It’s hard to keep up with all the stupid these days so until now I had not heard of the alkaline water scam.
People selling “alkaline water” (which is just a solution of various hydroxides, mostly calcium hydroxide) claim that a) it aids hydration, or that b) it helps keep the body slightly alkaline.
Trials have shown that a) is not true: it doesn’t hydrate better than tap water.
b) doesn’t even mean anything. All parts of the body have a different pH. Your stomach contents are strongly acidic and that’s how it is meant to be: if you neutralised it with alkalis, your digestion would be fucked up. Your blood pH is around 7.3 and is not affected by the alkalinity of your drinks.
I don’t really get why companies are allowed to make false claims about products in their advertising or labelling. If I sold something on ebay on the basis of bogus claims, the buyer would have legal recourse. Why doesn’t this apply to claims made in advertising and labelling? Maybe I should just file a report with the ACCC on all of these products and see what happens.
Case in point: Alka Power
https://alkapower.com.au/
“ALKA POWER WATER HAS THE HIGHEST STABLE PH LEVEL 9-10”
It’s not clear to me that a solution with a 9-10 pH can even be called “water” but I will let that pass. In what sense is this the highest stable level?
“ PROVIDING A MORE EFFECTIVE HYDRATION AND IONIC MINERAL ABSORPTION”
Nope.
“Our alkaline water products is guaranteed to hold its pH better than other waters”
This seems a bold claim but I can’t readily dismiss it without testing. The pH of a bottled solution of hydroxides should really only change because of reaction with the container. Are their containers better?
“Only Alka Power water has the proper pH (9-10) to sustain maximum hydration”
Tests have shown these solutions hydrate as well as tap water.
“ and help balance your body’s pH.”
It doesn’t do that, and if it did, you’d die.
“We believe in providing only the best for our consumers in Australia with active minerals, ultimate hydration and the utmost purity for you to enjoy day in and day out.”
Active minerals is not a very useful phrase but I’ll just take it they mean minerals used by the body, and in fairness the metal ions in these solutions can be used by the body, so I’ll let that pass too. But how can they profess “utmost purity”? Pure water has a pH of 7. By claiming the pH is 9-10 they are insisting that this product is NOT pure.
Elsewhere on the site:
“What is Alka Power & where does it come from?
Alka Power is an ionic calcium infused alkaline water with a stable pH of 9-10. Our process includes infusing ionic minerals (calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium) from farmed coral, mother of pearl and seashell which are all ethically sourced and are 100% absorbed by the body. Alka Power provides the ultimate hydration your body requires day in and day out.”
Whoop de doo. Calcium is calcium. It doesn’t remember its previous life in a coral polyp.
“Why does litmus paper pH provide false results?
A reminder to everyone that EASYpH litmus paper is designed for urine and/or saliva and is not intended to test the pH level of water. EASYpH is used to see how your body responds to drinking alkaline water. Use a pH meter if you want to test water.”
I can’t think of a reason why an aqueous hydroxide solution with a pH of 9 to 10 would not show a blue colour on a litmus strip. I’m not sure what they are getting at here.
“WHY ALKA POWER WATER?
CLEAN, REFRESHING TASTE
ABSOLUTE PURITY
ULTIMATE HYDRATION
STABLE PH (9-10) GUARANTEED
IONIC CALCIUM-INFUSED WATER”
Again with the purity! What the fuck do people think purity means? Again with the ultimate hydration! No!
I will accept that this is ionic calcium-infused water that has a stable pH 9-10 that has a clean, refreshing taste.
