By Joan L. McDaniel December 2, 2018
This is the third article in my covering the maintenance of pH balance
Part 1 is titled Inflammation and Acid pH Balance.
Part 2 is My Alkaline-forming foods
Part 3 is My Alkaline Water and pH
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Our Bodies Need Minerals
Even though Minerals compose only about 4% of the human body, they are essential nutrients needed in small amounts to help your cells generate energy, maintain homeostasis, regulate cellular metabolism, and maintain the acid – alkaline pH balance.
What is most important to know is our bodies cannot generate these minerals on its own. Minerals don’t come from inside our body, they must be obtained though diet. The Mineral daily requirements of the body can be obtained from a well-balanced diet but, like vitamins, excess minerals produce toxic effects.
Minerals Help Generate Energy
Minerals are basically the spark plugs of life, they keep the ‘battery’ going and to hold its charge like the Energizer Bunny.
Energizer bunny is the advertising slogan and marketing icon of Energizer batteries of North America. Image may be NSFW.
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batteries are an alkaline based product. Compared to the normal zinc-carbon batteries, Energizer batteries have a higher energy density and last longer, therefore the slogan “keep going and going…”
pH Balance and Minerals
Ph Balance is all about the body and its chemistry. The most important thing to know about maintaining pH is not only the food you eat but the water you drink. The water you drink is critically important because of only one thing – the minerals it contains.
I was in the process of writing an article on the importance of minerals to maintaining an alkaline pH when I remembered the importance of water. That article on minerals will appear next after I discuss what I found out about the importance of water.
Mini-Hydroelectric Plant
Cells in our body is like a mini-hydroelectric plant. Energy is provided mostly by the water we drink. Food does generate energy but the primary source of cell generated power is from water. Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Salt, and water are the key elements for energy regulation as fluid passes in and out of the cells.
Even though most of us think of food as our primary source of energy, water is actually our main source of energy at the cellular level.
Alkaline Water
The biggest mis-understandings about water is one bottled water and two the new fad currently called Alkaline water. Alkaline refers to its pH level. The pH level is a number that measures acidic or alkaline of a liquid substance on a scale of 0 to 14, 0 meaning acid, 7 is neutral, and 14 is alkaline. Regular drinking water (I assume they mean tap water not bottled) has a pH just above neutral, and Alkaline water should have a higher pH than regular water. Alkaline water is used to neutralize the acids in your body better and faster. Regular water has a pH of 7 (Neutral), Alkaline water has a pH of 8 or 9.
The pH of water is important, but what is more important is its minerals. Both content and the type of minerals. Minerals should come from natural sources and not be created (synthetic) from the Lab.
Minerals don’t make the water acid or alkaline but minerals give your body the ammunition it needs to fight off an acid balance. Your body uses these minerals as a buffer to fight off and to keep your body from an acid balance. Your body needs these natural minerals to help your body eliminate Carbon Dioxide CO2 and restore oxygen O2. In other words and antioxidant to help fight free radicals.
Body Automatically Alkalizes Water
In my exhaustive research, I found a web-site that impressed me because it punched holes in the concept of Alkalize Water. I wasn’t impressed with what I was learning about Alkaline water and the alarms in the back of my head kept saying something isn’t right with this type of water. Anyone who has read the articles on my blog know I am from the “Old School” as I outlined in the article Food and My Getting Well
Old School or Common Sense Thinking
My thinking is governed by — If my Grandparents who were hard-working moral people who lived off the land were part of the culture before me, didn’t use it and were healthy they why do I need it? Especially with something simple like natural food especially water then our current “Science” may have holes and is “Fake or pseudo Science” (Great for profits not so good for healthy humans).
In other words I believe in Common Sense and Common Sense isn’t taught in school especially the Ivy League. It was taught to me by my parents and grandparents and from people I have met in my long life. Constantly asking questions and Trial and Error is my science. I was sick, and have worked myself into health by what I ate. It took hard work and discipline and the driving urge to know the truth. That’s why I trust the bell in my head against the tons of advertising hoopla I was reading. The following web-site made my day.
I would like to quote from a web site called “Ionized” and alkaline water Snake Oil on Tap
Written by Stephen Lower who has created the blog
http://www.chem1.com/CQ/ionbunk.html
The Introduction to the article says
“The purpose of this page is to critically examine some of the claims about “ionized” and alkaline waters from the standpoint of modern chemistry and physiology in order to provide you with the information you need to make your own informed decision before opening your wallets to the hucksters of these products and whose claims are totally lacking scientific support.”
“Uptake of water occurs mainly in the intestine, not in the stomach. But when stomach contents enter the intestine, they are neutralized and made alkaline by the pancreatic secretions — so all the water you drink eventually becomes alkaline anyway.”
My Articles
As a way to talk about the complex subject of water, I will review my previous articles that reported on my research on water.
I have written three different articles on water the first Is Your Water Facet Loaded? October 2013 In this article I discuss the two toxins added to your municipal water the one that comes into the house via a water pipe and comes out of you facets.
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Chlorine and Fluoride. These chemicals are two of the most damaging substances to the health and digestive function of the human body.
If you are not familiar with Chlorine – Clorox contains commercial chlorine. Chlorine is a disinfectant which is a nice word but it means – Chlorine kills bacteria – all bacteria – good and bad bacteria. Once in your system this then destroys your Gut Flora which is your Immune System.
Fluoride is added to replace Mercury Purging. Purging was used as late as during World War II. It was used as an old way to fight disease call purging. It has been stopped and no longer is recommended. Purging was used to remove heavy metals from the blood of American shipbuilders using lead-based paint. People were told to drink pure Mercury to purge illness. A Mercury Purge was used to hopefully “stimulate the Immune System”. The treatment was never found to be successful yet, Fluoridation started about this time as a way to prompt the immune system into fighting the bacteria that was causing plaque and tooth decay. Fluoride is a waste product of the Aluminum industry.
Also in the article, I concluded I was going to find an inexpensive water filter for my tap and shower water. I found a good but relatively inexpensive practical charcoal filter that I could even use on the garden hose to protect my growing garden and protect me. The same type of filter they use in fish tanks. I was so broke I could only afford one. I decided to buy the garden hose filter. I put the garden hose thru the bathroom window to take safe baths. Since I had Fibromyalgia where each and every muscle is covered with a bio-film. I hurt almost everywhere. I would boil the hot water good thing this was during the summer months. That didn’t last long and I bought a filter for both my bathtub and kitchen water facet.
Manual Ways to Remove Chloride
I have also learned of manual ways to remove chloride from your tap water:
First Call your water company and see if your water contains chlorine or chloramine. If your water contains chlorine and not chloramine, here is a list of manual methods that will remove chlorine from your water.
Boiling
If you water contains only chlorine and not chloramine, you can drive the chlorine off by boiling the water for 15 minutes. This method will also remove most biological contaminants. Make sure you bring it to a rolling boil. Note this method also removes the oxygen from the water. The water may taste a little flat. Just shake it up or stir with rapid strokes to reintroduce some oxygen back in.
Off-gassing
If you water contains only chlorine and not chloramine, you can let it sit for 24 hours and the chlorine will dissipate into the environment.
Filtration
A simple charcoal filter is designed to strip your tap water of chlorine and chloramine, block carbon filters are necessary for effective removal.
Pros:
Fast, nearly as fast as your free-running tap
Removes both chlorine and chloramine
Easy to replace filters which can last up to a year
Same type filter used in fish tanks.
Since then I have written other articles about water. June 2014 Water — Bottled or Tap?
Things You May Not Know About Bottle Water
In this article I compared bottle water and tap water and concluded filtered tap water is better for several reasons and one of them being minerals. Tap water contains natural minerals from the earth. Bottle water doesn’t. Bottled water has been sterilized or pasteurized meaning all good and bad bacteria are killed and all minerals are destroyed. Plus the fact that almost all bottled water is in plastic bottles that are not only destroying the planet but you can’t tell me after the huge mass production that rows and rows of bottled water either sit at the bottom of a ship or in a cargo-bin for months and months neither being air-conditioned.
Even at room temperature, a very small amount of the plastic in the container will migrate into the water. We need water from nature and nature doesn’t like plastic. Plastic bottles that have been allowed to sit in the sun like in an enclosed car in direct sunlight will cause some of the plastic to leach into the enclosed water.
The next article I wrote July 2016 Drink Filter Tap Water Not Soda
Where I discuss the destructive contents of bottled Soda water.
For more information on tap water and the rules and regulations on municipalities that provide the tap water and bottled water that comes from municipal water
A note about bottled water from municipal sources
Get more information about public water systems.
An Update;
As I was researching out this article and pH in general, I returned to the Grocery store to again take a look at the bottle water aisle. I saw an interesting update. Bottle water that contains minerals. I don’t think they are calling it Mineral water. I’m not sure how they are adding the minerals but I am sure these minerals come from the lab and are synthetic not the real thing.
For more information go to;
The Differences Between Synthetic and Natural Vitamins
The lab may not know the difference, but you Body does its natural buffering isn’t generated. Remember minerals and vitamins are toxic when there is an overdose (OD). Your body uses natural vitamins and stores them but since it doesn’t recognize the synthetic vitamin it accepts it and the chemical formula causes your body to OD and not use the vitamin as intended. In other words not as a buffer.
I don’t trust the product nor do I trust the minerals. I want to be in charge, there isn’t any magic pill for me. After being poisoned for years with the Standard American Diet (SAD), I’m not going to trust their Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA’s) they add to processed food, nor will I trust what minerals they are adding back to bottled water after it has been sterilized. Oh the price was higher than plain bottled water because of the added minerals that they took out in the first place.
I will elaborate in the next article on Minerals now a further word about bottled water.
Bottled Water is Multi Billion Dollar Market
A bottle of water costs from $1.00 to I have seen as high as $3.00. A glass of water from the water facet in my kitchen might cost .0000000001 cents. Yet people pay for it as if its is some sort of luxury. Bottled water advertising and propaganda since the 1960 is attempting to replace the highly successful Soda Market of CocoCola and Pepsi with a new “healthier and safer alternative”. By the way, it didn’t take long, but Bottled Water sales have destroyed the Soda Market.
“The average price of water in the U.S. is about $1.50 for 1,000 gallons.”
According to a report by Deerfield Beach, FL, May 26, 2017 “Global Bottled Water Market will reach 280.0 Billion USD by 2020”
A New product on the market called Alkalizing Water
Now there is a new product called Alkalizing Water. They are selling a water ionizer filter some are for a few hundred dollars to some being several thousands.
Ionized or Alkalized Water
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From the same Website on Alkaline Water
“A Water Ionizer (also known as an alkaline ionizer) is a home appliance which claims to raise the pH of drinking water by using electrolysis to separate the incoming water stream into acidic and alkaline components. The alkaline stream of the treated water is called alkaline water.
Proponents claim that consumption of alkaline water results in a variety of health benefits, making it similar to the alternative health practice of alkaline diets. Such claims violate basic principles of chemistry and physiology. There is no medical evidence for any health benefits from alkaline water.” See site for more information and foot notes.
Side Effects of Alkaline Water
From my research I have found possible side effect of drinking Alkaline, Ionized or other Electrolyzed altered Water or even bottle sanitized water with or without minerals.
If taken on a regular basis, Altered water will reduce the acid in your stomach and small intestines. That means you start having difficulty digesting your food. Your body needs food if it can’t break down the food which then gets stored as waste (toxins). The food rots just like food left on the kitchen counter. These wastes are stored by your body in the fat cells you start to ferment (Are you Fermenting?). You start putting on weight and start loosing energy in general things start falling apart. Your belly gets bigger and bigger and doesn’t feel very good. Heart Burn anyone!!!!
Your body will burn the sugar you eat but that isn’t the energy your system needs. You start having food sensitivities allergies and other illnesses because your immune system can’t fight back because it is starving. You start getting sick and sicker. The toxins start slowly reducing the oxygen our body needs and organs begin to cry out in pain. Depending on how your body fights will depend on the further complications.
Types of bottled Water
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Distilled water and reverse osmosis – Distilled water is created by boiling natural water, capturing the steam. After the steam has cooled down the water is called purified. The water should be nothing but hydrogen and oxygen molecules, with a pH level of 7 (neutral) and no additional gases, minerals, or contaminants. This water is not meant for human consumption for it is sterile without any benefits. It is meant for machines especially for old Steam Irons.
As a Kid, I filled our steam iron many a times for I had to do all the ironing. I loved those starched white shirts, my mother let me start by doing only the collar and cuffs first. As I got older, I got to do the whole shirt. Thank goodness none of mine looked like the shirt pictured.
But I remember on the label of the distilled water bottle was a big label NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. “If SWALLOWED Drink two glasses of filtered water to reduce electrolyte dilution.”
You see Distilled water is free of all contaminates and everything else good bacteria, bad bacteria, minerals etc. Distilled water is meant for machines not people.
This negates the very reason we drink water for the minerals. Some camps say you can add minerals from a kit or from sea salt like Pink Himalayan salt or Celtic.
But why go to all that fuss????? When all you have to do is turn on the tap?
Distilled water is mainly used in manufacturing. Distilled water has a noticeably bland taste because all of the minerals that give water its flavor have been removed. Distilled water was originally used in steam irons to prevent calcium build-up, but this requirement has generally been relaxed in recent years. Certain baby formulas may use this type of water as a mixing liquid as well. Pediatric bottled water formulated with additional electrolytes may use it as a base.
From the same website Ionized water” is nothing more than sales fiction; the term is meaningless to chemists.
ionized – water that has undergone a process known as ionization. Essentially, this process segregates the acid and alkaline found in H2O (water). The water is subjected to electrolysis , taking advantage of the naturally occurring electric charge found within magnesium and calcium ion. When successfully ionized, this type of drinking water enhances the availability of oxygen and assist in neutralizing free radicals.
Mineral Water is natural water containing not less than 250 parts per million total dissolved solids. Mineral water is distinguished from other types of bottled water by its constant level and relative proportions of mineral and trace elements at the point of emergence from the source. No minerals can be added to this product.
Purified Water is water that has been produced by distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis, or other suitable processes while meeting the definition of purified water in the United States Pharmacopoeia. Other suitable product names for bottled water treated by one of the above processes include “distilled water” if it is produced by distillation, “deionized water” if it is produced by deionization, or “reverse osmosis water” if the process used is reverse osmosis. Alternatively, “drinking water” can be used with one of the purifying terms defined above (e.g., “purified drinking water” or “distilled drinking water”).
Spring Water is water derived from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth. Spring water must be collected only at the spring or through a bore hole tapping the underground formation feeding the spring. Spring water collected with the use of an external force must be from the same underground stratum as the spring, must have all the physical properties before treatment, and must be of the same composition and quality as the water that flows naturally to the surface of the earth.
Till Next Time
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