It is a common fact that water constitutes about 70% of the human body. Thus, it is undeniable that water plays a crucial and more fundamental role in our physical and mental wellbeing. After the exponential growth of industries and human population, clean water sources became scarcely available to people. Most of the countries around the world have slowly but effectively addressed these problems. When a significantly large sector of our global population have access to clean drinking water, the trend is moving towards enhancing it and moving from regular water to ‘alkaline water’.
What is Alkaline Water?
Alkaline water is water with higher pH value. pH value refers to the scale which measures the acidity and alkalinity of any substance. The scale ranges from 0 to 14, 0 being the most acidic and 14 being the most alkaline. Regular water has a pH value of 7.
Naturally, water becomes alkaline when it passes over rocks and springs, in the process it picks up minerals, which increases the pH in the water. Typically, alkaline water will have a pH ranging from 8 to 9.
Various companies have come up, marketing alkaline water as a newer way towards health and wellbeing. Their water is not only alkaline, but also contains minerals and negative ORP (Oxidation Reduction Potential). Here we will see 10 hidden health benefits of drinking alkaline water.
Regulates pH levels in the body
Our body constantly secretes bio-fluids and various gastric juices, which generally are acidic in nature. Health professionals suggest eating 70% alkaline based food and 30% acid based food, so that this acidity in the body is balanced. Drinking alkaline water can be a step moving towards a pH balanced diet. What does it mean in terms of benefit to body?
A study in 2012 done by ‘Voice Institute of New York’ suggested that drinking alkaline water with a pH of 8.8 helps deactivate pepsin. Pepsin is involved in breaking down the food protein and is the main enzyme responsible for acid refluxes. Thus, they concluded that alkaline water can be therapeutic for people with reflux diseases.
It slows down the aging process
Alkaline water generally has negative ORP (Oxidation Reduction Potential); here ORP refers to the capacity of water to act as an antioxidant. The more negative the ORP value, the more antioxidizing the water is. Liquid antioxidants absorb more quickly into the human body, making them more effective. Alkaline water, due to its antioxidant properties prevents the growth of free radicals which damage the cells. Thus, it helps in slowing down the aging process.
Controls chronic diseases
There was a study published in ‘Shanghai Journal of Preventive Medicine’, the study found out that drinking alkaline water can prevent some very common diseases faced by a majority of adults all around the world. The study was done on people with high levels of blood pressure, blood sugar and blood lipids. After 3 months of drinking alkaline water, it was noted that the levels of blood pressure, blood sugar and blood lipids “decreased significantly even to normal ranges”, as quoted in the research.
They concluded that “Alkaline ionized water may be used as one of the accessory therapeutic methods for essential hypertension, diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia.”
Alkaline water has colon cleansing properties
A lot of people due to intake of toxic material, highly acidic food products, excessive use of alcohol, face colon problems like inflammation, toxicity, dry stool, colon bleeding etc. It has been found that water, especially alkaline water, helps detoxify the colons and remove dry stool from the intestines.
Alkaline water also helps relieve constipation. When a person is dehydrated, the body does no pass the stool in order to absorb more water from it, this results in dry stool. Since alkaline water is ultra-hydrating, it moistens the stool, facilitating its passage through the colon.
Supports the immune system
Immunity problems, caused by improper diet, stress and environmental toxins can be tackled by drinking alkaline water. Various minerals and antioxidants supports the immune system to function more strongly against any incoming diseasing agents.
Abundant in detoxifying properties
It has been found that alkaline water with a pH with 8 to 9 helps significantly in detoxifying the body from various environmental toxins. A human being is exposed to hundreds of artificial toxins every day. Generally, they do not have an immediate effect on the system, but in the long run, these toxins display sudden and fatal effect on human body. Alkaline water greatly helps in detoxification.
Changes blood viscosity
Viscosity is the direct measurement of how efficiently blood flows through the vessels.Those who consumed high pH water reduced viscosity by 6.3 percent compared to 3.36 percent with standard purified drinking water. This means blood flowed more efficiently with alkaline water. This can increase oxygen delivery throughout out the body. It also means that alkaline water is more effective in re-hydration.
Helps in weight loss
One more visible and evident benefit of drinking alkaline water is that it helps in losing weight. More than 30% of the world population is overweight. A large part of them are seriously suffering from obesity that can even take their life. Drinking alkaline water can be beneficial for people suffering from obesity.
Can work against Cancer
Since, it is found that alkaline water reduces acid levels in the body; some theorize that this will starve any cancer cells found in your body because cancer cells thrive in an acidic environment.Introducing something more alkaline is said by some to slow or stop cancer growth by balancing your body’s pH levels.
Ultra-Hydrating Properties
Alkaline water is ultra-hydrating as compared to regular water. The scientific basis to this is that the water molecules are smaller in size in the alkaline water thus are easily absorbed by the body cells. This means that people who work out regularly or do a lot of physically exhausting work, they can benefit from drinking alkaline water, as it rehydrates the system more effectively than regular water.