Alkaline Water Hype

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about this magical thing called alkaline water. I have mentioned it briefly in my previous posts but what exactly is it? The truth is, alkaline water hoax believers don't have a standard definition, but it is simply water that has been “treated” somehow to make I suddenly turn into a miracle medicine, that gives benefits such as:

Being a powerful antioxidant

Balanced pH levels in the body

Better hydration

Less toxins in the body

Increases immune function

Weight loss

Treats cancer

Treats AIDs and

Treats diabetes

Make you feel younger

Protects you from nuclear radiation

+hundreds more

There are pages upon pages of alkaline water machines on sites such as Amazon, with prices ranging from a few hundred dollars to some costing a few thousand dollars. They all claim to be able to make alkaline water that supposedly “alkalizes” your body and so you will be cured of all your problems. However, this is completely not true and in fact may be damaging to people who believe this since some people stop taking insulin or chemotherapy, which may result in death.

It is speculated that the origin of this alkaline water hoax is when there was a report that came out stating that cancer cell growth is slowed in an alkaline environment. Then another study found that when patients with type II diabetes ate alkaline foods, they showed marginal improvement. As is often the case with a hoax, it’s not 100% false, but the truth has been encased in so much hype as to be nonexistent.

Image Citation: N.d. Alkaline Water Machine. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.