes continues to explain how the only real benefit that consuming alkaline water can provide for the human body is the additional supply of bicarbonate in the bloodstream (2009). Once there is an addition of bicarbonate in the body, it will be recognized in the body's carbonic acid-bicarbonate buffer system and then help to maintain the blood pH at a normal level of 7.35 to 7.45 (2009). Dr. Dawson-Hughes carries on emphasizing how truly useless the product of alkaline water is and how stores are essentially ripping off their customers (2009). I am in agreement with Dr. Dawson-Hughes in which I believe that grocery stores are taking advantage of peoples ignorance towards certain beverages that they are consuming. Many people, unfortunately, are not exactly aware of what is in their food and drink that they so often buy and consume. If a drink such as alkaline water is portrayed as a healthy drink by many grocery stores, healthconscious audiences are likely to buy such a product due to their ignorance and cheap advertisement schemes that grocery stores can use to effectively manipulate them. Dr. DawsonHughes also mentions the pricey alkaline water machines for home-usage that are sold in stores (2009). Dr. Dawson confidently concludes that with these alkaline water machines there are no

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added mineral benefits that can significantly benefit the body (2009). If alkaline water has no scientific evidence that it will benefit your body, then there is no need to fall victim to a highly advertised magic liquid that claims to perfectly balance the chemicals in your body. Alkaline water is not worth your money. If you buy a fancy alkaline water machine to use in your home, you wont be investing in your health or your wallet. Louisianas Health and Fitness Magazine wrote an article about how alkaline water is truly an expensive hoax (2013). The main reason why all these people are foolishly buying these alkaline water machines is because they honestly believe that drinking alkaline water will ultimately turn them into a healthier person (2013). Although most scientists, doctors, and registered dietitians would agree that there is no real evidence that alkaline water benefits the human body, there are a few that would say otherwise (2013). Registered Dietitian Katherine Zeratsky of the Mayo Clinic states, Proponents say alkaline water can neutralize acid in your bloodstream, boost your metabolism and help your body absorb nutrients more effectively. Some even say that alkaline water can help prevent disease and slow the aging process (2013). As you can see, this Registered Dietitian did her homework and worded her statement very carefully. She never used statements such as Scientific research provides or Research shows that, instead she used the statement Proponents say alkaline water (2013). You may be wondering why Katherine Zeratsky didnt use stronger wording that possesses scientific findings to help reassure her credibility. Well, the answer is simple. Its because there are no scientific findings about alkaline waters possible benefits for the human body; therefore if she used such statements indicating scientific research, her statement would have been false altogether. Katherine Zeratsky made some interesting points in

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her statement; however, just because proponents or advocates claim those findings to be true does not mean they are true. For all we know, those proponents shes referring to may be personal trainers that she has been trained by that have informed her that consuming alkaline water will benefit her health and fitness in the long run. What Im trying to say is that these findings reported by proponents lack significant credibility due to an absence of scientific findings. The authors of The pH Balance Diet, Vyas and Le Quesne, discuss how important it is to keep the chemicals in the human body balanced in order to optimally live in the best possible state of health (2008). The authors continue to emphasize how certain foods and drinks with alkaline-enriched properties are found to help get rid of any toxins that are accumulating in the body (2008). Registered dietitian Stefanie Shalagan reviewed The pH Balance Diet and formed a critical opinion about the books credibility (2008). Stefanie Shalagan concluded, We just dont know if eating a lot of acid or alkaline foods prevents disease; there just hasnt been enough research (2008). Registered dietitian Stefanie Shalagan speaks the hard truth. Without real scientific evidence that alkaline-enriched foods and drinks are beneficial towards the human body, there are no credible statements that can be made towards the effects of alkaline water on the human body. All in all, alkaline water provides absolutely no true benefits to the human body. No genuine scientific evidence has been found to show that alkaline water can help the human body in any significant way. Unfortunately, the general populous is unaware of how easily fooled they are to the tricks that water companies play on them. Tricks that a water company may attempt to pull involve false advertisement being portrayed about the health benefits that alkaline water has to offer. With a lack of scientific research in regards to alkaline water, you must be cautious and

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avoid being fooled! Its simple. Without credible evidence, alkaline water cannot be proven to do anything beneficial for the body.

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Resources Ask Tufts Experts. (2009). Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, 27(8), 4. An absence of health profit is present in alkaline water. Is Alkaline Water Necessary?. (2009). Running & FitNews, 27(1), 18-20. Jurick, N. (2013). The New Drink TrendsDecoded. Health (Time Inc.), 27(7), 115. Vyas, B., & Le Quesne, S. (2008). The pH Balance Diet. Active Living, 17(1), 10. Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. (2003). http://www.healthfitnessmag.com/Health-Fitness-Magazine/March-2013/Alkaline-Water-WhyAll-the-Hype/ http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/196797/greatest-nonsense/yuval-levin .