The water we drink has a myriad of minerals within it, both acid and alkaline.
Acid minerals rust and oxidise, alkaline minerals support health by supplying our body’s alkaline buffer, our storehouse of alkaline minerals whose main purpose is to neutralise excessive internal acidity.
By running tap water through a water alkaliser, the water is:
- Filtered of organics and chlorine
- Separated into twin separate streams; acid and alkaline.
- Infused with molecular hydrogen (H2)
There are two basic forms of water ioniser on the market.
Electric Units
These units have a separate filter that feeds filtered water into an electrolysis cell. In the cell, an electric charge is used to cause ions in the filtered water to separate into two streams – one with acid minerals, one with alkaline minerals. The electrolysis process also causes the generation of molecular hydrogen which becomes infused into the output ‘alkaline’ water.
Natural Units
The AlkaWay UltraStream incorporates the filter and the ionizing process into one cartridge. When you replace the filter you get a new ionizing system with it. The UltraStream has far superior filtration capability than any electric system, with all US made and approved filtration media. After the water passes through the filter media, it passes through a special media of slow-release pure magnesium which generates molecular hydrogen. The Molecular Hydrogen Foundation has an amazing amount of information on the benefits of molecular hydrogen in water.
Stage One: Filtering
It’s an accepted fact that our tap water, filled with industrial waste and discarded pharmaceuticals, requires thorough filtration for optimum health. It’s also true that many people aren’t aware of exactly what different types of water filters can and can’t remove. So, the first part of any good water treatment involves the filtration of the incoming water supply.
The first thing an electric water ionizer does to your input tap water is filtered it using a combination of bacteriological and particulate control incorporating silver-activated charcoal, the most common and proven method on the market. Your water passes through a filter that removes OR REDUCES the following:
- Bacteria
- Inorganic Chemicals
- Lead
- Organic Chemicals
- Particulate
- Pesticides
- Trihalomethanes
- Volatile Organic chemicals
- Detergents
- Asbestos
- Pollens
What it DOESN’T filter out is soluble minerals. This means that the ionizer, unlike distillers or reverse osmosis devices, will leave in all of the healthy minerals your body requires to function properly.
This is the way we all once had our water, all the way back to the point when we emerged from the sea.
Once the water filter has done its job, you have pure alkaline mineralised water ready for ionizing. Minerals that cannot dissolve in water, do not get through the filter.
About The Input Water
Many Claims
There are many devices that claim the above qualities, and to the beginner’s eyes, they might all seem similar. Some use magnets, some magnetic rock, some ceramics.
pH and O.R.P.
However, there is a very clear way to demonstrate the effectiveness of the water ionizers, of both electric and natural variety. For this, we use the two measurements of pH (acid/alkaline) and Oxidation/Reduction Potential.(O.R.P.)
When your tap water arrives at your home, it will (usually) be a little over neutral in pH ~ around 7.5.
It will, however, be robbed of its electrical negative charge and will almost always have a ‘positive’ O.R.P. This is an indication that it has no antioxidant abilities and therefore cannot assist your body in the fight against oxygen free radicals. On the contrary, it can actually rob you of energy as you drink it.
The measurement of this positive or negative charge is expressed in millivolts, so an ORP reading on our ORP meter of tap water will most likely show around +350 millivolts. After it has been through Ionizing Water filters it will most likely show anything from -150 to -650mv (depending on the number of soluble minerals in the water and on the original pH of the water).
What is ‘enough’ ORP?
Here’s where it gets a little tricky. Some device vendors claim antioxidant effect because their water units reduce the positive charge (+350mv). What they don’t tell you is that they don’t reduce it enough to turn it negative. ONLY when your water shows a negative ORP (less than zero) is it antioxidant capable.
Claims to the contrary are like saying “Well, your car is still muddy, but look how well we partially cleaned it!”
It’s a similar situation with alkalinity. As we already mentioned, your water is already arriving at your sink with mild alkalinity. That’s because local authorities ‘doctor’ it with lime (CaCO3) to keep it the alkaline side of acid, for two reasons;
- They are bound by law to do so and
- Acid (less than pH 7) water is a willing host for microorganisms, bacteria and viruses. It also rips heavy metals from the plumbing in older homes, depositing a toxic laden glass full of water first thing in the morning.
The Right pH
Scientists at Shiga University in Japan have conducted long term research into optimum alkalinity of drinking water for health, and have determined it to be from pH 8 to 9.5. Our own research has confirmed that no other devices we know of are capable of delivering a consistent pH with a range all the way from neutral up to pH 10. Both electric and natural water ionizers are capable of this.
If you are considering other devices please keep these two important facts in mind.
- You need a negative ORP charge in your drinking water for it to be at all antioxidant.
- You need the ability to adjust pH for each individual user or family member.
In the last ten years, the success of ionizing water filters worldwide is due primarily to the marriage of technology and age-old water principles in the form of computerized individual pH and ORP capabilities. Today things are changing as media improves to the natural units, for a number of reasons including PRICE.
Stage Two of the Electric Systems: Ionizing – Platinum Coated Titanium Ionizing Cell
Your water now enters the electrolysis chamber. Here it has a very specific low voltage electric current passed through it, which causes the soluble minerals in it to be attracted to either a positive ‘pole’ or a negative ‘pole’ depending on their own electrical energy signature. When this happens, the water separates into alkaline and acid streams and some H2 is infused into the alkaline stream.
Hydration
The addition of H2 makes the water into a powerful antioxidant formula. Some vendors will claim the water becomes ‘micro-clustered for better absorption or hydration. There is NO science to support this claim. The easy digestion of the water relates to the higher pH.
Remember, it’s not about how good your water filter is or how long it will last. It’s about how long YOU want to last and how good YOUR life will be!
