ALKALINE WATER

The “pH” stands for power of hydrogen, which is a measure of how acidic or basic a solution is and has a scale of 0 to 14. Generally speaking, this scale allows us to determine whether we’re dealing with a solution that is acidic (low pH), neutral, or alkaline. Chemically pure water, for instance, has a pH of 7. The alkaline water is characterized by a pH of above 7.5, hence the name “ionized water” can sometimes also be encountered.

Water is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen, a perfect composition of two elements: a reducer (H) and an oxidizer (O). Research carried out by scientists from the Japan Water Research Center in Tokio showed that the content of minerals and other nutrients in water is not as important for human health as is its oxidation/reduction potential known also as redox. In other words, the redox potential is the most important indicator of water quality, when it comes to human health. Scientists have confirmed that the cells of the human body live the longest in an environment which has a negative redox potential. It is assumed that this is a range of -10 mV to -250 mV (millivolts). What’s more:

• the larger the positive value of the redox potential (e.g., from 0 mV to +400 mV), the greater is the number of free radicals in the liquid and thus the more negative is its impact on health
• the lower the negative redox potential of the liquid, the more beneficial their health-promoting effects are on human body (e.g., -10 MV to -250 mV).

Interestingly, Humniska near Brzozowa in Podkarpacie region is a place where you can find the source of water with a high PH level and negative redox potential. It comes in bottles as well, and it’s called “JAVA.” It is a mineral water which contains sodium, potassium, lithium, calcium, magnesium. Its special properties support both the cardio-vascular and nervous systems, and help fight free radicals. It’s especially recommended to people who are under a lot of stress almost every day.

Alkalization and training

Alkalizing your body before physical exercise speeds up the removal of lactates, and raises the so-called lactate threshold. This means that we feel muscle fatigue during training way later and get rid of the post-exercise soreness faster. The natural way of alkalization is to consume large quantities of raw vegetables and fruits along with drinking basic water with a high sodium bicarbonate content. Australian Institute of Sport lists sodium bicarbonate among the supplements whose effectiveness have been proven. It is believed that sodium bicarbonate supplementation is effective in endurance- and strength-oriented sports as well as these that are endurance- and speed-oriented. Moreover, it reduces acidity and delays muscle fatigue through faster removal of excessive hydrogen ions.

To conclude, I can safely recommend Java, as I’ve been drinking it for a few months now. It’s worth including it your diet from time to time.

I will try to explore the subject of mineral waters at greater length soon!