Water serves an essential purpose for our bodies. For one, it can help regulate your body’s temperature, and your cells and organs also need it to function efficiently. And as specialists say, staying hydrated can also boost your mood, creativity, productivity, and energy levels.
Perhaps you’re thinking of a way to take your water game up a notch; you can opt to drink alkaline water instead. Aside from keeping you hydrated, it also offers more benefits and can help improve your health. Read on to learn more.
What Is Alkaline Water?
Alkaline water refers to water with a higher pH value than regular water. To note, a pH measures the acid-base balance of water and ranges from 0 to 14. A substance with pH below seven or ranging from 0 to 6 is considered acidic, while above seven is basic or alkaline.
Alkaline water contains dissolved salts and minerals that make it more basic. Some of the main minerals contributing to its remarkable benefits include calcium, sodium, and magnesium. Calcium is essential for bone health and improves heart, nerve, and muscle function, while Sodium helps regulate blood pressure and improves muscle function. Magnesium, on the other hand, helps turn food into energy and potassium, essential for muscle function and promotes healthy digestion.
Considering the added benefits you can get, switching to alkaline water can be a good investment for your health. In general, you can get alkaline water from local supermarkets. Moreso, you can always make your alkaline water from regular water using an alkaline water filter system.
Furthermore, here are other notable health benefits of alkaline water:
- Helps Reduce Acid Reflux
Acid reflux is a condition that occurs when stomach acid and contents flow back into the esophagus. It happens when a ring muscle called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) is damaged or weakened. The primary function of LES is to prevent the stomach’s content from rising back up. When the stomach acid flows back to the food pipe, it irritates the pipe’s cells lining, resulting in discomfort in the form of heartburn or acid indigestion.
While acid reflux can be treated generally with over-the-counter medications or supplements, alkaline water has also become a remedy to reduce acid reflux. The high level of pH neutralizes stomach acid, just like antacids. More so, alkaline water can help kill pepsin, an enzyme that mainly causes acid reflux.
- Improve Bone Health
Research shows that drinking alkaline water rich in bicarbonate and calcium can positively impact bone resorption. It is believed that it can reduce resorption more than acidic water rich in calcium. Bone resorption refers to the process by which the bone tissues are broken down, and the minerals and calcium are released into the bloodstream. Ideally, less bone resorption promotes bone strength.
Furthermore, drinking alkaline water can help replenish what your body loses through acidosis. Acidosis occurs when your body contains high acid levels from acidic foods and beverages. Acidosis causes the body to work hard to maintain neutrality. It makes the body strip essential minerals like magnesium and calcium from the body, which may decrease bone density. Fortunately, alkaline water contains essential minerals like calcium, potassium, and magnesium, which work to maintain bone health. Alkaline water also works to prevent acidosis by neutralizing the acids in the body.
- Improve Cardiovascular Health
The pH level of the water you’re drinking can affect the minerals your body retains. For instance, drinking alkaline water can help the body absorb calcium and magnesium more. As a result, the absorbed minerals can improve heart functions.
On the other hand, drinking acidic water can make your body retain toxic minerals like mercury. Mercury is a risk factor for heart disease. Therefore, drinking alkaline water can protect you from its toxic impact. Additionally, alkaline water has antioxidant potential that can help fight cholesterol build-up, which is one of the significant causes of heart disease.
- Helps Lose Weight
Our bodies tend to be more acidic because of the food and beverage we consume on a daily basis. It includes processed foods, caffeine, and sugary drinks to name a few. As such, the body produces fat cells to help balance out the acid. Drinking alkaline water with high pH can help neutralize acidity and reduce fat storage. In general, those who drink alkaline water have a healthy alkalinity level, which means the body won’t produce as many fat cells to neutralize the acid in the body.
Another weight loss aid of drinking alkaline water is hydration. Water, in general, is a good appetite suppressant, especially when consumed before meals. It can help reduce cravings and additional calorie intake. Alkaline water can also help boost your metabolism and make you feel full longer, which is essential in reducing and managing weight.
Wrapping Up
Alkaline water is beneficial to our bodies. For one, it works by bringing balance to our bodies. Since many conditions in our bodies are caused by too much acid, drinking alkaline water can neutralize acidity, thus, can help improve one’s health and overall well-being.
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