History

Electrical water ionization (a misnomer - actually 'water electrolysis) is not a recent invention. The principle behind water ionizers has been well understood since at least 1832 when British scientist, Michael Faraday, proposed the First law of Electrolysis.

In modern water ionizers an electrical current is run across a pair of oppositely-charged metallic electrodes (usually of platinum) placed in water. Positive ions that find themselves close to the negative electrode will acquire electrons, and negative ions near the positive electrode will lose electrons.  This reaction, producing a synthetic water with no natural equivalent, 'splits' water into two separate streams of high pH (>7.0) and low pH (<7.0) water. The low pH water is often sent down the drain while the high pH water is promoted as a miracle elixir.

Medical Certifications

Despite claims to the contrary, the Japanese Ministry of Health  has only ever issued Safety Approvals, originally in 1954, but has never certified or tested the health effects of 'alkaline water'.

However, despite almost 50-years of these devices being available there is still no medical clinical data on its long-term health effects. We have come a long way since 1954....

Whilst they were popular in Japan during the late 1970 to 1980's with more than two dozen companies involved, all this changed in the early 1990's.  In 1992 a Japanese Government - Ministry of Merchandise Trade Report was released that was highly critical of both 'alkaline water' health claims and the sales tactics used to sell water ionizers.  Today, apart from later entrants from Korea, only one or two companies in Japan continue to persevere.

Claim #1 - Alkaline Balance

There most prominent claim is that 'alkaline ionized water' can help 'alkalise' the body and prevent all manner of disease. Consumers are confronted with vague health claims about water ionizers such as this gem;

".. it also alkalizes your drinking water -at the touch of a button. Not just alkalize slightly; which is next to useless in balancing your body; but alkalize to your choice!"

No medical evidence or even definition is offered of what is actually meant by this claim. Just a vague implication that 'alkalizing' your drinking water will help balance your body.  You decide its credibility.

Debunked

The idea of drinking alkaline water was never seriously contemplated until the late 1940's when Japanese scientists were in search of a solution to the severe drug shortages of the post-war period. The researchers initially found that electrically ionized alkaline water with a pH greater than 8.5 to 9.0 was a potential solution for suffers of Gastric Hyperacidity and other primarily digestive conditions. Water ionizers were never approved as 'alkalising' or 'balancing' devices.  Furthermore, even their ability to combat the conditions they were approved for has been in doubt for at least 10-years;

Renowned alternative and complementary health specialist Dr Andrew Weil, director of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, makes this comment about alkaline water in response to a query from a consumer;

When one of the United States most respected health specialists says the health claims for 'alkaline water ionizers' are 'bogus' it is time to take notice. But he didn't stop there;

It is not the purpose of this article to explain the dozens of valid ways to achieve balance however, for a scientific explanation on how the body deals with acidic wastes see here and for more information click here 'ionized water'.