What is Alkaline Water – Its Benefits & Side Effects
A lot of health experts advise that maintaining the right pH balance is very essential for keeping ourselves healthy.
And we also believe the right pH balance is indeed very important because a large number of people nowadays suffer from acidity and problems related to acidity.
In order to understand the complex puzzle of acidic and alkaline nature let us first understand what pH value is.
pH stands for “potential hydrogen”, which is basically a measure of the hydrogen ion concentration.
pH value is a measure of how acidic or basic/alkaline a solution is on a scale of 0 to 14. A pH value of 7 is considered neutral, a pH value less than 7 is considered acidic and a pH greater than 7 is considered basic or alkaline.
E.g. if the level is 1, it means the solution is very acidic and if it is 14, it is very alkaline. Alkaline Water has a pH value generally ranging around 8 or 9.
What is Alkaline Water?
Alkaline water is nothing but water with a pH value higher than 7.
Many medical experts and researchers in this field believe that alkaline water is good for people with excess acidity as it helps in neutralizing excess acid in the body.
This neutralizing effect reduces acidity and helps in preventing and controlling several diseases that are caused by high acid reflux like heart diseases, digestion-related problems, arthritis, lack of immunity, etc.
There are many benefits of drinking alkaline water. We will answer all this and more right here and right now.
But let’s first learn how to check whether your drinking water is alkaline or not.
How to Test Alkalinity of Water?
Finding the alkalinity of water or any other solution is very easy.
All you need is a piece of litmus paper or pH strip.
You can easily test the pH value of water using a pH strip, simply dip the pH strip in the water, let it sit for a moment, and then compare the color of litmus paper against the standard pH color chart to find the pH value.
Note the pH value and if it is 7 or lower then you should make your water alkaline. After alkalization, the pH value of water should be 8 or 9.
You can easily purchase a pH kit online. The pH kit comes with pH strips and a pH color chart.
You can refer to the color pH level chart given above to find out the pH value.
Health Benefits of Alkaline Water
There is still some confusion and controversy over the health claims of alkaline water. Many health experts believe there is a lack of enough research to support the health claims of alkaline water.
However, there are some studies that suggest the positive effects of alkaline water in certain health conditions.
For example, a 2012 study published on the US National Library of Medicine’s website found that drinking alkaline water with a pH of 8.8 may help deactivate pepsin, which is the main enzyme that causes acid reflux.
Alkaline water is believed to offer several health benefits, like:
- Improves Digestion
- Strengthens of Bones
- Boosts Immunity
- Reduces Acidity
- Reduces the risk of Heart Diseases
- Detoxifies
- Anti-aging
- Helps in Weight Loss
Alkaline Water Side Effects?
Alkaline water is generally considered safe, but you may experience some common side effects when you switch to alkaline water.
These side effects are headaches, runny nose, fatigue, and darker and softer stools. But these side effects are actually a positive sign of your body undergoing detoxification.
These side effects will disappear once your body gets used to alkaline water, which can take anywhere from a couple of days to 2 to 3 weeks.
One serious side effect of excessive alkalinity is it can disrupt the body’s normal pH resulting in a condition called metabolic alkalosis – this causes confusion, nausea, vomiting, hand tremors, and tingling in the hands and feet.
Is Alkaline Water Safe?
Alkaline water with a pH value of 8 or 9 is definitely safe. There is no argument over the safety of alkaline water, the only issue that many health experts have with alkaline water is the claims of positive health benefits.
This is because; at present, there is not enough scientific evidence to support the claims of the health benefits of alkaline water.
Drinking natural alkaline water (water that naturally passes over rocks — like springs — and picks up minerals, which increase its alkaline level) is generally considered safe since it contains natural minerals.
However, you should be cautious with artificial alkaline water, which may contain low levels of essential minerals; higher pH does not necessarily mean more minerals.
