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Alkaline Water: a Scam?

Hawkers of “ionizer” water machines (like Kangen) claim healing alkaline water benefits; skeptics call it snake oil. They both may be wrong.

October 17, 2011 |
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Alkaline Water: a Scam?, 4.2 out of 5 based on 5 ratings

Sources Cited

Schoppen S, Pérez-Granados AM, Carbajal A, Oubiña P, Sánchez-Muniz FJ, Gómez-Gerique JA, Vaquero MP. A sodium-rich carbonated mineral water reduces cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women. J Nutr. 2004 May;134(5):1058-63.

Pérez-Granados AM, Navas-Carretero S, Schoppen S, Vaquero MP. Reduction in cardiovascular risk by sodium-bicarbonated mineral water in moderately hypercholesterolemic young adults. J Nutr Biochem. 2010 Oct;21(10):948-53.

Acknowledgements

Images thanks to szucker81, Tahoemnts via Wikimedia Commons, and likeablerodent via Flickr. Sound effect thanks to daaaan.

Transcript

Is alkaline water a scam? There are thousands of websites and pyramid schemes hawking $6,000 machines to alkalinize our tap water into "miracle healing water." And not just miracle healing water, but, "Magical miracle healing water." With, no surprise, miraculous properties, one of the supposed health advances in human history, the "secret to optimal health and longevity," exclamation point.

Though if you actually scroll down you'll see the disclaimer that they're not allowed to claim their water will actually do any of these things. Does our water actually help to restore the body to a youthful condition? We can't say…

The skeptics… are skeptical. Alkaline water is described as an incredible fraud, foisted on the public by desperate deluded glue-sniffing wanna-be's… asserting that there's no credible evidence in the scientific literature that there are any particular benefits. Turns out they’re both wrong.

A new study found that compared to a control group drinking regular water, young adults drinking about a quart of alkalinized water a day dropped their bad cholesterol 10% within 2 months—that’s pretty impressive. And older women may achieve a drop of nearly 15%--that's huge! And even helped their blood sugars.

If you and your doctor want to give it a try, you can make alkaline water, this way [cha-ching, label machine] or, this way [baking soday price tag]. By adding ¾ of a teaspoon of baking soda to a liter (or quart of water) and you can save yourself 5999 and 99 cents.

Now baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, so this would add about a gram of sodium to our daily diet but sodium bicarb doesn’t seem to have the same effect of sodium chloride, or table salt. In this study those drinking the baking soda water had no change in blood pressue, and in the other study actually enjoyed a significant improvement in their blood pressure, but your physician will want to keep an eye on it.

So, alkaline water machines are a scam, but alkaline water itself, might not be.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by Peter Mellor.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

Dr. Michael Greger

Doctor's Note

This is the first video off my Latest in Clinical Nutrition volume 6 DVD. Please feel free to post any ask-the-doctor type questions here in the comments section and I’d be happy to try to answer them.  Be sure to check out all the videos on nutrition myths. And don't forget, there are 1,449 subjects covered in my other videos–please feel free to explore them!

For more context, check out my associated blog post, Stool Size and Breast Cancer Risk.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/mgreger/ Michael Greger M.D.

    This is the first video off my Latest in Clinical Nutrition volume 6 DVD. Please feel free to post any ask-the-doctor type questions here in the comments section and I’d be happy to try to answer them. Be sure to check out all the videos on nutrition myths. And don’t forget, there are 1,449 subjects covered in my other videos–please feel free to explore them!

    • Dallasreader

      Are you aware of any credible, definitive studies whether reverse-osmosis purified water should be used for drinking? As you might expect, the Internet is full of advocates for both sides.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/paul3917/ paul3917

    I prefer to use potassium bicarbonate instead so that I don’t get excess sodium- it’s is available on the internet. If I add it to my soup which contains red cabbage- it turns green since red cabbage is a pH indicator for alkaline solutions.

  • JJ

    This is just so fascinating.

    I’m going to try it to see how the baking soda affects the taste of the water.

    I don’t drink much water plain. Mostly, I drink teas of all sorts. So, I wonder if adding some baking soda to my tea would have a healthful effect and whether or not doing so would interfere with any of the good properties of the tea.

    And out of curiosity, I wonder if adding baking soda to any other drink would be worth it or not. For example, suppose I buy some orange or apple juice? (Which I don’t do very often myself) Would it be a good idea to add some baking soda? What about chia pudding/tapioca/gel where people add a bunch of water to a small amount of chia seeds and let it sit over night. Would adding some baking soda (since it is a lot of water) be a good idea?

    Also, I wonder if it is possible to get too much baking soda? Especially since it would not be in a baked good, but eaten/drunk raw. Is there an advisable upper limit?

    I don’t need an answer to this post. I’m just sharing my thoughts.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/KarenEardley/ Karen Eardley

    Wouldn’t the acid in our stomachs dilute the alkalinity of anything we ingest?

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/MarkBiddy/ Mark Biddy

    Speaking of water, is there any credence to cold water therapy? That is to say, is there any health benefit to standing in the shower for 5 minutes while only cold water cascades over your body? I’ve been doing this for over 6 months and I sleep better and my skin is clearer…but that could be me looking for an upside to this practice. btw, great website and excellent work!

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/bpcveg/ BPC

    Cool … since I make my own toothpaste out of a mixture of baking soda and refined sea salt, I probably luck out both by decreased exposure to fluoride as well as due to the effect of water alkalinity.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/gabe/ gabe

    Baking soda works slightly, but it sure doesn’t taste very good. And you have to be careful what else is in the soda…anti-caking chemicals, aluminum, etc.

    The body needs a blend of minerals to correctly buffer the effects of acid imbalance. Just like we need a variety of foods, we need more than just sodium bicarb. Having a good pH isn’t the entire answer, it’s how we get that good pH that’s key.

    As far as the stomach acid goes. I recommend reading some of Sang Whang’s work at http://alkalineworld.wordpress.com/2010/03/07/alkaline-water-stomach-acid/

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/wickedchicken/ wickedchicken

    I had really written these kangen water people off as annoying, bothersome and somewhat idiotic. Wups!!

    Well, being salespeople- they are still at least two of those things [i'll let you pick].

    http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002749.htm

    I wish they said what constituted a “large amount”…. yikes.

    • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/mgreger/ Michael Greger M.D.

      Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) intoxication can be devastating, especially in infants. The 1995 paper “Baking Soda: A Potentially Fatal Home Remedy” in Pediatric Emergency Care led Arm & Hammer to start placing warning labels against use in children under 5 on all their cartons. Too much bicarbonate can overwhelm our kidneys’ ability to excrete it leading to a metabolic alkalosis, which can lead to seizures or even death. To answer your question, as little as a few pinches can sicken an infant, but based on the series of case reports in adults it appears to take tablespoons for folks with normal kidney function to get into trouble. This is why I encourage anyone trying the three-quarters-of-a-teaspoon-per-quart of water regimen to do it under the supervision of a physician to make sure you don’t have a condition that would preclude such a trial. There are ways to lower blood pressure without fear of toxicity. See, for example, my video Fill in the Blank.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/MichaelJanuszewski/ Michael Januszewski

    Some benefits of alkaline/reverse osmosis water is that it removes chlorine and over 90% of the sodium fluoride.

    Hydrofluorosilicic acid, which is the waste product from metal plating industry’s acid and phosphate mining industry’s fluoride, strontium 90, and excess chromium, is what gets thrown into city drinking water under the guise that it is “good for your teeth.”

    Fluoride is one of the 3 most common toxic elements on planet Earth. Arsenic is number 1, fluoride is number 2, and lead is number 3. The MCLG (Maximum Contamination Level Goal) for cities is 0 for arsenic, 0 for lead, and 4000 parts per billion for fluoride. What’s wrong with this picture?

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/MarkBiddy/ Mark Biddy

    it sounds like the pricy machines do something that the baking soda doesn’t in order to yield the results noted in the study. instead of writing off the machines, i think it best to systematically study what the machines are doing to create the healthful effects. as the saying goes, sometimes a fool can say something wise and the wise sometimes say something foolish.

  • Mare

    I have read that lemon juice added to a glass of water “alkalizes” water.  Is that true?  If so, it would seem a good and harmless alternative to machines and baking soda (given that you rinse your mouth and/or brush your teeth afterwards to prevent acid damage to your teeth).

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=729887692 Sara Hatfield

      i think lemon juice is acid. it would acidify, which is the opposite of alkalize. same with vinegar and apple cider vinegar.

      • Paula

        For what I’ve heard lemon juice turns alkaline when digested, unlike vinegar (any kind). So yes it does alkalinize water. 

  • DrDons

    A study by Remer et al. in 1995 evaluated the effects of food consumption on the urine by giving food the night before and checking whether the urine was alkaline or acidic the next morning. (reminds me of when we were checking urine glucose to control diabetes). He showed that citrus resulted in mild alkalinizing of the urine so it does have a mild effect in that direction. Grains interestingly have a mild acidic load on the body…. much higher were meats, eggs and cheeses whereas plants with the exception of grains were alkalinizing. Baking Soda is much stronger. As a medical doctor I’m not aware of the studies which support the timing, agents and best approach to oral hygiene. I was unable to find any links specifically to “teeth” or “dental caries”. Maybe Dr. Greger and his team can keep an eye out for some good articles in the prevention of dental caries and gum disease for future videos. They could be added to some of the other excellent videos on “oral health”… see http://nutritionfacts.org/video/apthous-ulcer-mystery-solved/ for a fairly common self limiting condition that I used to see in patients and was unable to offer much except reassurance until 2009… now I can… thanks again to NutritionFacts.org.

  • acrigler

    What about Potassium Bicarbonate which is found in club soda?  Would club soda be alkaline?  

    • DrDons

       Yes Potassium Bicarbonate added to water makes it alkaline. However carbonated water is acidic so sodium or potassium bicarbonate are often added to reduce the acidity. Whether enough is added to make the product alkaline would depend on the amount so would vary from product to product. You of course want to avoid sodas which often contain benzene which is a carcinogen… see http://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-sodium-benzoate-harmful/. And if your goal is to lose weight you are best off not to “drink your calories” as one study showed that drinking a 100 calories of fruit juice before your meal actually increased the amount eaten. Recent data has helped sort out the best drinks see… http://nutritionfacts.org/video/better-than-green-tea/. There are a variety of healthy drinks see.. http://nutritionfacts.org/video/the-healthiest-beverage-2/. The best way to maintain a more alkaline diet is to avoid the more acidic foods such as cheese, dairy, meat and eggs and stick with plants which have an alkaline effect of the body with the exception of grains which are mildly acidic.

  • http://twitter.com/3BumbleBie Deborah Hearne

    I have a alkaline water filter that costs way less than the Kragen one and does not need chemicals added to it. It acts as a reverse osmosis filters also. If you were to buy a filter, I suggest getting an alkaline water filter. There is a difference between water that has been flowing down a river or in a lake (living water) and water held in a tank for redistrubution (tap water).

  • http://www.facebook.com/odolly1 Olina Dolly

    I actually own a Kangen water machine. I have had it for the last two years. Everyone should try the water for themselves and see the difference in their health. Educating oneself while drinking the water (which is free) will help anyone to figure out what to believe. People can say what they want, but when you experience your own health problems disappearing (or not), that will give you a definitive answer.

    • givemeabreak

      Olinda Dolly – Past 3 years Independent Distribute for Kangen Water Machines.

  • matt

    $6000-1$=5999$ not 5999.99$….just sayin’

  • DennisL
  • http://www.facebook.com/jefflswanson Jeff Swanson

    You’d obviously not want to consume a high pH water with food.
    My question: When is it optimal to ingest the bicarbonate water? Bedtime?
    Tip: “Ener G” baking soda incorporates calcium and magnesium bicarbonate rather than sodium. So the results might be further improved. http://www.ener-g.com/baking-soda.html
    Legitimate million dollar idea: “Night Time Water”. Enhanced with “Ener G” brand calcium and magnesium bicarbonate.

  • Lucy

    Hello Doctor, I am in the process of buying a a Kangen machine. Why? Because it does do what it is suppose to do and yes it is worth it too! Our bodies are priceless, and so we need to take care of our bodies and we will live longer. My husband had Ulcerative Colitis and after drinking the Kangen water, less than three months, the Ulcerative Colitis was gone. He was on Insulin three times a day. Now it is down to once a day. Attention all readers. The Kangen water does work.

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