Can Alkaline Water Change Your Life
You’ll encounter a great deal of marketing touting adding alkaline to your drinking water. What’s this all about? Why should we drink alkaline, and what is it anyway? Is this just another marketing ploy to make money at the expense of unsuspecting customers?
The alkaline drinking water hype is based on the idea that alkaline can balance a body’s pH, and thus prevent disease in the human body. There are also claims that alkaline additives and ionized water tastes better, makes food taste better, assists vitamin and antioxidant absorption, and generally helps the body digest food more efficiently. But where is the proof? People living in the western U.S. generally consume more alkalized water than in the east states, but do not benefits from lower rates of the diseases that easterners have to deal with. There is no standard proof that ionized water to produce alkaline actually protects your body from anything. The human body is remarkably efficient at maintaining pH balance and does not need outside help. However, it is also no evidence of alkaline poisoning from water. Alkaline water may not be helpful, but it is probably not harmful.
Why Have These Claims Been Made?
If ionized water is not actually a health benefit, then why do so many companies continue to promote and praise alkaline water? Conversely, why do so many people claim that you can receive alkaline poisoning from water? These are two instances of misrepresentation of information to promote certain motives. A smart consumer needs to be careful with his/her money, and check references and backgrounds of companies that make certain claims. Even if companies present data from research, you can’t be sure that they haven’t skewed the results to support whatever claim they are trying to make. Companies will ultimately use statistical data to support their product. Most of the time misrepresentation comes from leaving out pertinent information that can help a person interpret the data. People who claim that alkaline water is a cure-all don’t have scientifically sound research to back up their claims. Also, those who make the claim that you can receive alkaline poisoning from water do not have sound evidence to back them up either. What we are left with is a load of information without enough perspective to understand the truth.
It sounds easy to do something as simple as changing your water filter to promote good health and prevent disease, but the truth is that it really takes a change in diet, exercise, and general habits to enjoy good health. Making a simple change is preferable to a whole lifestyle change, but lifestyle changes actually have scientific research to back up claims. People who eat a well-balanced, antioxidant rich diet low in fats and preservatives, exercise regularly, and have health social connections tend to live longer, healthier lives. This information is backed up by many years of research and analyzed data, and has been agreed upon by the scientific community. Working to achieve this sort of lifestyle isn’t often easy, and sometimes not fun at first, but it pays off in the end. Changing your water filtration system won’t do much for you.
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