Experts aren’t certain
Alkaline water has faced a lot of criticism from medical and scientific sources which question its health benefits, or even if there is such a thing as alkalized water. Skeptics point to a lack of long term studies supporting the benefits of alkaline water, and some even suggest that it is a modern “snake oil”. This article examines the link between alkalinity and bone loss, which even skeptics of alkaline water admit exists.
Columbia University provides health & wellness advice on its website for faculty and students. An advice column called Go Ask Alice addresses a question about alkaline water posed by one of Columbia’s students. The student asks about alkaline water wondering if: “if it’s actually good for me”. The author of the article recounts some of the claimed health benefits of alkaline water and states that more research has to be done to conclusively prove many of the health benefits of drinking alkalized water.
However, the article also points out that “studies have shown that alkaline water can lead to a decrease of bone loss in pre-menopausal women”. The author describes how bones are used to store calcium in the body and states that if a person maintains alkalinity in their body through diet and drinking alkaline water that bone loss caused by calcium depletion may be prevented. The article goes on to state that researchers have found that a low-acid diet (alkaline diet) “may lead to stronger bones”.
The Mayo Clinic answers questions from the general public about health on its website at MayoClinic.com. On the site, Mayo Clinic nutritionist Katherine Zeratsky tackles the question: “Is alkaline water better for you than plain water?” Zeratsky briefly outlines the some of the health benefits attributed to alkaline water. She takes no position on any of the claims because not enough research has been done. Even though Zeratsky states that plain water is “fine for most people”, she also points out that research indicates that alkaline water may slow bone loss. Zeratsky states that further study is needed in order to learn if the positive effects of alkalinity can be “maintained over the long term.”
Why so skeptical?
The medical establishment performs a critical role in protecting public health. Any new device or medicine must be demonstrated effective through extremely rigorous clinical trials which can take decades to complete. Large pharmaceutical companies can afford to spend the billions of dollars that it takes to conduct these clinical trials, where much smaller water ionizer makers cannot afford to. By way of comparison, the annual revenues of any one of the large pharmaceutical companies easily exceeds the annual revenues of the entire water ionizer industry combined!
While the writers of both of the articles discussed above mentioned that there are studies which support the use of alkaline water to slow bone loss, neither author is willing to say that it does for sure. Each writer points to the need for long-term studies of alkaline water’s ability to prevent bone loss. Unfortunately, “long term studies” take decades and cost billions. No ionizer company, no matter how much it believes in its products, can afford to conduct the studies that the medical establishment demands.
LIFE Ionizers has a full line of water ionizers that produce alkaline water with high pH levels. People interested in maintaining healthy bones may wish to consider high performance models such as the LIFE 9000 series which can produce alkaline water with a pH of up to11+.
