At friendsofwater.com we do our best to research information and products to support the health of individuals and Mother Earth. One big topic of interest has been ionizers & raised pH for health. Many reasonable people believe that water that tends toward the alkaline is better for the human body. Some think extremely high pH is best, as is produced by ionizers. Although we know we could make some money selling ionizers, we haven't been convinced that they really help with people's health. We have spoken to people who report positive results. We have spoken to people who report no noticeable difference on any front. (Which can be discouraging if you spent $2,000 on a unit.) On balance, while we are undecided about the benefits of structured water, we don't agree that extremely high pH is good for you.
Having been unconvinced ourselves we asked some people who are thoughtful and well-informed people. They are also all open to 'alternative' solutions. Their views are below.
In addition, an engineer with a particular interest in water has added that he thinks paying major bucks to structure water is bunk. Lita Lee, included below, doesn't believe ionized water is healthy. Dr. Peat, also included below says that to ionize water artificially is unhealthy.
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The pH Cult
Questions and answers on the pH of water and of the body – Dr. Ray Peat & Dr. Lita Lee
(minimally edited without changing meaning by friendsofwater.com)
PH varies from the mouth through the gi tract to the colon. The pH of the mouth is determined by what you eat. The stomach varies from pH 3 (acidic) to 9 (alkaline). The blood is always alkaline at 7.35-7.45 (homeostasis) and if not, you are in the hospital. The small intestine should be alkaline. If the colon is too alkaline, you are constipated. If it's too acid, you get diarrhea. The pH of a 24-hour urine should be acidic (6.3-6.7).Random urine samples are useless.PH paper is totally useless (for testing body pH).I use a calibrated pH meter to get an accurate reading of the pH of urine and other liquids.So, when someone says you need to be acidic or alkaline, ask them where?
The Loomis urinalysis tells me if your pH is okay regarding your digestion and your blood. The blood keeps what it wants and throws away what it doesn't want. So if I see an alkaline (24-hour urine) I know that the blood has an alkaline stress on it and is dumping excess alkalinity. If I see very acid urine, I know that the blood has an acid stress on it and is dumping excess acidity. Of these two, the blood has more ways to dump excess acidity than excess alkalinity.
The only way to balance anything in your body is to digest whole foods (both acid and alkaline forming) with plant enzymes.Animal proteins are acidic.Fruits and vegetables are alkalizing.If you digest a variety of foods, your pH will be optimum.
Question to Dr. Ray Peat:What do you think a healthy pH of water should be?Client is drinking alkaline water (pH 9 or so) because someone told her that her tissues were too acidic.Her 24-hour urine was way too alkaline.Also, she eats a low protein diet which alone can increase urinary pH.I don't understand why people think they should drink alkaline water.....I know the pH changes throughout the body so I cannot fathom why people say they are too acidic or too alkaline.I always ask WHERE?Do you agree that a high pH water is good if it’s because of the minerals?Also, do you think that systems that make water alkaline are good?
Dr. Peat:I don't think it's the pH of the water that matters, but the actual mineral content. That is, a little lye would give a high pH, but no physiological benefit; buffered salts with a neutral pH could be very beneficial. I wouldn't want water treated with a system to make it alkaline--it might be harmful in itself, and it would be a financial benefit for crooks. (friendsofwater.com does not think that selling ionizers or pH adjusters makes one a crook. There is conflicting information and we know that many people claim health improvements with their use.)
Hard, mineralized water seems to be good for the health, partly because it doesn't pick up metals from the plumbing, and the alkaline minerals, even sodium, have some value for sparing magnesium and protein especially during stress. I think the urine should be pretty acidic, from a good protein intake, but the saliva should be just a little under 7, reflecting good carbon dioxide content. There are lots of pH cults. Healthy cells use oxygen ("acid source") and produce carbon dioxide (a Lewis acid), and are resistant to stress. Cancer cells are more alkaline (from producing lactate instead of carbon dioxide) than healthy cells, contrary to popular pH cult beliefs.
Questions about the book, Alkalize or Die:
Client comment: I am just beginning to read a book called Alkalize or Die by Theodore A. Baroody. I know your first thought is that since you are being told you are too alkaline, you wouldn't need to read the book. Dr. Baroody says he has seen patients that have been told the same thing you have. What happens is that the blood becomes too alkaline because the body does not have the ability to neutralize it. The tissues, however, are too acidic. The only true test of alkalinity or acidity is the Reams Biological Theory of Ionization test.
Dr. Lita Lee:Untrue. The Reams test is scientifically untrue. I read his whole book and it's nonsense. It is based upon a random catch. Urine changes pH every two hours. After you eat it becomes very alkaline ("The alkaline tide'). In the morning a random catch would be acidic in a healthy person. That's why I do a 24-hour urine. The optimum pH range of the 24-hour urine is 6.3-6.7. I like to see it lower than 6.7. If it's 6.7 or above, this means that the blood is dumping excess alkaline reserves, a condition I see in vegans and in sick people (cancer, infection etc.). It causes the body to dump calcium. It also causes anxiety. Your 24-hour urine pH was 6.9 and that's why you can't hold calcium.
The pH of the body changes from the mouth, stomach, colon and blood. The Reams random catch only measures the urinary pH at that moment in time. Baroody is uninformed in chemistry and physiology. For example, enzymes are released from the mouth into the saliva during chewing and this affects the pH. The pH of the stomach varies greatly and after about 30 minutes, hydrochloric acid is released into the stomach from the parietal cells. It activates pepsin (a proteolytic enzyme) from pepsinogen, its precursor. This acidity deactivates (but doesn't destroy) the enzymes and, when they go into the small intestine they are reactivated at the more alkaline pH there. Colon problems are also pH dependent. Constipation means the colon is too alkaline. Diarrhea means it’s too acidic.
The blood comment is wrong. The blood maintains homeostasis within narrow limits of 7.35-7.45. This is a medical fact. A fact is not an opinion. Outside of these limits is a medical problem and one that can require emergency room care. Ex. diabetic acidosis.
Client comment:I am reading about things I have not heard before. Of extreme importance is something called the vagus nerve. It is a nerve in the stomach area. If this nerve becomes pinched, it can lead to illness and pain throughout the body. Chiropractic adjustments of this nerve may be necessary to gain pH balance. Pinching of this nerve can affect the heart, lungs, liver, gallbladder, spleen, pancreas, small and large intestine, thyroid, and the brain stem.
Dr. Lee: Wrong again. Chiropractors do not adjust nerves. They adjust the vertebrae (correct vertebral subluxations). Any vertebral subluxation can cause health problems. A vertebral adjustment can have an affect on the muscles, nerves or organs related to that particular vertebra. The only way you can balance pH is by digesting a variety of foods with plant enzymes. All of this pH information is in my book, The Enzyme Cure.I have been doing this 24-hour urine test for 25 years and the sickest people I see have alkaline 24-hour urines.
friendsofwater.com will continue not to sell ionizers. But we do sell filters that remove fluoride, chlorination byproducts, heavy metals and the other chemicals and organics found in water that we (and Dr. Lee) don't think you should be drinking. To your health!
