Should You Ditch Tap Water for Alkaline Water?

We all know that water is essential to life. The human body is comprised of 75% of it afterall. We use water to regulate body temperature, transport nutrients and oxygen, detoxify the liver and kidneys, dissolve vitamins and minerals and so much more. Dehydration can result in numerous uncomfortable symptoms including, changes in blood pressure, painful joints, dry skin and digestive problems.

As Dr. F. Batmanghelidj, author of the book ‘Your Body’s Many Cries for Water’, famously said,

”You're not sick; you're thirsty. Don't treat thirst with medication.”

It is essential to drink plenty of water to remain hydrated, but here is where it becomes tricky.

Not all water is created equal.

Let’s start by looking at the water that is accessible in our homes. We are blessed to receive water directly to our taps. Our cities use resources to process this water, to remove the majority of contaminants. While this is a good thing, we should look a little deeper at what tap water actually contains as a result of this processing. This way we can make an informed decision about consuming these components or not.

Chemicals are added to tap water for various reasons, including adjusting the flavour, killing parasites and bacteria, and covering odours. Examples are aluminium (to remove sediment), chlorine (to disinfect) and DPBs (by-products of the disinfectants that react with natural organic matter).

In addition to these chemicals, there are pharmaceutical drugs and personal care products flushed down toilets and drains every day. These inevitably end up in the water supply. Antidepressants, antibiotics, pain relievers and other drugs, as well as shampoos, lotions and soaps. These all have an impact on our endocrine systems, the lasting effects of which we can only guess at.

Farming and manufacturing also add to the contaminants in the water supply. Pesticides and toxic by-products can therefore be included in the list of ingredients you may find in your tap water.

Bottled water has been hailed as the perfect alternative to tap water, but this is not necessarily true. Many tests have been conducted, which show that there is often no difference between water that you can purchase in a bottle and that which flows through your tap.

In addition, the use of plastic to contain the water can cause problems through leaching toxins into the water (one that is particularly problematic is BPA), and all of this results in additional pollution from the empty bottles dumped in landfills.

What is alkaline water? Simply water with a pH level higher than 7, which matches that of our ideal blood pH. Alkaline water has been hailed to provide a number of benefits for your body that are far more beneficial than tap water alone which ranges from acidic to alkaline in its overall pH levels.

It is possible that alkaline water could neutralise acidity in the body that is caused by poor diet, stress and environmental pollutants. Alkaline water could also go on to help the body to absorb nutrients and detoxify cells more efficiently.

The ionisation process, that is used to create alkaline water, breaks water down into smaller clusters of molecules that can pass more easily through cell walls, hydrating the body more efficiently and aiding the detoxification process.

Alkaline water is also abundant in hydrogen ions which are natural antioxidants and which help to neutralise harmful free radicals.

Free radicals are single electron molecules that damage the body by stealing electrons from other cells, mutating and even killing them. Hydrogen rich alkaline water has the ability to give up electrons, which may effectively neutralise free radicals and go on to prevent damage to the body, including premature aging.

This oxygenated alkaline environment is hostile to viruses, cancer and many other diseases.

There are a number of options that you can choose to ensure you have access to a good supply of alkaline water. You can make your own at home by adding lemon or lime. This obviously does not purify the water, but changes the pH level of the water to alkaline.

Alkaline jug filters are available to provide convenient healthy water in a cost effective way without expensive plumbing and electrical connections. These jugs cleanse the impurities present in tap water, bring the pH to alkaline and also ionise the water.

You can install an alkalising filter directly to your water system so that water comes out of your tap at the desired pH level. It’s important to note that these types of systems do not automatically purify the water, so it is important to check what you are looking for in a water system before going down a potentially costly route.

As important as it is to keep our bodies hydrated, we should always be aware of the quality of water that we ingest. Tap water could be potentially detrimental to health, and there are equally concerning facts surrounding bottled water.

Drinking purified alkalised, ionised water could provide the optimum hydration for our bodies. The benefits are far reaching and point towards improved health and disease prevention thanks to the antioxidants present in the water. Such a simple adjustment could be life changing. Is it time you went alkaline?

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