I have worked around water and how to purify it better pretty much my whole life. I like learning as many ways as I can to make it healthier to drink.
Usually this is by finding out all the information that I can on the latest in water filtration products.
But sometimes I come across ways to make healthier water that have nothing to do with filtration or the removal of impurities.
Such is the case with Alkaline water. A type of water that people are buying or making that seems to be all the health rage these days.
That’s why I want to discuss here what alkaline water is, the benefits and risks of drinking it, and how to make alkaline water.
Table of Contents
What is Alkaline Water?
The water that you drink may look clear but there are other traits to it that may make it less than healthy to drink or put on your skin.
One of the ways to determine this is to test water for what’s known as its pH level.
This is done by dipping a test strip in a water sample and then comparing the color that strip turns to a corresponding color chart on the bottle. That chart should look similar to the one above.
The pH of all water falls into one of three categories. That’s being perfectly neutral (pH of 7), acidic (pH less than 7), or alkaline (pH greater than 7).
You will hardly ever find normal drinking water which has a pH level of 7 (perfectly neutral). Even highly purified water usually is not pH neutral.
This may not seem to mean much but it definitely does as far as your body is concerned.
Obviously, you are aware that drinking water that is highly to the acidic side would be harmful to your body over time.
The same goes for drinking highly basic water (another term for alkaline water).
But since the body has parts that are slightly acidic and this can cause some health concerns, some researchers feel that drinking alkaline water may counteract these negative health effects with some positive health benefits.
So drinkable alkaline water is water that falls into the 8 to 10 range on the pH scale.
Learn More: What is Alkaline Water: Complete Guide
Benefits & Risks of Alkaline Water
As with all new health fads, there always seems to be a good and bad side to them. It’s no different with alkaline water.
There have been some studies on the benefits of drinking alkaline water, but overall, the information available to its true health benefits has not been determined yet.
Here is what the proponents of drinking alkaline water feel it has a chance to do for you if you drink it.
- It is believed it might have anti-aging effects because an alkaline leaning body helps you absorb antioxidants better
- May support colon health by acting as a cleanser
- It’s thought to boost the immune system because of the previously mentioned higher antioxidant absorption rate
- Alkaline water is believed to hydrate your body and your skin better than water that is neutral or slightly acidic
- It may promote weight loss
- Higher antioxidant absorption is thought to also give the body some form of cancer resistance
An article in stylesatlife.com states that these are some of the possible side effects of drinking alkaline water:
- Throws off the body’s natural pH in various parts of the body which can be a health concern
- Alkalosis (An illness that results when your body’s overall pH level is exceedingly high)
- Digestive irregularities
- Dehydration
- Metabolic (your body’s natural energy generation process) concerns
- Muscle fatigue and soreness
- Headaches
- Being sleepy and tired
How to Make Alkaline Water
There are several different ways that you can go about making alkaline water at home. The latter ones discussed here (Items 4 to 6) will help make it easier to keep your alkaline water in the desired 8 to 9 pH range.
1. Baking Soda
Baking soda has long been used to lessen stomach acid and to combat acid reflux in the stomach. That’s because baking soda has a pH around 9.
All you must do to make alkaline water with baking soda is to mix it in water (baking soda dissolves completely in water) at a rate of ½ teaspoon of baking soda for every 4 ounces of water.
If you are like most people, you will already have some baking soda in your cupboard or refrigerator.
2. Lemon Juice
This one will raise some eyebrows for those that have long thought that lemon juice is acidic in its natural state. Which is true because it has a pH of 2 to 3.
But for some reason it’s believed that the way that your body responds to ingesting lemon juice, it can have an alkaline effect on certain areas of the body.
To make alkaline water with lemon juice, simply add 1/8 a teaspoon of it to every 8 ounces of water.
3. pH Drops
pH drops are probably the simplest of all the different ways to make alkaline. You simply need to go to a pharmacy or health food stores and purchase some pH drops.
Once you get your new pH drops home, you simply follow the instructions on the package. Usually, this involves putting a preset number of drops into a certain volume of water.
This is thought to be the cheapest, fastest, and easiest way to make your own alkaline water.
4. Water Filter Pitcher
These days, a quality water pitcher filter may be your best option to quickly make alkaline water at home.
Such is the case with the pH Restore water pitcher from Invigorated Water. This pitcher makes it very easy to make your own alkaline water with a pH of 8 to 10 based on your desired preference.
All you must do is fill the top container on the water filter pitcher with water and the cartridge in the top of this water pitcher that the water goes down through will do the rest.
5. Alkaline Water Filtration System
Also commonly found at the present time, are multi-stage water filters that have a stage in them that can make the water that passes through them more alkaline.
This is more common with point of use filters such as those that are carbon-based or reverse osmosis systems.
Once again, you have to go to no effort to make alkaline water with these types of water filtration setups. Your water automatically becomes more alkaline when your incoming water runs through them.
A good example of one of these filtration systems is the APEC Water Systems ROES-PH75 pictured above.
6. Water Ionizer
If you are not on a limited budget, then a water ionizer may just be your preferred option to make alkaline water.
These are programmable units that when water runs through them, they can adjust that tap water to be either acidic or alkaline.
They usually have around 10 different settings that you will program into a digital control. These are the most accurate ways to adjust the pH of your drinking water.
Water runs through their negative and positive electrodes comes out at the pH level that you have it set for up to a pH of 10.5.
