I attended the London Camexpo complementary,Natural and Integrated Healthcare show on 15th October 2006 and came across the Water Ionizer Neuro Electrolysis Machine.

website: www.thewaterionizer.co.uk

The machine separates incoming mains water by zapping it into acid water and alkaline water.

In a nutshell:

1. They claim that it is healthier to drink alkaline water rather than acid water from their machine.

2. That most of the toxic residue in the mains water is filtered out with the pre solid carbon filter and that most of the other contaminants are released in the acid water, whereas the alkaline pipe offers water which is free from pesticides, hormones, nitrates etc.

3. It is the rich negataive ion configuration of the alkaline water which makes it the best water to drink.

4. It is better than Reverse Osmosis water because the research of one of the main inventors who as I understand is also a medical Doctor has discovered that due to a near absence in minerals in RO filters and distilled purifiers, minerals are leeched from the body to re-establish balance in the water. As water in nature "naturally" has minerals in it. There is apparently a lot of research gone into this.

5. The reverse osmosis wastes a lot more water in the filtration process than the ionizer. as it uses a lot more mains water to produce the same amount of purified water.

6. Their logic is that drinking alkaline water creates an alkaline environment.

I would love to know what your take is on the above. And the guy promoting this machine seemed quite genuine as he said that if someone could prove to him that the alkaline water produced by the ionizer had some negative side effects on the body , he would stop promoting it.

 

Here is Kelly Kurtz's response to my questions:

 

D: I was under the impression that humans are able to digest organic minerals and hence colloidal minerals?

K:We must first define colloidal minerals, which I am sure you will find a few variations of. The definition I learned was: colloids "&/or ions" have the same charge repelling one another where as "ionic solutions" contain both charges attracting one another.

I could get even more detailed such as: negatively charged ions have an abundance of electrons and are also called anions and positively charged ions have fewer electrons than protons and are also known as cations. Ionization is the actual process of separating the positive and the negative as the water ionizer machine does. Though the ionizer does create ionized minerals or solutions of ions it doe NOT create ionic solutions. OK it can be confusing.

One can say "I have a solution which contains "ions" of calcium", which is where the confusion can come from. If you have a solution whose pH is 10 (as with the ionized water machine); you have "ions" or colloids of calcium; a solution whose pH is 1.9 as with the other side of the Ionized water machine, you would have "ions" or colloids of chloride.

I realize that if one wants to get "technical", one could take one part ionic chloride and 10 parts ionic calcium and then call it an ionic solution, BUT it would not be any healthier than any other colloidal solution. In Nature, a healthy ionic solution has a pH under 7 to ensure that all minerals are properly "bound", or "reacted" or "chelated"(to bind or Greek for claw). This is the big difference.

Manufacturers of high quality minerals "chelate" or "react" minerals with organic acids. If they did not, the body would NOT recognize &/or absorb them into the cells; and there are plenty of published papers that more than prove this! Instead, colloidal minerals (and a solution with a pH over 7) will start to plaque arterial walls and reek havoc on our kidneys. ( I could write paragraphs on this alone.)

D: Or are colloidal minerals and organic minerals two different things?

K:Yes, these two are very different. Plants can utilize either minerals bound to acids (in an ionic solution) and/or ions of minerals (or colloidal minerals- separated). Plants have a sort of stomach acid if I may, called fulvic acid. Fulvic acid is Nature's chelator. Plants like to absorb minerals one ion at a time. Rain is for the most part low in minerals and high in carbonic acid (due to our environment problems it can contain too much carbonic acid and contain sulphuric acid from oil and gas industries and active volcanos: acid rain). The carbonic acid in rain water also exists in natural healthy river water as long the temperature remains at 4 degrees C. The carbonic acid in rain water helps to create an ionic solution of minerals within the soil. Some plants grow better in slightly alkaline soil and some plants prefer more acid soil. (simpler is better)

As human beings, we can ONLY utilize balanced ionic mineral solutions (+ & -) or chelated mineral complexes which again involves both positive & negative charges; a pH under 7 will guarantee this; and we can NOT utilize ions of minerals or colloidal minerals (both are one & the same).

D:Is this not what the ionizer produces in the high alkaline water then?

K:The ionizer, as mentioned above produces: IONS of calcium on one side or which-ever mineral is highest in the premix, and ions of chloride or sulphate, etc. depending again on which acids are present.

D:So far I have come to accept that we cannot use the inorganic minerals contained within bottled mineral water (or at least a good part of them) most of these minerals are dumped by the kidneys or if the kidneys are weak then the inorganic minerals are likely to form stones in the blood as well as in the kidneys. (obviously in extreme cases) So if you could enlighten me further it would be very much appreciated.

K:The mineral "ions" which are produced by the "ionizer" are INORGANIC, which you are right: CAN NOT be utilized by humans. They DO form stones and plaque arterial walls the reason for the stroke/heart attacks I described earlier.

Bottled water that contains minerals was "once" healthy at the source. Mind you we have messed with most of the water ways around the world which are far from being healthy anymore. In Nature, undisturbed, the minerals found in "healthy" rivers, creeks, brooks, streams, etc. ARE ORGANIC. If you are looking for bottled water: look for the least amount of calcium and the most amount of magnesium &/or silica BUT with a pH below 7 (good luck! As it is hard to find) Once can easily add a little apple cider vinegar or "freshly" squeezed ripe lemon juice. (fresh means an abundant of electrons).

How you may be asking?

Remember, organic minerals are minerals bound to organic or carbon based acids. Water at a healthy 4 degrees C. contains carbonic acid an organic carbon based acid. Healthy rivers, etc. also contain foliage all around. This foliage has roots which contain fulvic acid which is a very small molecule which in small quantities becomes leached out into the water. Fulvic acid is also a carbon bound acid. ALL healthy rivers, creeks, etc. have a pH between 5.5 and 6.8; meaning the minerals are "balanced ionized solutions" (+ & -) MEANING "BOUND" to ORGANIC acids. The lower the pH the more minerals that need to be present in order to maintain a healthy balance. You don't want too much acid either, always balance. Nature is always about balance. WHEN bottled, the temp. of water no longer maintains 4 degrees C. WHICH means that carbonic acid breaks down into CO2 and because plastic does breathe (unless treated) water can and will go eventually flat. When carbonic acid drops out SO do the minerals. They are NO longer balanced ionized solutions or chelated but a mixture of: colloids and chelates depending on the pH. The higher the pH the more colloids or similar ions repelling one another.


Furthermore in this paragraph.

People who lived the longest and were healthiest drank water with little or no calcium but higher in magnesium. These waters were also between 5.5 and 6.8 in pH depending the amount of minerals. The more minerals, the lower the pH: in order to keep the minerals chelated. People who were living the shortest and were most unhealthy drank water with a pH over 7 and loaded with calcium. It is too bad his work isn't translated from French to English because the world needs to know.

D:You explain that the more minerals in water the lower the pH so as I understand it the more acid the water. If this is the case then how is it that rain water and water distilled by cold evaporation has an absence of minerals, but still has a low pH?

In school I think they still teach that pure water has a pH of 7, BUT this is inaccurate. Pure water in a "vacuum" has a pH of 7. Water is a solute and a very powerful one. Pure water instantly absorbs carbonic acid from the air. The purer the H2O the more acid it pulls in. Ultra pure water will have a pH closer to 5. Drinking distilled water is the opposite end of the scale: ALL acid no minerals, where is the benefit?

Which is healthier? A completely unripe sour "organic-ly" grown lemon: OR a perfectly ripe lemon grown with pesticides and fertilizers?

The answer is neither, BUT if I had to pick I would be eating the ripe lemon which has the right balance of acids and minerals. A ripe lemon will actually taste sweet as opposed to sour.

D:Right I guess with these questions answered I will know where I stand. At the moment I am still pro RO filters although I have now ordered a TDS to make sure my filter is not saturated; and am still wondering which optimum supplement is best to add to the RO water in order to replace the missing minerals. A dilution of Himalayan Crystal salt, and a drop of fresh lemon juice are no doubt beneficial, but if you think there is something else which can offer greater enhancement than the latter then I am all ears.

K:RO water is a better choice than distilled but for different reasons that you might think. First, there are RO systems that will make water ultra pure like a good laboratory distiller. The difference is: in Nature, water is evaporated through the AIR. Air is always moving and circulating (except in some homes); in a distiller the air that is present in the boiling chamber is the exact same air that will be there 9 hours later. Water is constantly boiling and evaporating and condensing, when does it circulate fresh air?

This is the reason distilled water will taste flat and RO water will not ever taste flat. Distilled water actually changes the hydrogen bond angles. Water in an evaporated "gaseous" state has a hydrogen bond angle of 104.5 degrees; RO water can range from 105 to 107.5 degrees; Ice has a bond angle of 109 degrees; the Ganges (at 8,000 feet or higher) has a bond angle of 108 degrees: there has been much research at two different Indian Universities regarding the Ganges unique ability to oxidize pollutants faster than any other water (which is true but this is another long story); Distilled water has hydrogen bonding angle of 104.5 degrees??!! Which it shouldn't as this is the same hydrogen angle of water in a gaseous state. When water freezes it expands as does the hydrogen bond angle; when water is heated and the hydrogen bond angle contracts. Distilled water: BAD ):

D:The topic of water crops up again and again during the fasting meetings we hold in London.

K: I love educating those who are passionate about learning, fortunately you caught me at a good time because I don't usually have a lot of time. To finish off: take good clean RO water and add 5ml MAX. of Trace Mineral Research Concentrace out of Utah into 19 L. If your RO isn't super efficient at removing minerals than add about 2.5ml to 19 L. Whatever you do, DON'T follow the directions on the bottle. I have not experimented with Himalayan salt so I wouldn't know the proper amounts but accuracy is IMPORTANT. Better to have a little more organic acid than not enough so the lemon juice idea is a good one except you may want to add more than a drop depending on the size of the container of course. If you are going to use himalayan salt shoot for about 68 - 88 ppm at a pH of 6.6; 40-60 ppm at a pH of 6.8.