Can alkaline water from a water ionizer really change my body's pH?

In short the answer is: No.

The optimal pH for sustaining life is 7.356. All our body's functions happen within a very narrow range around this pH number. Falling below or above this pH range means imbalance and disease.

When body pH goes off its optimal range, microbial life forms in the blood can change shape, mutate, mirror pathogenesis, and grow. When body pH goes off, enzymes that are constructive can become destructive. When body pH goes off, oxygen delivery to cells suffers. You get the point…

There is a great myth circulating around the internet, fuelled by certain water ionizer on-line merchants, that drinking alkaline water from a water ionizer will change your body's pH and shift it towards a more alkaline status.

Even though claims like this are brilliant from a marketing point of view they do not have any scientific base and, more importantly, are misleading.

So what is the value in water from a water ionizer? Why is there so much hype about water ionizers around the alternative health water coolers and (lately) more mainstream health-conscious circles?

What makes water from a water ionizer important to our body's well being is its Oxidation Reduction Potential value (O.R.P.) and its micro-clustered physiology.

Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP, or Redox) is a measure of a water capacity to either release or gain electrons in chemical reactions. The process of oxidation involves losing electrons while reduction involves gaining electrons.

Ionized water has a negative redox potential which means it has many extra negatively changed ions that are ready to donate to positively charged ions. The excess of alkaline or negative ions, also called hydroxyl ions (OH-), will readily form bonds with any excess acidic or positively charged ions, also known as hydrogen ions(H+). Once a negative ion binds with a positive ion (H+) it will neutralize the acid (H+) and remove it from your system.

The process of ionization changes the physiology of water. Water molecules come in clusters rather than single molecules. Tap water has very large clusters (10 to 13 molecules per cluster). Electrolysis reduce these large tap water clusters from their original size into so called 'Micro clusters' (5 to 6 molecules per cluster). The smaller cluster size gives the water excellent hydrating properties, high solubility and good permeability. This gives ionized water the ability to hydrate better.

There is also some merit to ionized water's alkalinity. It's basic chemistry 101: alkaline neutralizes acid. It's been proven beyond any doubt that our bodies, our diet and our environment are increasingly acidic. Drinking alkaline water from a water ionizer will help us neutralize all these acidic sources in our daily life. But that's just it: alkaline water can only help the body in its straggle to maintain its pH within its optimal range.

The American medical status quo, just like it has done with every new and fresh health-oriented alternative in its past that has challenged the common belief and tried to shift our collective thinking, is throwing everything but the kitchen sink towards discrediting ionized water.

Ultimately, it's up to each one of us to weigh the pros and the cons and shift our way of thinking towards a healthier more vibrant lifestyle.