Ionized water

Ionized water? Are you skeptical? You should be!

We know that skeptics, wisely, will not precipitously accept any claim; however, what is often missed is that a true skeptic will also not impetuously reject an idea without first evaluating the evidence. This website will provide some of that evidence for those who are true skeptics.

I have done research in Japan at Nagoya University with leading experts on this type of water and let me tell you the science and the marketing information are currently two totally different things. Many will be aware that I maintained a Facebook group (now over 1500 members) for nearly a year, in which I sought to eradicate the false marketing claims and promote scientific accuracy. (Click here to learn more about the author)

I could only reach so many people and many didn’t like my truthful approach instead of the tell-you-what-want-hear scam. Therefore, this webpage is dedicated to offering everyone the most accurate, correct and current scientific information and enlightenment regarding electrolyzed reduced water, also known as: alkaline water, ionized water, micro-clustered water, magical water, etc. (see below to learn why all these names are misnomers).

Why do so many professionals think the water is a scam?

These “water ionizers” have been approved by the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare back in 1964. The devices really found their way into America only within the last decade. However, those who brought this technology were marketers/salesmen and not scientists or doctors. As such, much of the factual information has been lost, distorted, changed and virtually abandoned altogether.

This has made ionized water appear to be nothing more than “snake-oil on tap”. The amount of fictitious, pseudoscientific-hogwash psychobabble has suppressed the factual science so much that most scientists, doctors, professors etc. emphatically state that such devices are mere marketing schemes.

It is unfortunate that many “skeptics” quickly dismiss ionized water without researching the benefits. Their pretentiousness is preceded by the irony in that they hypocritically do the very thing they are accusing the water advocates of doing, that is “dismiss scientific enlightenment. I personally have been mocked and ridiculed for believing in this “snake-oil”. And have sought to distance myself from the very thing that brings me truth health. The stigma is destroying the entire industry. But one can hardly blame these good people for refuting the numerous fallacious claims made by these companies/distributors.

In reality there is enough factual and scientific information about this water that people don’t need to be making up false claims about it, but most people involved in the business don’t know all the supporting information (see PDF of over 500 references).

What is in a name that which we call "ionized water", if any other name would be as false. 

Misnomers

Almost all the names given for this water are kinda all misnomers, and to a chemist they are scientifically meaningless. For example:

1. Reduced water suggests that the water has a lower elemental or molecular oxidation state (although this is the best name so far as it describes the process not the intrinsic nature)

          a.) This is impossible water is H2O, which always has the same oxidation state.

2. Alkaline water suggests that water itself is alkaline

          a.) This is impossible alkaline means less H3O+ and more OH- ions, but water is still just plain H2O.

3. Ionized water suggests that the water molecule is actually ionized (e.g. H2O+, H2O,-)

          a.)  Ionized means that the atom or molecule contains an electrical charge; this is completely not true with this water. Such species would be highly reactive.

4. Micro-clustered water suggests that the water is now micro-clustered and smaller.

         a.) This is impossible and contradictory. Water forms hydrogen bond associations with neighboring water molecules that changes every femto-second. These transient associations are in the nano-scale. Much smaller than a micro-scale.

5. Magical water suggests that the water contains enigmatic mystical properties

        a.) This is simply not scientific and therefore needs not to be addressed.

Each of these terms is discussed in great detail in the Scientific Answers PDF. The best term to use is actually hydrogen water, meaning the water contains dissolved molecular hydrogen.

Three vitals of life Water, Oxygen and Hydrogen

Water

Water consists of two hydrogen atoms (H) and one oxygen atom (O). These two combined together form the life giving substance, water (H2O). The importance of water is well known. Obviously life would not exist without it. Indeed water is virtually the most important nutrient for our health1; you can go without food for about a month, but only about three days without water can be fatal. It is used for more than just maintaining body temperature, but also for absorbing nutrients, eliminating wastes2 and many cellular processes including enzyme catalysis3. Optimal body hydration is important for optimal cell hydration and cell functioning4-5 (i.e. communication, signaling, cell metabolism, gene expression, etc.).

It makes sense that maintaining optimal hydration is requisite for overall health and longevity. In fact the 2003 heat wave in Europe led to an excess of 50,000 deaths 6-7. The majority of these deaths have been attributed primarily to dehydration6-7. Indeed dehydration is a primary cause for the hospitalization of the elderly and in many patients it often results in fatalities1. Dehydration is also linked to infection and if over looked, mortality may be greater than 50%8. Did you know that losing only 1%-2% of your bodyweight in water significantly impairs both athletic and cognitive performanc9-10?

If water is so vital for you, could it be possible that the elements that create water are also vital for you? Oxygen is one of those elements. We know that oxygen, just like water, is required for many forms of life. It is actually oxygen that powers the breakdown of food in the mitochondria of our cells. This is because oxygen wants electrons; our bodies use this property of oxygen to produce ATP (energy)2. Oxygen is known as the final electron acceptor of the respiratory transport chain (ETC) and effectively pulls electrons from our food through these metabolic pathways. This is how food is oxidized; it is all done by oxygen, a powerful oxidizer3. Unfortunately, this same oxygen that offers life slowly brings death by oxidizing not just our food, but our body as well. In fact up to 4% of the oxygen we breathe turns into oxygen radicals, which subsequently oxidize (age) our cells3.

Interestingly, at the end of the electron transport chain oxygen basically picks up hydrogen and becomes water. That’s right, hydrogen the other part that makes water. It turns out that while most people have been focusing on just the importance of water, or oxygen they have forgotten the other element that makes up water. Indeed hydrogen is kind of like oxygens’ complimentary counterpart. These two are interconnected and interdependent, hydrogen and oxygen are in some ways analogous to the concept of Yin and Yang respectively.

Hydrogen is the lightest of all elements; it is what powers the sun in fusion to produce helium. It is a powerful reducing agent (antioxidant) that is necessary for life. Interestingly, oxygen is one of the most powerful oxidizing agents—also necessary for life. It is the combination of these two polar opposites that form the universal solvent H20, which allows life to exist. During the production of “ionized” water via electrolysis of water, hydrogen gas is produced as a product at the cathode [2H+ + 2e- --> H2 (g]. Electrolysis is actually how hydrogen gas is mas-produced by manufactures11, and has been long desired as an alternative energy source.

Hydrogen gas has recently been demonstrated to be a novel and effective therapeutic signaling molecule. In fact an article12 published in the journal of Nature Medicine (one of the most respected scientific journals) found that hydrogen gas could selectively scavenge only the cytotoxic free radicals. Numerous other studies have been published demonstrating hydrogen’s therapeutic potential. For example, the following13 is from a journal abstract regarding hydrogen gas.

Recent basic and clinical research has revealed that hydrogen is an important physiological regulatory factor with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic protective effects on cells and organs. Therapeutic hydrogen has been applied by different delivery methods including straightforward inhalation, drinking hydrogen dissolved in water and injection with hydrogen-saturated saline. This review summarizes currently available data regarding the protective role of hydrogen, provides an outline of recent advances in research on the use of hydrogen as a therapeutic medical gas in diverse models of disease and discusses the feasibility of hydrogen as a therapeutic strategy. It is not an overstatement to say that hydrogen's impact on therapeutic and preventive medicine could be enormous in the future.

This review article also points out that the research demonstrates that drinking hydrogen water is often more effective than inhaling hydrogen gas.

If you or someone you know want to learn about the benefits of this type of water and are curious as to the science behind it then the information provided on this site is a must have.