Is Alkaline Water Good?

These days we have heard many claims about the alkaline water and its health benefits. Many companies market their product saying it can help in maintaining your body pH level, have anti-ageing properties and prevent chronic disease like cancer.   But is alkaline water is good for your health?  Let's find out.

What is Alkaline Water?
Alkaline water is referred to as water having a pH value greater than 7. Alkaline water typically has a pH between 8-9. pH value is a measure of acidity or basicity of the substance. Pure water free from any kind of impurities has a pH value of 7. Many promoters believe that alkalinity in water can help in neutralizing the excess amount of acid in the body and increase the metabolism rate.

What is Body pH and How it is Regulated?
The normal range for pH in your body is between 7.35-7.45 so, very slightly alkaline. At times, this balance can be disrupted by our diet and lifestyle.

pH can go up or down and this is caused by many factors however when this does occur, the body has mechanisms in which it can attempt to restore balance. Our lungs and kidneys work together to regulates body pH when the value falls above or below the normal range. It is generally regulated by two processes:

1) Respiratory Compensation: When the body experiences low pH, lungs start blowing of CO2 by hyperventilation process and when the body experience high pH, breathing is slowed down to increase body CO2 level.

2) Renal Compensation: When your body pH is low, the kidney will try to excrete H+ and retain HCO3- and when body pH is high kidney will try to retain H+ and excrete HCO3-.

Is alkaline water good?
Now the next question comes what if we drink slightly alkaline water which can help in neutralizing excess acidity in the body.

The answer is, the human body is very complicated. It's not simple as acid and base neutralization reaction. Many health professionals argue against the use of alkaline water, saying there isn’t enough research to support the many health claims made by users and sellers. There is no scientific evidence that fully verifies the claims made by supporters of alkaline water.

However on the other hand, some studies have suggested some health benefits of alkaline water for people who have high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol. Therefore more research is needed beyond these small studies, specifically into some of the other claims made by alkaline water supporters.

Possible Side Effects 
Drinking alkaline water may have some side effects like lowering stomach acidity, which helps kill bacteria and expel other undesirable pathogens from entering your bloodstream. Too much alkalinity may lead to alkalosis which can affect bone health.

Conclusion
Drinking natural water free from any harmful impurities is always considered safe. Water found in nature is itself alkaline in nature as it passes over rocks and picks up minerals. But the health effect of drinking chemically generated alkaline water is still the topic of research. Therefore drinking alkaline water for health benefits is not a great idea unless some strong scientific evidence is presented. The best suggestion to maintain your body pH naturally is by having a healthy diet and regular exercise!