I received this video as a forward from a friend a little while ago as a warning about bottled water. Check it out:
The basic claim is that bottled water tends to the acidic side, that most Americans have a body pH that is less than optimal, and that alkaline water can be used to balance you out. As I watched this video, I knew I had heard these claims before, but where? Using Tim Farley‘s fabulous Google search of skeptical websites, I found the blog post that had been triggered in my memory. Written by Dr. Steven Novella for Skepticblog, “Water Snakeoil” discusses the claims of another “water ionizer” that attaches various health claims to alkaline water. And I kept digging until I was convinced I could reply to my friend with a sound explanation. It went something like this:
Hey! Just going through a large stack of unanswered emails… and I think I had heard of this before…
Our blood pH level is indeed 7.4 and can’t deviate by more that 0.05 on that scale without being unhealthy. There are a number of systems within the body that regulate this pH. The kidney is an obvious one, but various chemicals in the blood pick up extra free radicals all on their own to regulate it. Even respiration helps. Somebody with a blood pH of 6.4 or 5, as this guy claims, is simply dead.
What does alkaline water get you? Well, your stomach holds a lot of strong acids that break down food. It has a pH between 1 and 3 (way off our buddy’s scale there.) And there is almost a liter of it. So your alkaline water gets pretty swamped out right there, remembering that it’s a logarithmic scale. Not to mention, do you even want to neutralize stomach acids, since that would inhibit your ability to digest? There is really no mechanism for the water you drink to reset your blood pH balance as the video suggests.
I doubt his actual results, though I can’t comment on it further without testing a bunch of bottled waters myself. I don’t bother with bottled water for the most part because it is overly expensive compared to tap water, which is more tightly monitored and controlled anyway.
However, these “water ionizers” are selling false claims, and I’d beware before plopping down money on one.
Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to find this kind of info! I just happened to remember reading about it before.
She seemed to appreciate my response, and I hope that it was interesting as well as helpful. But really, I couldn’t let it rest there. My curiosity got the better of me. Is bottled water really that acidic? As she pointed out, “If bottled water is so acidic wouldn’t it have made headlines already?”
It’s time for some home science in the EXCITING CONCLUSION to come very soon… :-)
All bubbly drinks are acidic. The dissolved carbon dioxide for the bubbles forms carbonic acid. This is why coke will eat away teeth or chicken bones, not because there is anything inherently evil in coke but because they are all acids.
The thing this video reminded me of the most is a ‘health’ stall I saw at a market once that had two products – green tea “rich in anti-oxidants!” and super-oxygenated water “because we all need oxygen to live.” The mind truly boggles.
Woops, adding – it looked like at least one of his bottled waters was sparkling, and depending on the minerals in the others they could easily be acidic.
Our bodies aren’t just one particular PH. Our hair and skin tends to be somewhat acidic between 4.5 and 5.5, which is why water, a PH of 7 (distilled water, if I remember correctly), can dry it out, and that many soaps are slightly higher then that, some bar soaps have PH’s in the 8 and 9 range. As a hairdresser, that little bit of science has been drilled into me. Most tap water dances around the 7 PH being slightly higher or lower depending on the other chemicals or natural minerals found in it. It still is essential for us to have enough of it.
It would also be interesting to test the PH levels of several commercial bottled waters, a sample of local tap water, and then a sample of well water. I suspect that there aren’t that big a differences in the levels.
Of course I am a plain tap water kinda gal anyway. I can’t really taste much difference, and its a heck of a lot cheaper.
Then you will like the conclusion, I hope, Sylvie… ;-)
I didn’t realize our hair and skin were that acidic. Cool!
Man, if my skin were acidic, I’d be saving a lot of money on all the damn skin cleansing products I require to keep myself from turning into one big sore. :)
As someone with a chemist background (and a degree in chemical engineering – I do this stuff for a living, folks), the whole video screams ‘nonsense’. Just right off, nothing is measured. Sigh.
Deb, re the ‘coke dissolves teeth’ thing: http://snopes.com/cokelore/tooth.asp
and http://snopes.com/cokelore/acid.asp
Good letter, Nicole. I’d listen to you if you sent me that, and you’d probably save me $4k. The only thing I’d change is to remove the link to the Skeptiblog, where people in the comments go absolutely batshit.
For me, dealing with my friends and family who are still involved in alternative meds and that whole lifestyle, I get pretty frustrated when I can’t find a non-snarky, non-offensive refutation of whatever they’re being sold. I’ve watched too many people stumble into these vicious online free-for-alls that the “lager lout”* skeps create. In response to the carnage, these seekers of wellness tend to just dig their heels ever more strongly into their support of whatever gawdawful miracle cure they’re being sold this month.
The lure of magical healing will always trump screamy name-calling and violence.
Duh.
But the caring, non-shaming information of a trusted friend just might make it through. I swear, someone should write an essay about it and get it published in a skep magazine. In 2004.
So I’m voting for Nicole as the Empress of the Kangen explanation. With that one change.
*Thanks to Leo Lincourt for this excellent descriptor
I was on my way to Dragon*con last year, on the train.
A man stood up and lectured all of us about acidity in water and how he had a miracle cure. Handed out pamphlets. I was too… well, much of a foreigner in a strange place to stand up and yell ‘WHAT A LOAD OF KOALA POO!!!’, but it was tempting. :/
Interesting, Naomi. I’d never actually heard the ‘dissolving overnight’ bit. I just mean that acids will react with the metals in bones and teeth and eventually soften them. Definitely not overnight!
Guys and Girls,
I’m disappointed to see so many sheep around, as soon as some one comes out with an opinion, there is always out there to follow their opinion.
To start with, actually, you know what, you are all so ignorant, you are not worth educating…
keep drinking your poisoned water and popping your pills
Shaking, Who’s opinion are you saying is wrong here?
And quire frankly I will gladly drink any water produced and poured into a plastic bottle, before I would drink water from a third world country.
Water in most Western nations, especially water that has been processed through a municipal system or a bottling company has been ensured of its safeness in regards to bacteria that will most certainly make people sick and even kill them. Harmful chemicals have also been removed, making it safe…yes SAFE to drink. Water in, lets say parts of India, Bangladesh, parts of rural Central America, have no such protections. I say this as I sip my coffee made from some great African beans, roasted locally, and plain old tap water, made free of life threatening bacteria and damaging chemicals by my local water system.
Pills? what pills are part of this discussion?
If that makes me a sheep, then dress up in a pretty shepherdess outfit for me.
Of course if what you said was in jest, never mind.
Ok, I know double post.
but I finally watched that video. He’s serious? I’m no scientist but that is a seriously flawed test. First we don’t know what is in that dropper bottle, or even if he used more then one. It could be food coloring for all we know. The last stuff he poured into all the samples could be anything. IF it is an actual pH test, which I really doubt. We have no proof that the samples he states are what they are claimed to be. And anyone with a brain and that ability to google, will see that a pH of nine or ten is getting into highly alkaline items like baking soda, borax, and bar soap. YUM. I’ll have a glass of that!
Sylvie, and notice that he poured random amounts of his ‘alkaline water’ in to random amounts of the ‘acidic’ solutions. See how much more basic water this one took to turn purple (or not)!!! Some indicators (his dropper liquid) can affect the final reading if used in excess – so ‘more is not better’.
Argh. Last month my hairdresser told me that producer she was putting on my hair, after some coloring and shampooing, would turn it ‘back to neutral pH of 6′. When I pointed out that neutral was 7, and that the tap water was pretty damn close to neutral, I could tell she didn’t believe me.
Yeah, no real measuring at all, and I totally disagreed with what he thought the color match should be. I thought that some looked like the opposite end of the spectrum from what he was saying.
As for your hairdresser, she obviously forgot her hair chemistry lessons. Hair colors bring the PH to about 9 or 10, Relaxers and Permanent waves go a bit higher. Remember hair is naturally about a PH of 4 or 5. A PH of 6 or even 7 is still too alkaline. Even with conditioners and things like a nice cool water rinse, it still takes a bit of time for the hair get back to its preferred PH. I always insist on a good 2 weeks between major chemical services.
Thanks @Karla. :-) I didn’t even think about the Skeptibog commenters, unfortunately. To be honest, when someone sends me a link to an unfamiliar site, I read the article and completely ignore the comment section. To save my sanity mostly. Even on blogs like Skeptiblog where I do browse the comments, I have a filter on things asinine.
I still love when Steve Novella blogs about medical claims, however. Does Science-Based Medicine have a friendly comment atmosphere?
@Sylvie and @Naomi, and, from what I can tell, his water bottles are already opened…
A note about drinking oxygenated water. Humans (and other mammals) get their oxygen from cells passing through the lungs (cells absorb and distribute the oxygen throughout the body). It’s gilled animals (as in gills on fish) that get oxygen from water passing through its mouth…
It’s no secret increased blood flow combined with high blood oxygen promotes a long and healthy life. But what is widely unknown is, how to obtain both healthfully. Your cells are 94% water. So a good starting point is good clean water.
Scientist can measure the ability of water (or blood) to pass through a membrane and into the cells. They also found that oxygen levels have changed (air trapped in fossilized amber has been found to have oxygen levels of 38%), today’s oxygen levels register at 8% (SciAmerica). Obviously, at 0% we will cease to exist. But what happens if you slowly choke off oxygen below 8%? You probably won’t notice it or you may think your lack of strength, difficulty in breathing, or some other problem is merely “old age”.
The key to a long and healthy life is to drink a water that removes toxins as well as stimulate your circulation. A water with a high bond angle works best on both counts.
50 years ago the hydrogen bond angle was 108°, now its 104° and the worst is ordinary distilled water at 101° (its dead). As I mentioned above your cells are 94% water. A wider bond angle means that your blood can hold more oxygen from your lungs just by drinking water! The wider bond angle also ensures greater blood flow to the extremities.
You can go to health food stores and buy all the products they have but without good blood flow, nutrients aren’t getting to the extremities i.e. diabetics loose a leg, wounds heal slowly, people age faster, blood oxygen levels are lower, etc…
What can you do? You should look for a high bond angle water to drink. An optimal bond angle is 114° as this will rejuvenate your body cell-by-cell so you can feel younger and healthier. A 114° bond angle water will also ABSORB chemicals, toxins & disease and REMOVE them from your blood stream, thus increasing your energy, strength and focus. Some other benefits may include improving the condition of your hair and skin as well as the quality of your rest.
So if you want higher blood oxygen and great circulation its better to drink a higher bond angle water, not a high oxygenated one. I hope this helps.
Myron Goodrum
Hmmm. I’ve had my oxygen levels tested following an asthma attack. I usually test in the high 90%, It is of course lower when I am having a full on, lets breath hard and fast, and while Im at it, lets get dizzy.
We get oxygen from more then just the water we drink. We get it from the air we breath, we get it from the food we eat, and the liquids we consume.
Hate to burst your bubble, but that theory is way off. All distilled water does it removes all things that are not actually water from it. As water is not alive anyway it cannot be killed. The other stuff is questionable, and it took me about 30 seconds to find information that debunks the claim that so called highly oxidized water is any thing all that great, or even actually exists.
I would suspect, if it were possible ,that altering the angle of a molecule bond would change the property of the substance making it something other then water. OR it does absolutely nothing as an angle of attachment is not as important as one suspects. I’m no scientist, I did take Chemistry once upon a time, and of course I have slept in a Holiday Inn Express.
Therefore I am highly suspect of such claims with little evidence back them up. Prove it in independent studies, and I may believe you.
I’ll continue to use tap water, and drinking other substances that I know are not good for me, like sodas in very small quantities.
One of the links I found in regards to my comment
http://www.chem1.com/CQ/index.html Helps to include the link
Sorry Myron.
Atmospheric oxygen today is around 21%, it’s been building up to this level for the past couple of billion years. http://www.palaeos.com/Earth/Atmosphere/oxygen.htm Expired air (what you breathe out) has different levels of oxygen depending on things like the sort of exercise you are doing, but it’s roughly 15-17%, so you can see about three quarters of the oxygen we breathe in isn’t used. In other words, we are all doing just fine with normal old breathing.
In fact, putting extra oxygen into your body isn’t a good thing to do – it’s highly reactive (oxidation?) and promotes the development of free radicals, which can damage DNA and possibly have health effects. From what I’ve seen recently the evidence for this isn’t as good as many people think. But anyway the popularity of anti-oxidants is to try to mop up the excess free radicals and oxygen. The exact opposite of the bottled water which supposedly had extra oxygen.
Basically, the people at the stall had zero understanding and were there to make a quick buck.
My son said alkaline water was nothing but Snake Oil. And that I should be ashamed for even thinking of selling it.
Well that was a real let down! Than I started thinking, wait one minute. I know I was feeling a whole lot better and all of the reports, medical studies and Doctors case studies. Case after case was done on it. It couldn’t be a alkaline water scam. All of that information couldn’t be wrong.
So, I started digging into all of these so called studies or reports my son was referring to. I found about four substantial studies. And three of them referred back to this one chemical engineer that really put it to it. He said that it was just a drinking alkaline water scam. Nothing he said made sense to me, but I am not an engineer.
I did more digging and found that this chemical engineer was a retired college professor out of Canada and he made his name and living out of claiming to be an expert on certain subjects and than lawyers would higher him to be an expert witness for their cases on ionized water scams. Interesting!
Hi Mike, sounds like a bit more critical thinking is in order.
On your website you claim that your doctor prescribed ionised water among other treatments. What is it that makes you think it was the water that had any effect on your health? How did you rule out the other treatments? Was your condition something you could expect to get better from? Have you heard of the placebo effect and confirmation bias, and what are your thoughts on those?
You mention the taste of the water, but unfortunately as all chocolate lovers know, taste is not a reliable guide to health benefits. Do you have any actual evidence?
Your photos of ice crystals imply that water reacts to thoughts. Leaving aside what this has to do with ionised or alkaline water and the atrocious labelling (they are not molecules, they are crystals containing several billion molecules) I can see one major confounder right there in the photos – the ‘snowflake’ crystals are free while the irregular ones seem to be on a surface of some type. If you haven’t controlled the variables, you can have no idea what causes different results. Making them worthless.
As for the digging you did, I’m surprised you didn’t find any medical information about blood pH levels. As mentioned in the original article blood can never become acidic – you would not have brittle and frail arteries from corrosion (as you claim on your site), you would be dead. Do you have any references for your information or a way to show it is reliable?
Finally, your entire comment is based on an implication that the argument against alkaline water cannot be trusted because the main person promoting it has made money from it. You are committing a logical fallacy by assuming that just because someone gains from a position they are automatically wrong. You sell water ionisers on your site, therefore making money from the position you are promoting here. If we were to follow your logic here, it would mean you are automatically wrong and we should ignore everything you say. Wouldn’t it?
I appreciate all the effort you have done for this post. I know water can have a variety of pH levels, but the degree that is shown in the video is out of proportion for drinking water. Excessive acidity and alkalinity will burn human tissue and would not be bottled for sale anyway. All bottled water is tested and regulated for sale to be safe for consumption. I believe what water we drink is an individual choice and each person has a right to decide what is best for themselves, even if others think it is ridiculous. I myself actually prefer my water to be neutral to slightly acidic.
so what is the safest or best water on the plant?