If you have any interest in the new and rising trends in healthy living, you’ve probably already heard about alkaline water. But what makes this water, touted by some to be even more beneficial than regular drinking water, so special? Let’s take a closer look at what alkaline water actually is and what its potential health benefits are believed to be.
What is Alkaline Water?
To put it very simply, alkaline water is water that has been alkalized, typically by the addition of something that raises the pH level of the water. Regular water, like tap water, has a pH level of 7, which is a neutral pH level. Bottled water typically has a pH level between 6.5 and 8.5. Alkalized water, which usually contains an added element of something that raises its pH level, like magnesium or calcium, has a pH level ranging from 7 to 8.8, or more. Other sources of alkalization come from natural sources, like spring water that has naturally picked up minerals that raise its alkaline level by flowing over rocks that contain these minerals, or electrolysis, which is a chemical process achieved with an ionizer.
What Benefits are Associated with Drinking Alkaline Water?
Advocates of alkaline water have reported a number of positive effects from drinking it regularly. Some of these benefits include the following:
- A boost to and generally better supported immune system
- Improved and more effective hydration
- Detoxification properties
- An increase in liquidated antioxidants that can result in anti-aging properties
- A balance of your body’s pH levels, which can help relieve acid reflux by deactivating the enzyme that causes it
- Noticeably healthier looking skin
- Relief from or improvements to existing conditions including high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol
- Reduced whole blood viscosity when replacing regular drinking water as hydration after a strenuous workout, which may result in more efficient blood flow and increased oxygen delivery in the body
- An improvement to weight loss efforts
Where Can You Get Alkaline Water?
Are you interested in testing out the benefits that alkaline water may hold for you? You’re in luck! The recent popularity of alkaline water has made it widely available in a variety of health food and general grocery stores, and it is also widely available online. You can also make your own alkaline water using a water alkalizer.
Using Alkaline Water Safely
While alkaline water is believed to provide some combination of health benefits and is also considered safe to drink, as is the case with any relatively new health trend, it should be approached with some degree of caution until sufficient research can prove that its benefits outweigh any possible side effects. As with just about any treatment or medication, some people do experience side effects from drinking alkaline water that could include nausea, vomiting, muscle twitching or tremors – all considered signs of a condition called metabolic alkalosis, which is caused by an excess of alkalinity in the body. However, this is not a permanent condition and can be corrected by simply reducing the intake of alkaline water.