This article is from the Lifestyle>Pulse of Sunday Times dated Nov 21, 2010.
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Miracle water?
Those who drink alkaline water say they reap health benefits but doctors are cautious
By Nicholas Yong
Marketing manager Paul Wu paid $2,200 for an ionising machine more than a year ago.
Via a process called electrolysis, such machines convert tap water into what is variously called alkaline ionised water, alkali reduced water and, most popularly, alkali or alkaline water.
The makers of these gadgets say alkaline water is full of negative hydrogen ions and packed with minerals such as potassium and magnesium.
They help reduce excessive acidity in the body, the makers add, noting that excessive acidity can lead to increased production of fats and even degenerative diseases.
After doing some research, Mr Wu, 31, decided to give the machine a try as he had been suffering from gout for the past three years, often leaving him with swelling in his big toe and ankle.
He said he saw an improvement in his condition after drinking more than 2 litres of alkaline water a day for about five months. 'The intensity of the attacks is a lot milder now and they are also less frequent,' he notes.
'This is definitely due to the alkali water as my diet has not changed much and I have not changed my medication either.'
But in a recent letter to The Straits Times forum, Dr Yik Keng Yeong said 'no reputable scientific or medical journal has recorded any beneficiary effects of alkaline or ionised water'.
The general practitioner with 30 years' experience told LifeStyle that the whole notion of alkali water is just 'pseudo-science'.
He notes: 'The body already has a natural process by which it maintains a healthy pH range, so what is the point of putting in alkali water?'
In his forum letter, he had also urged health authorities to act against the makers of ionising machines so that unsuspecting patients would not be 'hoodwinked'. In response to queries from LifeStyle, the Health Ministry and the Health Sciences Authority said that these machines do not fall under their purview.
The Consumers Association of Singapore says it has not received any complaints in the last two years.
Ionising machines have been available here as early as 1988. A quick check revealed that there are at least three companies selling the contraption, at prices from more than $2,000 to about $3,000.
They claim that by connecting the machines to the water supply, the alkaline water helps with everything from weight management and improving the body's immunity to slowing down ageing and coping with chronic diseases such as gout and diabetes.
Consumers of alkali water say it tastes different from normal water, describing it as 'clear', 'softer' and 'easier to swallow'.
'My whole family has become so used to the taste and texture that we find water from other sources different and not as nice,' says housewife Daisy Choo, 62, who has been using the device for five years.
But she admits to not discerning any obvious health benefits from drinking the alkali water.
Other doctors whom LifeStyle spoke to echoed Dr Yik's point that the body already has a natural means of regulating pH, or acidic, levels.
Endocrinologist Dr Stanley Liew of Raffles Hospital says: 'Humans have a robust buffer system, which tightly controls the body's pH constant at around 7.4, so we usually don't have to meddle too much.'
The pH level is usually affected only when, for example, the person is ill, if he has experienced a drug overdose, has severe asthma or is hyperventilating.
'The amount of alkali present in ionised water is physiologically insignificant. Changing the pH of our drinking water would not even change the pH in our stomach, let alone the rest of the body.'
Dr Liew adds that there is no credible scientific evidence to support the benefits of alkali water.
According to the Public Utilities Board website, the pH level in Singapore's tap water is between seven and nine.
But former Member of Parliament Dr Koh Lam Son says the subject of alkaline ionised water has been widely researched in the last 50 years, mainly in Russia, Japan and South Korea.
He runs his own clinic specialising in age management and regenerative medicine.
He cites a clinical study at Kyoto Perfectural University of Medicine in 2008 that apparently shows proof of the beneficial effects of alkaline water in diabetic patients and people with insulin resistance.
Through the website of H2O LifeSource, a company which sells ionising machines, customers can pose questions to Dr Koh about alkaline water. The company's products are also on sale at his clinic.
H2O LifeSource's managing director Kenneth Wong says that since the 1990s, there have been 'more than 100 research papers in reputable journals and conference presentations' related to alkaline reduced water and their benefits.
Still, even as the debate over alkaline water draws a range of opinions, these appear to make little difference to consumers such as Madam Choo.
'Although there does not seem to be any hard scientific evidence supporting ionised water, it does not seem to pose any harm either. So we will continue to drink it,' she says.
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