The consumer demand for alkaline water has grown steadily in the 21st century. A report by Global Insights Services places worldwide consumption at 300 million liters in 2024, with 60% sold in individual bottles, 30% in delivered bulk sales, and 10% by in-place treatment devices. There’s a projected increase of 100% by 2035.
The beginning of the interest in alkaline water is credited to Henri Coanda, a Romanian physicist who, in early 1930, traced the longest-living people at the time to a Himalayan mountain group called the Hunza people. He postulated the cause for their longevity was their drinking water, which was glacial meltwater that had passed over rocks, thus yielding a chemistry of Calcium, bicarbonate (HCO3-) alkalinity, pH 6.9–8.12, plus Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, Sulfate, and Chloride. Mr. Coanda documented similar positive results for Azerbaijan villagers in the Caucasus Mountains, as well as tribal populations in the Andes Mountains. Simultaneously and independently, Dr. Suwa in Japan arrived at a similar belief. Dr. Suwa spent many years synthesizing the process, and in 1958 had a large system in a clinic providing the water to patients. As an aside, perhaps lending credibility to the scientific skills of Henri Coanda, he is the developer of the Coanda effect, which to this day is taught as the major lift component in airplane wings.
No published human studies were found documenting an increase in longevity, but a 2016 NIH-controlled study of 150 mice in 3 groups demonstrated a slight but measurable increase attributed to a higher alkalinity in their water. The support for the alkaline “craze” appears to be anecdotal in nature. Other possibilities could be a feel-better response to water replacing less desirable liquids such as sodas, beer, etc.; a general trend toward being better hydrated; and the simultaneous ingestion of minerals in the water—especially Magnesium, which causes water to be absorbed into the large intestine to promote better voiding of waste.
Alkalinity consists of three different compounds: bicarbonate (HCO3), carbonate (CO3), and hydroxide (OH), which coexist in water samples. Note that only bicarbonate alkalinity is expressed in the records of Henri Coanda. This is the only form of alkalinity that exists in water up to pH 8.3; between pH 8.3 and 10.2, it is in the carbonate form, and above that it is 100% in the hydroxide form. The bicarbonate alkalinity has been documented to be systematically uptaken, whereas the other two forms simply act as antacids.
It appears that alkalinity in the bicarbonate form, as determined by a maximum water pH of 8.3, has potential health benefits if found naturally or by adding minerals to low-pH reverse osmosis water. By going higher in pH, benefits begin to diminish. Perhaps the least effective, if not ineffective, method of raising water pH is via electrolysis, which uses electrical energy to split water into H and OH, which then adds the useless OH form of alkalinity to the water.
DRO-100 HE PLUS: a brand new all-inclusive under the counter drinking water system is now available from Dime Water, Inc.
This new system is constructed to not only reduce all known water contaminants by 90% or higher but also adds healthy benefits to the water that you drink. Using reverse osmosis, this new system provides cleaner water for drinking, beverages you prepare such as coffee, tea, and foods, like soup for example.
After the reverse osmosis process, our new system utilizes a custom cartridge that allows three important things to occur to further improve your water.
First, pH levels are adjusted to the alkalinity level you prefer ranging from neutral of 7 to over 8.5 depending on the raw water chemistry.
Second, the vital to life electrolytes calcium and magnesium are added to the water from natural sources as well as enhanced taste.
Finally, the DRO-100 HE PLUS stands apart from other filtrations systems by adding molecular hydrogen to the water as a therapeutic antioxidant. A publication in the 2016 National Institute of Health by Dr. Lei Huang, M.D. talks about the health benefits of cleansing the human body of oxidants at a cellular level. A measurable negative ORP of the treated water confirms the antioxidant properties of our water.
All of this is accomplished with the most efficient recovery of treated water available at 76%. This reduction of wasted water is critical to the environment as is the elimination of plastic bottles now that the water is treated in the home.
And did we mention the super production capacity of the DRO-100 HE PLUS is 100 gallons per day! This virtually guarantees you’ll never run out of this delicious & healthy water.
Alkaline water is commonly known as ionized water and has a pH level greater than 7. Many people believe that alkaline water features a number of health benefits. It is generally produced with the aid of a faucet-based water ionizer, or alkalizer. Alkaline means you have a low number of Hydrogen ions in the water and a higher number of either Bicarbonate or Carbonate, or Hydroxyl ions, which contribute to a higher pH and thus the definition of “alkaline”.
5 Apparent Benefits of Drinking Alkaline Water
If you read articles on the physiology of the body you will find that once something of a different pH hits the back of your throat, your body will be aware of it. For instance, if you take something that has a high pH or alkaline, your body will sense it almost immediately. However, once the body senses it, it wants to protect the low pH or acid environment of your stomach, by pumping extra acid in the stomach to neutralize that elevated pH. There are 5 benefits to alkaline water that alkaline water supporters believe in:
- better hydration
- detoxifies your body
- works as an antioxidant
- effective disease protection
- protects bone, tissue and teeth
The only advantage of drinking alkaline water I can think of is that it causes a placebo effect to those who consume it, triggering the reaction of drinking more water and less dehydrating material such as coffee or alcohol. Just the very fact that you are finally hydrating with water and getting rid of sodas and coffee, you are going to feel better.
A Cheaper Way to Make Alkaline Water
In my estimation, if you want to make alkaline water, just take a good, high quality reverse osmosis system, produce water that has little to no mineral content to it and add a pinch of baking soda. For low cost, you will have the high purity water and you have the alkaline, if that is what you desire.
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