Alkaline Water Ionizers: Scientific Proof

British Journal of Nutrition

Alkaline Water…Here’s the PROOF!

If you’ve been a long-time visitor to my site you will know that I am super keen on finding scientific proof that backs up health, nutrition or lifestyle claims and suggestions.

I have already made headway with this for the alkaline diet in general, and recently loved reading this study from the British Medical Journal stating that the consumption of green leafy vegetables, yes those alkaline foods, can really help prevent type II diabetes.

Scientific Research into Ionized Water Benefits
Benefits of Ionized, Alkaline Water

Before I launch into all of the research I have found I need to make it clear that I am not promising any of the below findings can be replicated in your life simply by drinking ionized water. All healthy lifestyle shifts are the result of healthy eating, drinking, exercising and thinking. Yes your emotions do play a role.

My position on alkaline water and the alkaline water ionizer is based upon this central belief:

The biggest contributors to sickness, disease and obesity are:

  1. Dehydration
  2. Acidosis
  3. Oxidation of cells/ free radical damage

Now, I could write similarly lengthy blog posts about the research into each of those areas, and I will at some point, but the main point I am making here is that drinking high pH, antioxidant-rich, microclustered ionized water addresses each of these points very effectively.

Research into Alkaline Water Benefits

Important: I have been extremely picky with the articles that I publish. A lot of water ionizer sites will publish research as fact, when in reality no research has been conducted and the facts you are reading are merely the opinion of a Doctor. These opinions could be absolutely true, but I am only going to report on theories that have been proven through scientific, controlled experiments.

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Ionized water prevents the breakdown of DNA from oxidative stress and fights free-radicals:

Electrolyzed–Reduced Water Scavenges Active Oxygen Species and Protects DNA from Oxidative Damage
Shirahataa, Kabayamaa, Nakanoa, et al – Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications (1997)

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Ionized, alkaline water has anti-diabetic effects:

Anti-diabetic effects of electrolyzed reduced water in streptozotocin-induced and genetic diabetic mice
Kim, Kim – Life Sciences (2006)

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Ionized water helps prevent oxidation in the body and damage to DNA:

Electrolyzed-reduced water protects against oxidative damage to DNA, RNA, and protein
Mi Young Lee, Yoon Kyoung Kim, Kun Kul Ryoo, Yoon Bae Lee and Eun Ju Park – Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology (2010)

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Alkaline, ionized water protects against pancreatic cell damage:

Protective mechanism of reduced water against alloxan-induced pancreatic ?-cell damage: Scavenging effect against reactive oxygen species
Yuping Li, Tomohiro Nishimura, et al – Journal of Cytotechnology (2006)

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Anti-diabetic effect of alkaline, ionized water:

Anti-Diabetic Effect of Alkaline, Reduced Water on OLETF Rats
D Jin, SH Ryu, HW Kim, EJ Yang, SJ Lim, YS – Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry (2006)

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Alkaline, Ionized water is effective in treating digestive complaints:

Clinical Evaluation of alkaline-ionized water for chronic diarrhea. Placebo-controlled double-blind study.
Hirokazu – Digestion & Absorption (2000)

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High alkaline, ionized water is effective at cleaning pesticides etc. from fruit & vegetables:

Combined Effects of Alkaline Electrolyzed Water and Citric Acid with Mild Heat to Control Microorganisms on Cabbage
# Rahman, Yong-Guo Jin, Deog-Hwan Oh – Journal of Food Science (2010)

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The Scientifically Proven Benefits of ACID WATER from Your Ionizer:

Acidic, ionized water is an effective sanitizer for kitchens and bathrooms:

Disinfection effects of electrolyzed oxidizing water on suppressing fruit rot of pear caused by Botryosphaeria berengeriana
Muhammad Imran Al-Haq et al – Food Research International (2002)

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More research showing the sterilizing effects of acidic, ionized water:

Application of electrolyzed oxidizing water on the reduction of bacterial contamination for seafood
Huang et al – Food Control (2006)

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Electrolyzed acidic water (EO water) shows promise as an environmentally friendly broad spectrum microbial decontamination agent:

Reduction of bacteria on spinach, lettuce, and surfaces in food service areas using neutral electrolyzed oxidizing water
Guentzela et al – Food Microbiology (2008)

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Acidic, electrolyzed water kills salmonella and ecoli:

Effectiveness of Electrolyzed Acidic Water in Killing Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Enteritidis, and Listeria monocytogenes on the Surfaces of Tomatoes
Bari M.L.; Sabina Y.; Isobe S.; Uemura T.; Isshiki K – Journal of Food Protection (2003)

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Acid, ionized water can be used to destroy penicillin:

Activity of Electrolyzed Oxidizing Water Against Penicilium expansum in Suspension and on Wounded Apples
D. O. OKULL, L. F. LABORDE – Journal of Food Science (2008)

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Acid water used to kill e-coli:

Roles of Oxidation–Reduction Potential in Electrolyzed Oxidizing and Chemically Modified Water for the Inactivation of Food-Related Pathogens
Kim, Hung, Brackett – Journal of Food Protection (2000)

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Killing e-coli on cutting boards using acid, ionized water:

Inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes on Plastic Kitchen Cutting Boards by Electrolyzed Oxidizing Water
Venkitanarayanan et al – Journal of Food Protection (1999)

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Electrolyzed, Acidic Water Speeds Wound Healing::

Effect of Electrolyzed Water on Wound Healing
Yahagi et al– Artificial Organs (2000)

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Acid, ionized water is effective for treating burn wounds and preventing infection:

Effectiveness of Electrolyzed Oxidized Water Irrigation in a Burn-Wound Infection Model
Nakae et al– Journal of Trauma (2000)

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More proof that acid, ionized water is effective on treating burns

Effect of electrolyzed oxidizing water and hydrocolloid occlusive dressings on excised burn-wounds in rats.
Xin H, Zheng YJ, Hajime N, Han ZG. – Chinese Journal of Traumatology (2003)

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If you agree or disagree, let me know below!


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Ask Me a Question or Leave a Comment Here - I'd Love to Hear from You

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  1. Izzy Reply

    Hi I was wondering if you had any studies on the long term effects of drinking the water? Have there been any studies done long term on humans or animals that live a while?

  2. Bev Reply

    PLEASE CAN YOU ADVISE HAVING PURCHASED A MIRCALE MAX ALREADY WHERE TO GET BOTH THE PRE FILTERS SYSTEM (C3 PRE FILTERS) AND THE INTEGRAL PJ 6000. I HAVE LOOKED EVERYWHERE ON ALL SITES (I CAN FIND THE PJ6000 NOW IN THE UK) BUT NOT THE PRE FILTERS OTHER THAN AMERCIA CHANSON ?

    • ross Reply

      Hey Bev, Chanson USA is definitely your best bet for these.

  3. Don Reply

    Maybe it’s not the alkalinity of the water but the Hydrogen in the water which is a by product of ionizing water. There are 1700 research papers, over 600 peer reviewed published papers and close to 50 human studies on Hydrogen. Alkaline water has very few peer reviewd published papers in Journals as a comparison and they are basically cellular level studies. The stomach needs to be highly acidic. You might research Hydrogen. It might be a reason why Japan use to have 2 dozen companies producing ionizers but now only have two. They are moving to Hydrogen.

    • ross Reply

      Hi Don

      Thanks for your post. The ionizers produce hydrogen-rich water too – I am not sure why there is this idea out there that they do not. Well, because the water industry is quite the hive of marketing mastery I guess. But anyway, electric ionizers (of a high quality) produce hydrogen-rich water too.

      Second thing is that the studies on hydrogen for human health are VERY preliminary, and as you mention of those 600 – 50 are human studies and of those 50 very few are actually on human heath and have any meaningful results. Of the 600 there are many that have absolutely nothing to do with health at all. To say there are 600 studies is wildly misleading, I wish sites wouldn’t say this – it destroys credibility.

      I have high hopes for it, but as yet it’s unproven. If it becomes proven, then awesome – you’re already getting it with an ionizer that also gives you all of the other benefits.

      R

  4. Andrew (MS1) Reply

    I still have yet to see an article that shows the effective delivery of alkaline water into the blood. Water is absorbed in the intestine which means it has to pas through the stomach which has a pH of 2. Is it going to magically bypass basic chemistry and not be neutralized in the stomach? Do you really want to drink so much water to raise your stomach pH so that your intestine can absorb 8.0+ pH into the blood? Your blood is tightly regulated by your lungs and kidneys in a range of ~7.35-7.45. These articles are true but they are inconclusive medically. If you somehow drink so much alkaline water to induce absorption of basic water, what’s stopping you from staying in that range? How do you know when to stop to not overwork your kidneys…

    It’s unfortunate that physicians have no time to really teach their patients how to effectively translate primary literature. Citing peer review articles is very flashy, but these have to be medically conclusive which are stated in the articles itself. It’s ignorant and big insult to say physician’s don’t want people to get better. Becoming one is a poor financial decision and if you don’t have a passion to help people, you’re not going to get through medical school. Anyways that’s a different issue.

    Medicine is evidenced based. That means drugs are designed from peer review articles like these, except their target delivery, mechanism, and localization are designed and tested in a controlled clinical experiment.

    Science is rigorous. It’s easy to see facts without understanding application in today’s marketing world. A + B -> C, but doesn’t mean A + B -> C and E… without any studies. This is basic science that anyone can learn. The issue is identifying this among all the rather convincing yet misleading marketing for this “magical cure all.” These articles are challenging to read and allow writers to manipulate them.

    Thus we forget a very simple, basic physiology/chemical question. How does alkaline water get past the stomach to be absorbed into the blood by small intestine?

    I would really like Ross’s claims to be valid. I really would. Alkaline water probably has a purpose with GERD, for medical use. Until then I’ll save my money. I thank Ross for putting these studies in one page for me to look through. In addition, I would recommend APA citation and stuff like E. coli (italicized) not E-Coli just to help presention.

    P.S. Remember what Ross says: “All healthy lifestyle shifts are the result of healthy eating, drinking, exercising and thinking. Yes your emotions do play a role.”

  5. Darius Reply

    Ross like always you show your incompetence and lack of knowledge. For people like you the word QUACK was developed. On your site your called sources are very poor without any true scientific meaning. Cherry icking studies funded by seller of this filters only show that you are fraud or incompetent. BTW In the same manner I can cherry pick you studies showing smoking is healthy,
    Darius MD Toxicologist/Neurologist.

  6. Christopher Reply

    Can water ionizers be jug filled (with Tank Rain Water), or just plumed to mains (tap) water.

  7. Janine Patching Reply

    The drug companies definitely dont want us getting better so anything I read written by doctors trained by drug companies or the companies thelmselves is completely biased and unreliable. There is out there about alkaline water being great in acidic conditions but long term use it can be damaging to cells. I wonder where this orientation comes from if there are no long term double blind studies done on drinking ionised alkaline water? Someone needs to carry out more studies. We need information on long term use and to hear from as many people as possible who have consumed this water for years

  8. Guy Henning MD Reply

    Testamonies, testamonies, testamonies; I want to read the medical articles myself

    • Energise Ross Reply

      Hi Guy

      The articles that are publicly available (i.e. free) are all linked to.

      Thanks
      Ross

  9. romulo patricio Reply

    Hi Ross,

    I do have crohn’s disease. Is drinking alkaline ionized water good for me ? Frankly, I have been on a maintenance drugs like pentasa, imuran and prednison since 1974 up to now. Thanks for your response.

  10. Ty Stearns Reply

    I notice there is a specific link to a certain website what sort of kick back do you get?

    • Ross Reply

      Hi Ty

      Which website are you talking about? If you’re referring to the link to http://www.energiseforlife.com then I get 100% – it’s my website (check the url of this page).

      Thanks
      Ross

  11. Renzel Reply

    Your blog is very informative. Very scientific and rational. I’m having a report about alkaline water and I think you’ve exhausted all those important researches and journals I should be finding on the internet. Good job! 🙂

    • Energise Ross Reply

      Thanks Renzel! Appreciate your kind words!

  12. Brian Reply

    Your site says its all in your mind, if the Ionized water works.
    People have convinced us placing a bracelet on your wrist will change your life.
    I have found sites that debunk the entire ionized water does not work and is all marketing.
    I would like one but can’t find the proof they work.
    If these machines worked why wouldn’t all doctors jump on the band wagon.

  13. Bob Reply

    why 9.5 pH?
    why not 10?
    or 9?
    thanks Bob

    • Energise Ross Reply

      Hi Bob

      10 is too high, 9 is great, but 9.5 is perfect!

      Ross

  14. Mike Reply

    I believe it is very important for people to start to understand the need to detoxify you body of acid condition that we humans acquire just from everyday living. I have found that AMA. and Drug Companies really protest this information getting out. What would they do if everyone got healthy. They just might lose some money, Ya Think!!!
    Anyway, give it a try. I know, it has really worked for me and it will for you. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose.

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