"You need to try to make your body more alkaline"

Hydrogen water – the most cost-effective medicine you can get
99% of the molecules in your body are water. In other words, the water you drink should be of the highest quality. What constitutes good water for your body, however, is unclear to most people. Water is surrounded by myths and misunderstandings, as well as many technical terms few of us fully understand. This article aims to help clarify some of these areas. It is worth noting that several of the processes in water when it is electrified are not yet fully understood from a scientific perspective. The article does not cover the significance of reduced surface tension, structures or clusters of water molecules, which will be the subject of a separate article.

Hydrogen water generator variants
It is the reducing properties of hydrogen that have been shown to provide the health benefits of drinking electrically treated water. Fundamentally, there are two types of machines/technologies on the market that increase the content of hydrogen H₂ (or other molecules containing hydrogen).

One technology is referred to as ionization machines (alkalizing machines), such as “Kangen water” and hydrogen water generators. The ionization machines produce alkaline water (basic water), which typically has a pH in the range 8-11. This is in contrast to hydrogen water generators, which change the water’s pH only to a limited extent, but increase the concentration of hydrogen gas (H₂) in the drinking water. The more hydrogen molecules there are in the water, the greater the antioxidant effect, which is best measured in relative hydrogen, rH2.

Unnecessarily expensive to buy ionization machines
The new hydrogen water generators provide more antioxidants (measured in rH2) than alkalizing ionization machines such as “Kangen water.” It is more affordable to buy one good water filter and combine it with a professional hydrogen water generator (should have a PEM membrane or equivalent), and you get better and more health-promoting water this way. In short, cheaper and better.

Briefly about acid/base
Whether a liquid is considered acidic or basic (alkaline) is determined by measuring the ratio between H⁺ (or more specifically the molecule formed in water, H₃O⁺) and OH^-. If there is an excess of OH^-, the water is said to be basic. A solution is acidic when the pH is between 1 and 7. A solution is basic when the pH is between 7 and 14. A solution is neutral when the pH equals 7

The abbreviation pH (“potential hydrogen”)
By potential hydrogen (or potentia hydrogenii), is meant how much hydrogen in the form of H⁺ ions there are in the liquid. When there is a balance between the ions in the water in the body, among other things the blood will be slightly alkaline (pH 7.35-45), and the fluids in the cells have slightly greater variation (normally slightly acidic with an intracellular pH around 7). The correct pH helps maintain a vital balance between electrically charged particles through the relationships between sodium and potassium, as well as magnesium and calcium ions.

The misunderstanding about health-promoting effects of drinking alkaline water
Much has been written about the alleged health effects of drinking alkaline water and how important it is that the body is not acidic. The latter is partly correct, but the method is wrong. The body should be in chemical balance and have a surplus of free electrons, which can counteract harmful/excessive oxidation. The latter can be measured biochemically by the presence of hydrogen in a liquid (rH2 = relative hydrogen or in English "aka rH2 Score"). Explanatory models and claims are widespread, but they do not agree with basic biochemistry. When alkaline water (which has an excess of OH^- base-forming ions) enters the stomach and encounters stomach acid, the ions are immediately neutralized by the stomach acid. This is at best entirely insignificant for the body's pH balance, and possibly the supply of base contributes to a temporary reduction of stomach acid, which is necessary to digest the food you eat. Which is highly unfortunate, as it is known that people with low stomach acid are often prone to irritable bowel, food intolerances and allergy.

Ionizing machines and base-forming substances/minerals
Facts and misinformation are mixed together, leaving the impression that alkaline water produced by electrolysis or by the addition of alkalizing substances is especially health-promoting. This is an incorrect conclusion. If one looks to nature, one will quickly discover that places where the soil and water are strongly alkaline (basic), there are few plants and animal life that thrive and survive. There are good reasons for that; let us look a little at the chemistry.

The most common electrolysis machines (so-called ionizing machines) split water (H₂O) and/or base-forming minerals into OH^- (base-forming) and H₃O⁺ (acid-forming) ions. Ions are electrically charged particles. The result is that the drinking water gets a temporary excess of OH^- ions, while the waste water gets an excess of H₃O⁺ and is then by definition acidic. In this way, the drinking water becomes basic (alkaline), with an excess of OH^- ions in the water you drink and a deficiency of H⁺ or H₃O⁺ (more precisely). This is a simplified presentation, as various clusters of molecules such as H₃0^- and temporary ions of the type H^- are also formed, as well as some H₂ (hydrogen gas).

Alkaline water with an excess of the ion OH⁻ is incorrectly presented as an antioxidant. The hydroxide ion (OH^-) cannot be reduced (counteract oxygen's ability to steal electrons through oxidation) like an antioxidant, but can together with H₃O⁺ form water (H₂O). A redox reaction is a chemical reaction in which one substance is reduced and another is oxidized (loses an electron). If you remove from the hydroxide ion one electron (as in a traditional redox reaction), you are left with one hydroxyl radical (OH), which is a powerful and destructive oxidant. Fortunately, that is not what happens in pure water even though the molecules are split by electrolysis.

ORP – oxidation-reduction potential. ORP measurements are not a reliable indicator for showing water’s reduction potential when looking at ORP alone. This is because the addition of alkalizing substances can lead to lower ORP (negative), without increasing the antioxidant capacity (the reduction potential).

If you look at the relationship between pH and ORP in pure water, you can also calculate so-called relative hydrogen, which is stated as rH2. The rH2 value gives a better picture of the water’s actual reducing ability or antioxidant potential. The reason is that the rH2 measurement indicates how many free negatively charged electrons are present in the water that can reduce an oxidant. That is, donate an electron and neutralize an oxidant.

Hydrogen, as in H₂, has two “free” electrons (negatively charged particles) and is therefore a very effective antioxidant. Relative hydrogen measurement has a scale from 0 to 42, where 0 is strongly reducing (contains a lot of hydrogen and begins to release hydrogen gas in the water) and 42 is oxidizing (excess oxygen and little hydrogen). Neutral water is about 28. This means that it is neither an antioxidant nor an oxidant, reducing nor oxidizing.

Examples of the relationship between pH, ORP and the rH2 value. The figures are not intended to be exact and are primarily calculation examples, but the “trends” are correct.

Water type pH ORP rh2

Typical tap water 7.5 +250 30 (weak oxidant)
Purified tap water 6.8 +200 27 (approximately neutral)
Purified/hydrogen water 6.8 -670 -2 (powerful antioxidant)
Ionized water Kangen 11.5 -650 8 (antioxidant)
Reverse osmosis (RO) 5.8 +200 24 (weak antioxidant)
RO with hydrogen water 5.8 -670 -4 (powerful antioxidant)
Artificially alkaline water 11 +250 37 (oxidant)

The negative values are outside the scale and indicate a temporary state in which hydrogen gas bubbles are formed in the water. By artificially alkaline water, what is meant here is tap water with added alkalizing minerals or sodium or potassium hydroxide (which are powerful oxidants and are strongly discouraged). Hydrogen gas will be reduced by oxygen, and therefore hydrogen water is most effective immediately after it is produced. If it is in a closed container of good quality and the container is full, the water’s quality will be maintained longer (depending on the container and the material, minimum 1 day). Note that when the water is slightly acidic (due to a very low content of dissolved solids (TDS)), the capacity to reduce (function as an antioxidant) improves!

Cellwater hydrogen water machines are developed by inventor Nuno Nina

Health-promoting water has some essential properties
The most important of them is to hydrate our cells
To hydrate means to add hydrogen, which is absolutely essential for cellular functions and metabolism to work. Molecular hydrogen or hydrogen gas (H₂) acts as an antioxidant and can donate one electron (reduce an oxidant). Relatively speaking, there is more «available» hydrogen and thus an actual antioxidant potential (measured in rH2) in slightly acidic water than in alkaline water if the so-called oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) is the same. The presence of hydrogen gas can also be stated in ppb, and in balanced hydrogen water this is typically in the range of 1100-1600 ppb (or 1.1-1.6 ppm, parts per million).

What is TDS, and what does it say about water quality?
The abbreviation comes from «total dissolved solids». TDS can often consist of positively charged ions of calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium, and negatively charged ions of carbonate, bicarbonate, chloride, sulfate, and nitrate. In addition, there may be other substances in the water that we do not want. These may be toxins, humus, etc. Somewhat simplified, one can say that many of these substances will «occupy» hydrogen, so that less hydrogen is available to hydrate proteins, etc. in the cells. Batteries need completely pure water with a low content of dissolved substances (TDS) to function as well as possible without deposits and without the water molecules reacting with the metals found in ordinary water. Simply put, our cells also function as batteries. If we use water that has low TDS (few dissolved substances), it is easier to regulate the functions in the cells. In addition, it is easier for the cells to produce structured «gel-like» EZ water or cell water from water with a high charge and low TDS.

Deposits can also form in the body, which we call calcifications, and which we also see in showers and pipes where the water contains too much calcium. If, for example, you purify the water with an Aquaphor J. Smith water pitcher or Crystal ECO fixed filter, you get a TDS in the range of 50, which is good. For special purposes, one can use water that has an even lower TDS (reverse osmosis or distilled water). Water that is slightly acidic and has low TDS has a greater ability to dissolve minerals and hydrate than water in which the molecules are bound to various substances.

«You must try to make your body more alkaline»
Have you heard this sentence or something similar? At the same time, have you heard that you should eat foods that form a base so that the blood becomes less acidic? First of all, the so-called “alkaline diets” with lots of vegetables and raw foods have not in themselves been shown to change pH in the blood or elsewhere in the body. There is no scientific basis for such a claim. Moreover, we do not want to be either acidic or very alkaline; we want to have balance. This is regulated primarily by the lungs and kidneys together in the body’s pH buffer system. Excessive protein intake produces a surplus of uric acid, which the body must then excrete (with water via the kidneys). Generally speaking, we are not trying to make the body alkaline, but to help the body maintain a natural and proper acid-base balance. Therefore, we should drink nearly neutral water (pH < 7). Certain substances and foods have a low rH2 value, such as vitamin C and certain fermented vegetables, etc. They therefore have reducing properties and function as an antioxidant.

Ionized alkaline water compared with neutral hydrogen water

• Alkaline water may help reduce stomach acid, which is unfavorable for digestion.
• Alkaline water does not cure cancer, reduce the risk of heart disease, or prevent osteoporosis.
  Neutral water has more available hydrogen, which is needed to hydrate the cells.
  Neutral completely pure water is slightly acidic and may counteract the occurrence of crystalline calcium.
• Neutral completely pure water does not contain too much calcium, which is a common problem.
• Alkaline water ionization machines are expensive compared with a good water filter and a hydrogen water generator (PEM), which gives better results.
• Compared with neutral slightly acidic water, alkaline water has less reduction potential (to a lesser extent it can function as an antioxidant).
• Artificially alkaline water may be harmful to health in cases including impaired kidney function.
• Your body is constantly striving to maintain a balance in the acid/base ratio (pH), and too much of either can be harmful to health. Water that is neutral or slightly acidic does not challenge the body’s pH buffer system.
• There are few scientific studies documenting benefits of drinking alkaline water instead of ordinary pure water. It is the presence of hydrogen and thereby a lower rH2 value that accounts for the positive effects and the fact that the water is purified before electrolysis.
• It is, however, well documented that a low rH2 value in the presence of H₂ gas in the water has health-promoting effects.

Conclusion: comparison of ionized hydrogen water and neutral hydrogen water
Recent research shows that the perceived health benefits of using alkalizing machines are due to the water being purified and the alkalizing process contributing to a higher content of hydrogen in the drinking water. These constitute the properties that are health-promoting.

Health effects of consuming water that has a high hydrogen content and a low rH2 value

• Functions as a selective antioxidant
• Supports natural gene expression
• Counteracts allergies
• Counteracts cell death (healthy cells)
• Counteracts the aging process
• Reduces pain
• Protects the skin
• Increases metabolism
• Regenerates other antioxidants
• Counteracts muscle fatigue
• Reduces the occurrence of lactic acid during physical exertion
• Counteracts diabetes
• Counteracts the growth of cancer cells
• Positively affects our ability to think, intellectual and mental performance
• Helps protect DNA and RNA
• Counteracts radiation damage
• Reduction of muscle fatigue during intensive training
• Reduction of oxidative stress after radiation treatment
• Positive effects in people with insulin resistance
• Positive effects in people with type 2 diabetes
• May have a preventive effect against Parkinson’s and other neurological disorders
• May have a positive effect on mood
• Has anti-inflammatory effects
• Contributes to increased energy metabolism and thereby to weight reduction
• May help protect the mitochondria and increase ATP production
• Daily bathing of the face in hydrogen water significantly reduced the extent of wrinkles over 3 months
• Contributes to faster wound healing
• May counteract overactive bladder
• May improve heart function
• May counteract hair loss
• May reduce allergic reactions
• May help reduce the effects of poisoning