If you search for alkaline water on the internet you will find many products for sale claiming to make your water more alkaline. But what is the alkalinity of water and why is it important? And how does a water ionizer make water alkaline and why?
This may surprise many of you, but the alkalinity of water is not the measurement of any one thing. Alkaline water is defined as its ability to neutralize acid. The higher the alkalinity, the more able the water is to neutralize acid. The things that can be added to water to increase its alkalinity are bicarbonates, carbonates, and hydroxides.
The alkalinity or acidity of water is measured on a pH scale. pH stands for potential of hydrogen. The pH scale ranges from 1 to 14. 1 is the most acidic while 14 is the most alkaline. Neutral water, which is water that is neither alkaline or acidic, is a 7 on the pH scale. Water that has more free hydrogen ions is acidic, whereas water that has more free hydroxyl ions is basic or alkaline. Thus, alkaline water is the presence of hydroxyl ions created from bicarbonate, carbonates, and/or hydroxides.
A hydrogen ion is a proton that has been separated from hits hydrogen. This leaves the hydrogen and an empty state looking to combine with other things. When a substance is looking to take properties from another substance, we call is acidic. That’s why when you put metal into acidic water, the empty hydrogen will look to steal ions from the meta and cause rusting. This is also why you don’t want to drink acidic water like reverse osmosis or distilled water!
Alkaline water, on the other hand is full of hydroxyl ions. Hydroxyl ions are hydrogen with an extra electron or ion TO GIVE TO YOUR BODY.
A water ionizer uses water electrolysis to separate the alkaline and acidic qualities of your water. This is accomplished by using a water electrolysis chamber which is composed of several platinum and titanium plates. Some plates are hooked up to positive electrodes. The other plates are hooked up to negative electrodes. There is a membrane between the plates to keep them separate. The plates are charged and the positive electrode plates attract the hydrogen ion’s whereas the negative electrodes attract the hydroxyl ions thus separating the alkaline and acidic water!
A water ionizer creates alkaline water but it also creates ionized reducing water. Ionized reducing water is measured by an ORP meter. ORP stands for “oxygen reduction potential.” A water ionizer creates a strong negative ORP indicating that it can reduce oxygen when it is consumed. This is a good thing because free radicals in our cells are unstable oxygen molecules. Ionized water will “reduce” those unstable oxygen molecules and stop them from damaging our cells, which is the same as detoxifying our body. This makes our bodies healthier at a cellular level!
Regular alkaline water can still be oxidizing to the body as indicated by a positive ORP reading from the orp meter. Therefore alkaline water and ionized water are not the same.
Most alkaline water products on the market make the water alkaline by adding bicarbonate. The most common bicarbonate that is added is calcium or magnesium. These are also known as alkaline minerals. You can measure calcium bicarbonate as parts per million. Adding bicarbonate to water doesn’t create reducing water. Therefore, alkaline water isn’t detoxifying to our bodies like ionized water.
When calcium and magnesium and other alkaline minerals congeal together, this is called scale. If you live in the southern United States or some mountainous regions, you are well aware of how scale can make a mess of your dishes and gum up your water filter or water ionizer.
As mentioned before, the magic of a water ionizer is its ability to create oxygen reducing water that is a strong antioxidant for your body. A water ionizer also has the power to create virtually any other pH on the pH scale, which gives you the ability to create strong acid water for cleaning and super alkaline water for cooking. It can create beauty water for your skin and also create the perfect pH water for your plants!
In conclusion, a water ionizer is one of the best investments you can make because it creates powerful antioxidant water and also creates different pH waters that make your everyday life better! The alkalinity of water is important but water ionizers also charge your water and make it amazing!
