• What Water Contains?
• Acidic and Basic water
• PH Scale
• Benefits of Alkaline water

What Water Contains?

About 60% of human body filled with water and it is much important to know about drinking water for healthy life.

In today’s world everyone will say that the chemical formula of water is H₂O. Further many assume that the water in the rivers, the water that is there in our human body is all containing only of H₂o molecules. Is it correct? No. The correct answer is water is containing many H₂O molecules and few positive and negative ions.

The presence of number of these few ions is going to decide our health. The point is only when the river is very pure without addition of any other substances, then we find water to be containing only H₂O molecules.

We know by our common sense that no river in this world is going to be remaining without addition of any other substances. So it is difficult for us to find any river in this world to be containing only of H₂O molecules. Actually we find in the glass of river water, many Hydronium ions H₃O⁺ (say positive ions), hydroxide ions OH^– (say negative ions) and also many more H₂O molecules.

These positive ions and negative ions are produced when acids and bases react with water. Where are acids and bases? They are everywhere around us. They are in the soil, they are in plants, they are produced by bacteria living in water, and they are in living beings including humans.

Acidic and Basic (Alkaline) Water:

The Presence of few positive ions in the given amount of water means presence of acids and presence of negative ions in the given amount of water means presence of bases.

The water combined with acid only is going to have many many H₂O molecules and relatively few positive ions. This water is called pure acidic water.

The water combined with bases only is going to have many many H₂O molecules and relatively few negative ions. This water is called pure basic or alkaline water.

Actually pure acidic or pure basic waters will not exist, because always acids together with bases combine with water. So usually in the given amount of water, we find very high H₂O molecules and relatively few positive and negative ions.

Here also very high H₂O molecules means trillion trillions of H₂O molecules and relatively few positive or negative ions means only hundred trillion ions only. One trillion is equal to thousand billions or one lakh crores.

Suppose in the given amount of water if there are 10¹⁴ positive ions for every one negative ion, then that water is said to be strong acid. Of course that strong acidic water contains many more H₂O molecules much greater than 10¹⁴.

Similarly in the given amount of water if there are equal positive negative ions, then that water is said to be strong neutral.

On the other hand  in the given amount of water if there are 10¹⁴ negative ions for every one positive ion, then that water is said to be strong base or strong alkaline. Of course that strong basic or alkaline water contain many more H₂O molecules much greater than 10¹⁴.

Water PH Scale:

Since it is inconvenient to explain the acidic and basic nature of the substance in terms of trillions of positive and negative ions, a simple method called pH scale is introduced.

pH means power of hydrogen or potential for hydrogen which means combining power of hydrogen. Note that here positive ion means H₃O⁺ ion and this positive ion will be formed depending on the combining power of Hydrogen.

A substance with pH = 0 means that substance is containing 10¹⁴ positive ions for one negative ion. So pH=0 represents very strong acid.

A substance with pH = 14 means that substance is containing 10¹⁴ negative ions for one positive ion. So pH=14 represents very strong base or alkaline.

A substance with pH = 7 means that substance is neutral i.e. that substance is neither acid nor base.

The substances with pH value greater than 7 are called bases or alkalines. Similarly the substances with pH value less than 7 are called acids.

The healthy human body (i.e. human blood) maintains the pH value very close to 7.4. Many studies are supporting the fact that our human body properly maintains pH value of 7.4 for consuming the water containing pH value between 8 and 9. But many water sources provide water with pH value less than 8.

Simply the water available in most of the rivers is having pH value 7 or 7.5. But a pH value of 8 to 9 is proved to be more healthy drinking alkaline water.

This is forcing us to make water alkaline by additives.

Benefits of Alkaline water (pH value 8 to 9):

1) Weight loss:

Our human body controls the presence of acids and bases in our body in such a way that over all pH value will be around 7.4. If our food digestion  produces more acids in our body, then the body stores the excess acid in fat cells  and uses the remaining acids to balance with the bases to get over all pH value to be 7.4 . Suppose if you take alkaline water along with food, then digestion produces little excess acid and so body needs to store little acid in fat cells. This prevents the weight gain or leads to weight loss.

2) Hydration:

The cells of the human body require water to carry many chemical reactions. The hydration is the process which causes the cells to absorb the water properly. The scientists are seeing that the water with alkaline pH value of 8  will be is absorbed  properly by the cells  than the water with small  pH value.

3) Liver Health:

A healthy liver will have pH value of 7 and the acidic environment will make its pH value to be less than 7.We can avoid this situation by diluting the acidic environment with consumption of drinking alkaline water with pH value of at least 8.

4) Digestive Health:

Some people suffer from acid reflux. Acid reflux is mainly due to the enzyme called pepsin released in the stomach. This pepsin is responsible for the inflammation in the ears, nose and throat. It is found that pepsin will die out when it combines with water having pH value of 8. In this way alkaline water helps in alleviating the digestion problems of the people suffering with acid reflux.

5) Detoxification:

The most effective toxic filter in our body is the liver. It needs lot of oxygen to carry its many cellular functions for detoxification. Usually blood carries oxygen to various parts of the body first by reacting with oxygen at the lungs. The more effective the blood reacts with oxygen, the more oxygen it delivers to the various parts of the body. But in the acidic environment, blood reacts with oxygen in reduced level and so supplies insufficient oxygen to the various parts of the body. By drinking alkaline water with pH value of at least 8 , one can  dilute the acidic environment  inside the body and thus have sufficient supply of oxygen to various parts of the body including liver.

6) Alzheimer’s disease:

When the brain cells contain more acidic environment, they   are going to be less communicative and this is leading to Alzheimer’s disease. So here alkaline water can reduce acidic environment and thus helps the brain cells to make effective communication.

7) Bone Health:

The acidic rich blood causes the bones to decay fast.  The alkaline water reduces the acid nature of the blood. It is verified that alkaline water is more effective than calcium rich water in nullifying the bad effects on bones caused by the acid rich blood.

8) pH Balance:

A healthy human body will maintain the pH value of 7.4. This pH balance of 7.4 depends on the proper functioning of the many organs. Proper functioning of the many organs means proper functioning of the cells. The function of the cells will be more effective when the blood is less acidic and blood will be less acidic for the consumption of the alkaline water.

9) Cholesterol Reduction:

Cholesterol production will be high in acidic blood. The bad cholesterol adheres to the inner walls of the blood vassals and thus block or reduce the flow of the blood.  By the consumption of alkaline water one can reduce the acidic nature of the blood and thus reduce the rate of production of the cholesterol.

10) Energy Levels:

By the consumption of the alkaline water, sports people are engaging more intensively in the games for longer times than for the consumption of ordinary water. The energy producer in our cells is mitochondria.  The mitochondria is reacting well with alkaline water and thus producing relatively large energy than for consuming the ordinary water.

In addition to above benefits, too much consumption of Alkaline water may leads to imbalance of acidic property of the body and other risks.