Water Ionizer Myths

If you’ve done even one search looking for information about water ionizers or the benefits of ionized alkaline water, you may have seen some pretty scary stuff!

In this article, we’ll address some of the myths out there about water ionizers and drinking ionized alkaline water, where they originate and give you some tools to help you judge the validity of negative claims.

Consider the Source

In most cases the negative reports you see come from people in the water filtration industry.  Water ionizer sales have had a serious impact on sales of basic water filtration products.  Reverse osmosis, in particular, has been hit hard because of the acidity of water treated by RO and the growing awareness of the benefits of alkalinity in diets.

Sometimes it’s very obvious – you’ll see these negative claims featured on water filter e-commerce websites.  Sometimes you’ll see articles and interviews on websites that have some affiliation with a water filtration company.  In other instances, you’ll have to dig a little deeper to find an author’s association with a company that sells basic water filtration products.

Another source of negative claims, debunking or dismissal of the benefits of ionized water are medical professionals – some “traditional” medical professionals, others recommend alternative and natural medical therapies.  When it comes to those “alternative” practitioners you’ll find that they either have their own line of health supplements, are a spokesperson for a line of health products or resell health supplements.

Some people “debunk” ionized water just because they like to debunk.  They often have published multiple articles or web pages debunking other products, concepts, treatments or therapies.  It won’t take long to realize that there are far more people – and far more qualified – people talking about the benefits of the water than those saying ionized water is “junk science.”

Dated or Incomplete Information

A number of negative articles include snippets or abstracts of research done using ionized water.   Most of these quoted research papers were done over a decade ago using older water ionizer technology that did not use the same advanced filtration technology or electrodes found in most water ionizers today.  At one point water ionizers used aluminum electrodes!  (Respected and established water ionizer manufacturers now use platinum/titanium electrodes exclusively)

If you were to read the full research paper – which can be very technical and very long – you would discover a number of things, including statements from those conducting the research stating that any negative effects could be caused by the actual machine used to produce the water.

You’d also find that the test subjects were typically given the water to consume freely, not as recommended for consumption by the water ionizer industry.  And you would also see that researchers found the test subjects had significant and notable benefits as a result of drinking the water.

Myths Within the Water Ionizer Industry

Sadly, some companies seem to have turned on others in the industry in order to compete with newer, more advanced technology coming onto the market.

Claims that certain brands of water ionizers have been associated with titanium poisoning and some water ionizers have plates that will melt are just a couple.

While basic claims like this can be found repeatedly, if you do some serious searching you’ll find that the brand of water ionizer machine responsible for “poisoning” changes depending on the source – and likely which company they feel is the greatest threat to sales at the time.

What you won’t find is any reference to the actual individual who suffered this poisoning nor will you find where any type of lawsuit was filed as a result.    And melting plates?  Stop for just a minute and think about it – water ionizer casing is made primarily of hard plastic – which would melt into a puddle long before the plates would melt.  And the heat required to melt titanium?  Your kitchen would probably burn down before enough heat was generated to melt titanium plates.

Common Sense

In most cases, your own common sense will be enough to keep you from being sucked into false claims about water ionizers and ionized water.  A little research will yield a lot of information about the components used to make water ionizers and the safety and stability of these products.

You’ll also find a number of noted health professionals who recommend ionized water to their patients and drink the water themselves.  There are several noted researchers who have agreed that drinking ionized alkaline water offers the potential for cellular regeneration and disease prevention.

Before you buy into myths, hype or spin about dangers – consider the source, look for the “full story,” not just the selected “snippet” and then take a look at the number of professionals – and their qualifications – recommending ionized alkaline water for treatment and prevention of disease.