Monday, November 24, 2014

Alkaline Water and Why To Avoid It!

Abbreviated from an article written by Lawrence Wilson, MD

This article is a warning to avoid drinking artificially alkalized water.  I am sorry to have to write it, but there is a push to get people to buy alkaline water machines, and the propaganda is intense.  Also, when one starts to use it, one feels better, so many people just assume they are becoming healthier, which is not the case. I am not selling any competing products, and I am only interested in keeping people well.

One reason for the popularity of these machines is that some people do indeed feel better for a while drinking this type of alkaline water.  Quick benefits may include fewer aches and pains, and perhaps a little more energy.  However, the problems with the alkaline water machines more than outweigh any benefits they confer.

WHAT IS ARTIFICIALLY ALKALIZED WATER?
Mostly tap water is put through an electrical machine that runs the water over platinum and titanium plates.  This process causes the exchange of some platinum and titanium ions that makes the water more alkaline in its pH.  In most cases the machine has a carbon filter to supposedly remove impurities.  With some units, one can also add a white powder to make the water even more alkaline.

This is very different from natural alkalized spring water.  Spring water passes over rocks in the earth and picks up various minerals, which helps regulate the pH levels in our bodys.  Good spring water usually has a slightly alkaline pH of about 8 or even 8.5, but not much more.

THE RATIONALE FOR DRINKING ALKALINE WATER
The pH balance of the body is very important, and most people’s bodies are too acidic at the cellular level.  It does not matter if the saliva, urine or other fluids test alkaline.  In almost all cases, the body cells, which are the site of metabolism, are too acidic.  This predisposes one to many metabolic imbalances and diseases including cancer.  The rationale for drinking alkaline water is that it will correct this important physiological imbalance.

Problems with this rationale for alkaline water. 
The main problems with this theory are:

 1. The real cause of excess acidity at the cellular level is a deficiency of what are called the alkalinizing or alkaline reserve minerals. These come from what one was born with, and from your diet, the food that you eat.  They include calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium, and a few others.

Unfortunately, drinking artificially alkalized water does little or nothing to replace these vital minerals.  In fact, it can deplete them.  It may make the body think it is alkaline, so the body does not need to hold on to its alkaline reserve minerals as much, and it eliminates some of them, making the person even more deficient. If one lives a stressful life, one also depletes these minerals quicker.  

2. Also water from alkaline water machines still contains traces of cadmium, lead, arsenic and other toxic metals found in tap water that are not filtered, that I am aware of, by any carbon filters.  Some carbon only filtering systems claim to filter out toxic metals, but I have not observed this in practice.  Filters that I have seen that are said to remove a lot of toxic metals tend to damage the water even worse.  Reverse osmosis is an example of this type, along with KDF (Kinetic Degradation Fluxion) and other types of “advanced” filtration media.

3. In addition, the alkaline water machines also add traces of platinum and titanium from plates that the water passes over to make it alkaline.  These are both supremely toxic metals, especially platinum.

I have observed slightly higher levels of nickel in those who use alkaline water machines for several years.  The nickel is probably leached from the stainless steel in the machine, or perhaps from a nickel-plated machine part.  Nickel is a deadly toxic metal.  The alkalinity of the water may cause a little to be leached out of the machine parts.

4. Carbon filtration also does not remove enough of the toxic chemicals in the water, so one is also getting a daily dose of chlorine, fluorides, aluminum, copper, residues of medical drugs in many areas, pesticides and more.

5. As a result, alkaline water machines do not really balance the body’s pH, although they will change it a little, giving some people the impression they are getting well when, in fact, they are not.

The only way to truly balance the body is to replenish the alkaline reserve minerals.  To do this, one must eat a good amount of vegetables.  The vegetables, and perhaps some mineral supplements, such as kelp, can and do supply the alkaline reserve minerals.

Good quality, natural spring water also supplies some alkaline minerals, as does good quality sea salt.  Using these on a daily basis, the body can be slowly remineralized.  This is the best way to do it.

The water from an alkaline water machine is not the same as naturally occurring spring water.

First, alkaline spring waters usually have a pH of about 8 or possibly 8.5.  The water from the machines is often much higher, up to 12 or 13.  This is not healthful.

Secondly, alkaline spring water and some well water is high in calcium and magnesium, which are excellent for one’s health.  Water from the machines, by contrast, is artificially made to be alkaline by mixing the water with a small amount of platinum and perhaps titanium, both of which are toxic metals.

Why is the diet important? 
Much of the acidity of the body is due to a diet that is too high in grains, cereals, beans, and sugars.  Refined food diets are the worst, but so are most people’s high carbohydrate natural food diets.  All of these foods have an acidic reaction in the body due to their peculiar mineral content.  Red meats also have a more acidic reaction due to other factors such as their high iron content and the bacteria needed to digest them properly.

Even eating some fruits today seem to have an acidic reaction.  This is due to their content of fruit acids, their higher sugar content, their unbalanced mineral content today thanks to hybridization, and genetic modification.  Some fruits are still alkaline forming, but not all by any means. 

The diets need to be corrected by eating more green vegetables each and every day.  This is the best way to obtain enough alkaline reserve minerals.  Using sea salt, drinking naturally filtered water, and taking supplements of kelp, or kale also helps. 


We hope this article has been helpful,
Penelope & Rodney

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