Alkaline water is currently popular and touted as highly beneficial to health. The following information serves as a warning not to drink highly alkaline water produced by alkaline water machines. These are not as healthful as people are led to believe.
Also, because this water makes one feel better, many people mistakenly believe they are becoming healthier, which is not the case.
There may be immediate benefits such as fewer aches and pains and possibly a little more energy. However, the problems with alkaline water machines outweigh any short-term benefits they provide.
WHERE CAN I FIND ARTIFICIALLY ALKALINIZED WATER?
This is typically tap water that has been passed through an electrical machine that has run the water over platinum and titanium plates. This process results in the exchange of some platinum and titanium ions, which raises the pH of the water. In most cases, the machine also has a carbon filter to remove impurities. With some units, a white powder can be added to make the water even more alkaline.
This is not the case with naturally alkaline spring water, for example. Spring water flows over rocks in the earth, absorbing various minerals that affect its pH. A good spring water has a slightly alkaline pH of around 8 or 8.5, but not much higher.
THE PURPOSE OF DRINKING ALKALINE WATER
The body’s pH balance is critical, and most people’s bodies are too acidic at the cellular level. It makes no difference if the saliva, urine, or other fluids are alkaline. The body cells, which are the site of metabolism, are almost always too acidic. This puts you at risk for a variety of metabolic imbalances and diseases, including cancer. The logic behind drinking alkaline water is that it will correct this critical physiological imbalance.
There are issues with this rationale for alkaline water. The following are the primary flaws in this theory:
1. The true cause of excess acidity at the cellular level is a lack of alkalinizing or alkaline reserve minerals. These are derived from one’s genetic make-up as well as one’s diet. If one leads a stressful life, these are quickly depleted. Calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium, and a few others are among them.
Unfortunately, drinking artificially alkalinized water does little to replace these essential minerals. In fact, it may deplete them for unexpected reasons. It may trick the body into thinking it is alkaline, so it does not need to hold on to as many alkaline reserve minerals, and it eliminates some of them, making the person even more deficient.
2. Water from alkaline water machines replaces vital minerals with trace amounts of cadmium, lead, arsenic, and other toxic metals found in tap water that are not filtered by any carbon filters that I am aware of. Some filtering systems claim to remove toxic metals, but these always seem to come up short for this purpose. Those filters that claim to remove a lot of toxic metals seem to make the water worse. Reverse osmosis, as well as KDF and other types of “advanced” filtration media, are examples of this type.
3. In addition, the alkaline water machines replace the good minerals with a small amount of platinum and titanium found in the plates that the water passes through to become alkaline. Both of these metals, particularly platinum, are extremely toxic.
Furthermore, higher levels of nickel seem to be present in those who have used alkaline water machines for a number of years. The nickel is most likely leached from the machine’s stainless steel or a nickel-plated machine part. Nickel is a highly toxic metal that can be fatal. Because of the alkalinity of the water, some of it may be leached out of the machine parts.
4. Because carbon filtration does not remove enough of the toxic chemicals in the water, one is exposed to chlorine, fluorides, aluminum, copper, medical drug residues in many areas, pesticides, and other contaminants.
5. As a result, alkaline water machines do not truly balance the body’s pH, though they do change it slightly, giving some people the impression that they are getting better when, in fact, they are getting worse.
The only way to achieve true body balance is to replenish the alkaline reserve minerals. This necessitates consuming a large amount of cooked vegetables. Cooked vegetables and possibly some mineral supplements, such as kelp, can and do supply the alkaline reserve minerals. Good quality natural spring water, as well as good quality sea salt, provide some alkaline minerals. The body can be gradually remineralized by using these on a daily basis. This is the way to go, rather than drinking alkalinized water.
Is alkaline water machine water the same as naturally alkaline spring water? Certainly not. To begin, alkaline spring waters typically have a pH of 8 or possibly 8.5. The water from the machines is frequently much hotter, reaching temperatures of 12 or 13. This is not good for you.
Second, alkaline spring water and some well water contain high levels of calcium and magnesium, both of which are beneficial to one’s health. The water from the machines, on the other hand, is artificially made alkaline by mixing it with a small amount of platinum and possibly titanium, both of which are toxic metals.
What is the significance of diet? A diet high in grains, cereals, beans, and sugars contributes to much of the body’s acidity. Refined food diets are the worst, but most people’s high carbohydrate natural food diets are also the worst. Because of their unusual mineral content, all of these foods cause an acidic reaction in the body. Red meats have a more acidic reaction due to other factors such as their high iron content and the bacteria required for proper digestion.
Even eating fruits today appears to cause an acidic reaction. This is due to their higher sugar content, higher fruit acid content, and unbalanced mineral content today as a result of hybridization and genetic modification. Some fruits are still alkaline forming, but by no means all.
Diets must be corrected by consuming at least 70% cooked vegetables on a daily basis. This is the only way to obtain an adequate supply of alkaline reserve minerals. Consuming only sea salt, natural spring water, and kelp supplements, for example, can also help. Drinking artificially alkalinized water does not help much and actually worsens the situation for the reasons stated above.
ALKALINE WATER PROCESSING TYPES
There are seemingly three types of alkaline water systems of which we are aware. None are recommended, and all are hazardous, but the first type – electrical machines – is the most dangerous.
Free-standing electrical home units are the first type. The first type of alkaline water machine is the most widely used. They are self-contained kitchen units. Among these are the Kaagen, Jupiter, I-Water, and others. These devices start with tap water, which is already a hazardous substance.
The water is filtered through a carbon filter, which does not remove the majority of toxins and primarily improves the taste. When a filter becomes clogged or simply old, it can become a breeding ground for bacteria, viruses, and even parasites.
The water is then alkalinized by passing it through electrified platinum-covered titanium plates. The amount of toxic platinum added to the water is determined by adjusting the electrical flow.
Some machines may then add a calcium solution or powder to the water to increase its alkalinity.
Problems with these machines, which, in my opinion, are overly and falsely advertised, include:
Yin disease is a type of ailment. Drinking any alkalinized water, even very alkaline well or spring water, tends to make one’s body more yin. This is the most serious issue with highly alkaline water. In traditional Chinese and Taoist medical terminology, Yin means expanded, ill, and centrifugal in effect. This is a matter physics quality. Today, becoming more yin is almost always extremely harmful to the body, because most bodies are already far too yin due to ionizing radiation, toxic metals and chemicals in the environment, and mineral deficiencies. It makes no difference if you feel better on this water. Trying to become yin is always a disaster. The other issues with this type of alkaline water machine have already been mentioned. To refresh your memory, they are as follows:
The state of being clean. Tap water is not an ideal base water. It varies greatly, and most tap water in the United States and elsewhere is of poor quality. It contains chlorine compounds, fluorides, medical drug residues, hundreds of toxic chemicals, toxic metals, and other contaminants.
Regardless of what the manufacturers claim, carbon filters cannot remove the majority of toxic metals and many toxic chemicals. When water is quickly passed over carbon, not much is removed. Furthermore, as the carbon filter becomes clogged, it ceases to function properly and may cause the water to become even more contaminated. This is why it is critical to change carbon filters on a regular basis.
Platinum is far too toxic for human consumption. While the amount of exposure is minimal, we have observed that after using the machine for more than 3 to 6 months, some users develop a mild platinum toxicity. While most people will be fine, those with sensitive kidneys or liver problems may be affected. The amount of platinum absorbed from water is determined by one’s tap water and body chemistry. The more platinum one is likely to absorb, the worse one’s nutrition. Other factors, such as age, vitality, and so on, have an impact on platinum absorption. However, any amount of platinum is excessive.
Mineral depletion is a term used to describe the removal of minerals from the environment. Drinking alkaline water appears to deplete some of the body’s alkaline reserve minerals. I’m not sure why this happens, but perhaps the body is flooded with alkaline water, causing it to excrete some alkaline reserve minerals because the body believes the minerals are no longer needed. To make the water more alkaline, some alkaline water machines use a whitish powder that is added to the water. It must be determined exactly what it is. Avoid using coral calcium powder, for example, or any other contaminated product that contains additional toxic metals.
If you must use an alkaline water machine, leave out the powder and turn off the alkalization feature, and simply use it as a water filter. Unplug the unit if possible to reduce the possibility of the platinum plates becoming electrified and leaching a little platinum into your body. Your water is still passing through platinum, which could be harmful. Very bad problems have been caused by these machines when they’ve been used on a daily basis for more than 6 months or so, even if the damage is subtle at first.
Water storage type #2: alkaline water. A few health food and water stores sell even more hazardous alkaline water. The process starts with reverse osmosis water. Then, to alkalinize it, they add a calcium solution or powder, usually coral calcium. This methodology has the following flaws:
Very Yin. Again, alkaline water appears to have a negative yin effect. Most people should never use reverse osmosis for daily drinking water because it does not hydrate the body well.
The calcium solution or powder, particularly if made from coral calcium, may contain toxic metals.
It’s possible that it’s extremely toxic. When toxic metals are added to reverse osmosis water, the ‘hungry water’ appears to easily absorb the metals and drive them deep into the body cells and kidneys.
All negative issues with reverse osmosis water include making one yin, not adequately hydrating the body, mineral depletion, and plastic poisoning.
Alkastream alkaline water units are the third type. This type of alkaline water machine is a non-electric, counter-top or under-the-sink unit that alkalinizes tap water by adding a magnesium compound. It avoids the costly and dangerous platinum plates, but it still makes the body too yin, uses low-quality tap water, and potentially ruins the water and causes toxicity from the magnesium compounds used to make the water alkaline. This system should also be avoided.
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