You hear a lot of talk these days about the benefits of drinking alkaline water. That talk includes the possibility of it helping those with high blood pressure, who experience frequent acid reflux, and who wish to lose a few pounds.
There is even talk that the antioxidant properties that some alkaline water brands have may even minimize the risk of getting some cancers.
That’s all great and worth talking about but it seems there is something missing from all those conversations.
The missing topic is how much alkaline water should you drink each day to reap the supposed benefits of it?
It’s the reason that I want to discuss with you here some of the basics regarding the consumption of alkaline water.
That includes how much of it you should drink daily, is there a level where drinking alkaline water becomes unsafe, and how much of it you should drink when first introducing your body to it.
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How Much Alkaline Water Should You Drink a Day?
One of the problems with what I am going to discuss today is that there is not much scientific research supporting whether drinking alkaline water is good or bad for your health.
Much of the positive claims about drinking alkaline water stem from people that simply say they feel better and seem healthier after they start an alkaline water regimen.
This may just as easily be attributed to other lifestyle or health status changes just as those who claim that drinking alkaline water had a negative impact on their bodies.
But to be clear, I have not heard of any cases where someone has dropped dead or gotten gravely ill from drinking alkaline water daily. That’s why so many are willing to at least give it a try.
Some suggest that it’s best to start an alkaline water regimen by simply replacing the amount of regular water you drink each day with the same amount of alkaline water.
You have probably heard people say that you should drink 8 glasses of water per day and most health experts agree that’s a reasonable amount.
To be more precise, mayoclinic.org says men should drink 15.5 cups of water per day and women should drink 11.5 cups of water per day. Of course, this figure varies with body size and activity level.
So, drinking that amount of alkaline water a day is a reasonable goal but there are stipulations to that which will be discussed later on in this article.
Health Guidelines
At the present time there are no health guidelines that have been established that pertain to the consumption of alkaline water.
That does not mean you should just run to the store, purchase a case of alkaline water, and start downing bottle after bottle of it once you get home.
I will discuss the way you should first start an alkaline water regimen as I go on.
Amount Of Alkaline Water That’s Safe to Drink Each Day
The biggest fear for someone who drinks higher than recommended amounts of alkaline ionized water a day is the possibility of developing alkalosis.
That’s a condition that results when some of your major bodily systems become too alkaline and no longer function properly.
You should be aware that while too much acid in some areas of your body can cause health issues, in other areas such as your stomach, acidity in those areas plays a vital role.
It must also be said that alkalosis is a condition that is extremely rare no matter what the cause and I have never read of any cases of it being attributed to the consumption of high pH water.
Regular Water Drinkers
If you are a water drinker that consumes the recommended amount of water each day, then you are encouraged just to replace the amount of water that you take into your body each day with the same amount of alkaline water.
It really is just as simple as that to get started on a high pH drinking water regimen.
People Upping Water Intake
If you are a person who does not regularly drink the recommended amount of water each day, then you are discouraged from immediately pumping 15.5 or 11.5 cups of alkaline water into your body each day.
You should start slowly increasing your water intake to the recommended level. Also start with about 1/3rd of this intake being alkaline water and gradually work your way up to higher amounts of the water you consume being high pH water.
Over the course of several months, you can eventually get to the point where 100% of the water you consume is alkaline water.
When Is It Best to Drink Alkaline Water?
Here are some suggestions regarding when to drink alkaline water:
- Start your day off with a bottle of it to get your body right as far as its alkalinity is concerned.
- Consume before, during, and after exercise because most alkaline water brands are thought to rehydrate your body faster than consuming normal water.
- NEVER drink alkaline water 30 minutes before or until 30 minutes after eating because it may interfere with your body’s ability to break down food and cause stomach and other problems.
You can also control the alkalinity better in the water you drink by purchasing and using a quality water ionizer.
Also, keep in mind that the pH of natural alkaline water may vary from batch to batch.
Some Last Thoughts on the Amount of Alkaline Water You Drink
Everything that I wrote here about the amount of Alkaline water that you can drink each day is a guideline based on my research and not set in stone.
Keep in mind that each of our bodies will respond differently to the way that they act when adding alkaline water to our diets.
That’s why I recommend listening to your body as you slowly introduce alkaline water into your system.
If you get to a point where you start to feel bad, lower the amount of alkaline water that you drink or stop drinking it altogether.
Also, if you are experiencing benefits from drinking alkaline at a threshold that’s lower than the recommended amount it’s ok and you can stop adding more high pH water into your diet.
It may even be a case where your body reacts negatively to you consuming alkaline water right away, if that’s the case then stop drinking it.
So by being aware of how you feel as you start your alkaline water regimen, that’s really the very best way to determine how much high pH water that you take into your body each day.