Fact Check: Is Alkaline Water Good For Health?

CLAIM:
Alkaline water is beneficial for health.

FACT:

There's no evidence to prove any significant benefits of drinking alkaline water.

A First Check reader recently posted a query on the WhatsApp tip line, asking if drinking alkaline water would provide any health benefits. "Is there any health benefits of alkaline water? The readers asked on our AI-powered tip line, where readers can share health-related claims that they would like us to fact-check.

Alkaline water is the latest in health fads, with multiple influencers and health gurus advocating its benefits. For example, see here and here.

It is part of a larger concept of an alkaline diet, which is based on the assumption that some foods could cause one's body to produce acid and that this is harmful to health. The belief is that by consuming certain foods and beverages, one could alter the body's pH or acid levels. Further, changing the pH of the body could help one accrue health benefits, particularly in weight loss. 

What exactly is it, and is it really beneficial? 

Alkaline water, often called alkaline ionised water abbreviated AKW, is water which has a pH level that is slightly higher than regular drinking water. pH is used to measure the acidity or alkalinity of water and has a scale of 0-14 with 0 being extremely acidic, 14 being extremely alkaline, and 7 being neutral. Most drinking water falls within the range of 6.5 to 8.5 and the acids or alkalis found in water are usually extremely dilute.

Alkaline water is made by adding selected alkaline minerals to purified water, and then electrolysing the mineralised water to produce streams of acidic water and alkaline water; the resulting alkaline water has a pH within the range of 9-10. It is mainly suggested as an electrolyte supplement during episodes of intensive perspiration, and sold in bottles.

When regular or alkaline or regular water reaches down to the stomach area, there's little difference in the resulting stomach pH, since the stomach pH is tightly controlled and the stomach pH range by and large remains constant (in the range of 1.0 and 3.5, with a mean of approximately 2.0).

"Even if you drank enough alkaline water to slightly raise the pH of your blood, your kidneys would quickly go into action to rebalance your blood pH", according to a Harvard Health Publishing article.

Are there any health benefits to drinking alkaline water?

There's no evidence to prove any significant benefits of consuming alkaline water for potable purposes, since the tightly regulated stomach acids will invariably neutralise the alkaline content and restore the overall stomach pH or acidity to its regular levels, i.e., between 1 and 3.5.

The only scientifically proven benefit of alkaline water is that it offers relief from acidity and heartburn, since alkaline water of higher levels could marginally increase the overall pH and thus lower acidity of the stomach, albeit temporarily.

In fact, instead of helping, alkaline water could actually prove harmful. The potential disadvantages of consuming alkaline water for potable purposes with pH levels 9 and above include bitter taste, possible harm for individuals who are already on medication to lower stomach acidity, since the stomach pH could rise to levels that may alter normal blood levels of chemicals such as potassium, in particular for patients with kidney disease. The condition is termed Hypokalemia and may spiral into health disorders such as cardiac disease, renal failure among some others.

(This story was originally published by First Check, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective)