Drinking alkaline water is fashionable. He says he has a “variety of benefits”, from better hydration to the prevention of chronic diseases. But does water have any benefit in fact? Science has not yet responded.
Alkaline substances are basic. That is, the opposite of acids. Have a high pHwhile acids have a low pH.
Despite health allegations around alkaline water, science implies that its alleged Benefits can be exaggerated.
Alkaline water usually has a pH level between 8 and 9superior to normal drinking water, which is typically “neutral”, about 7.
Water can become alkaline when it runs over rocks and catches alkaline minerals like the calcium, magnesium and potassium; Or it can be artificially produced through electrolysis – a process in which filtered water goes through a device that separates it into alkaline and acid flows.
When consumed, alkaline water is unlikely to have any lasting impact on the body. This is because, the moment it comes into contact with the stomach, its pH is neutralized by the acidity of gastric juices – which have a pH of 1.5 to 3.5.
In addition, the minerals contained in the water are absorbed in the small intestine and enter the bloodstream, where pH is strictly kept between 7.35 and 7.45 thanks to the lungs and kidneys. Under normal conditions, excessive minerals in the blood are filtered by the kidneys and excreted.
Like this, alkaline water consumption is not likely to “alkalize” significantly the organism.
The explanation is given to Salome KrugerProfessor of Nutrition at the Nutrition Excellence Center at North-West University in South Africa.
Science does not yet know
Until seeing, scientific studies on the possible effects of alkaline water on health are limited and often inconclusive.
Generally speaking, methodological issues in some of these studies in humans, such as small samples and the lack of base measurements, make it difficult to draw definitive conclusions, he said Lize Havemann-NelProfessor at the Center of Excellence for Nutrition at North-West University.
As to hydration: One, quoted by Live Science, concluded that people who consumed alkaline water reduced blood viscosity, which indicates that this may reflect better hydration. However, other studies that analyzed direct hydration markers have found no significant differences between alkaline water and normal water.
Another study suggested that alkaline water can act as a antioxidantreducing oxidative stress and muscle damage caused by high intensity or long -term exercise. However, Havemann-Nel warned that this work is still in the early stages. If alkaline water has any benefit, it may be more related to its Electrolyte theor than with your pH.
Concluding: as a whole, the available data suggest that alkaline water has few or no clear benefits in relation to normal water.
Furthermore, “Calls some risks”these Kruger.
Die from illness or “healing”?
There are studies suggest that alkaline water can inactivate human pepsina digestive enzyme. In acid reflux, pepsin reaches the throat and damages the tissues, so in this context the inactivation of the pepsin may seem beneficial. However, in the stomach, this could potentially disturb digestionwhich would be undesirable, Kruger explained.
Drinking water with a pH greater than 9 could also be dangerous for people who take medications who block acid production in the stomachlike proton pump inhibitors, because it can further increase stomach pH levels.
In addition, excess minerals of alkaline water can disturb mineral levels in the blood of people with kidney diseasesthat cannot effectively filter the minerals.
If an alkaline water product contains baking sodaAs some do, it can also contribute to excessive sodium intake. “Many people already consume high levels of sodium from table salt and processed foods, so the additional sodium of alkaline water can exacerbate this problem,” said Kruger.
