This is the start of a series on Water Choices. There are many choices on the store shelves, but what bottled water is the best in providing Total Body Health with Superior Hydration? We think we know the answer, but it is ultimately your decision as the Customer. It’s always good to revisit new trends, research, and innovations in the bottled water market so that we all become more informed customers.
The 2014 Bottled Water Directory recently published by BevNet Magazine (March 2014) listed 47 different bottled water brands, including AquaNew’s Watt-Ahh®. Approximately 25% of these brands have a pH between 7.9 and 9.5 plus (very alkaline). The high pH results from either being artificially raised (e.g. the addition of some chemicals similar to that of baking soda) or from natural sources of mineralized water. One brand is fascinating in that the company claims to bottle water sourced below the earth’s surface, under the Great Smoky Mountains, and the water is exposed to open air for the first time when the customer twists off the cap.
We all share in the concern over oxidative stress (the source of disease), which is due in part to the body’s failure to buffer and balance to a neutral pH. The pH of our blood is approximately 7.2, which is close to that of pure water such as Watt-Ahh®. Consuming alkaline foods and liquids may provide some electrons and antioxidants; however, the acids in our stomach (which have an extremely low acidic pH that is between 1 and 3) will immediately offset the alkalinity to allow for proper digestion. If, on a regular basis, we ate only food and water in the range of 9 pH or higher, it may trigger the acid pumps in our stomach to work harder, and this can cause acid indigestion.
Experts agree that nothing you eat or drink is going to substantially change the pH of your blood. Your body works to keep the blood pH level constant and close to neutral. Next time we will cover some of the intrinsic ways that the body actually buffers pH.