Understanding the Alleged Health Benefits of Water Ionizers

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In the world of the health fanatic – which, in fact, is a world that should touch us all – any new thing with the potential to make us healthier should be looked at closely. So much of our health is determined by what we put in our bodies and, as science progresses, we often have an opportunity to access some of the more beneficial products of technology.

 

Making Water Better?

Since we’re always looking for things that enhance our health, water ionizers have recently become quite popular in the public eye. They have the ability to detoxify your body, helping it rid itself of some of the inevitable products of our Western diet. By running a current through the water, a water ionizer increases its alkalinity, which ends up helping your cells better extract waste from the foods you eat. In fact, there have been many reports touting how much easier it is for the body to absorb this alkaline water, making you feel more refreshed, faster. Think of it as Gatorade – replenishing electrolytes, etc – but without the sugar and other additives.

 

For people with GERD and other symptoms/causes of acid reflux, a water ionizer can drastically reduce the acidity that causes the uncomfortable hacking. The alkaline water produced helps to increase your body’s pH level, negating the effects of smog and other environmental effects that are wearing us down every day. The overall effect of all the stuff in our environment is to lower the pH of the water we drink, making it more acidic than is best for our bodies. A good water ionizer effectively reverses this, which confers a host of benefits to the body.

 

Indeed, many drinkers of alkalinized water have reported feeling the difference when their stomachs haven’t needed to secrete so much acid to break down food. In turn, your pancreas isn’t overtaxed by having to produce loads of bicarbonate, giving your organs a breather.

 

Water Ionization and Location: All that Glitters is Not Gold

The main gripe about water ionizers to date is the expense at which they are procured. This is especially worrying in light of the fact that the ionization they provide can largely be produced by adding stuff like baking soda to water to reduce the acidity, which negates paying so much money for the commercialized water ionization technology – which includes years or filter replacements, etc. In fact, there is a graver problem with some water ionizers; consumers need to be wary of water ionizer dangers from Japan, where the ones manufactured may be contaminated from the radioactivity of the failed Fukushima reactor. The potential for danger is so great from ionizers from this region, that Egyptian authorities barred a recent shipment of them to their country.

 

Alternatively, if you already had a water ionizer from Japan, you can resort to buying or borrowing a Geiger counter to determine the background levels of radiation and compare this to what you get from the ionizer. Any extra radiation whatsoever should cause you to proceed with caution, as even low amounts are deleterious to your biology and can contaminate food and water. Unfortunately, although the Fukushima reactor is localized, studies have determined that the nuclear accident has a long reach, indeed; contaminated products have been found over 200 miles away from ground zero – which means products from all over the Japanese mainland are at risk. For the time being, it’s best to avoid water ionizer units made in that location.

Toni Okeson