Alkaline ionized water is obtained as a result of electrolytic process and it is called also antioxidant ionized water. If acidic ionized water obviously differs from the ordinary water in terms of chlorine flavor and acidic taste, then alkaline water almost does not differ from the ordinary water in terms of taste, flavor or color. Only in terms of taste a bit, this can be explained by its alkaline features.
Alkaline ionized water differs from the ordinary water by several parameters, the most important of them are:
– redox-potential index;
– pH level;
– presence of trace elements.
Alkaline water is characterized by antioxidant and immunostimulatory potential, it accelerates tissue regeneration and stimulates energy production processes, regulates carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, increases red blood count in case of anemia and irradiation. By treating type 1 and type2 diabetes, administration of ionized water packed with trace elements reduces the need for insulin in patients by 20-70%.
Free radicals and antioxidants
Nowadays development of many diseases is related to destructive effect of oxidants – free radicals. Such diseases could be the following ones: cancer, diabetes, asthma, arthritis, atherosclerosis, heart diseases, Alzheimer disease, thrombophlebitis, disseminated sclerosis and others.
Free radicals affect us continuously and more often than it may seem. Tiredness, development of inflammation and infection, premature aging, devastating diseases – in all these cases mechanisms that cause destructive effect on our body are triggered by free radicals.
The change of human life conditions has resulted in continuously increasing number of factors elevating the free radicals concentration in the body, at the same time the number of antioxidants in the food decreases.
What are the free radicals
In organic molecules, from which the body is made up, electrons are situated in pairs on the outer electronic layer. Free radicals are the molecular elements that have one or several odd electrons on the outer electronic layer that makes them especially active and aggressive. Moreover, such molecules tend to return a missing electron taking it from surrounding molecules.
ROS (reactive oxygen species) is used to indicate free radicals. Free radicals can be not only derivatives of oxygen, but also of nitrogen, chloride, reactive molecules can be also free radicals – for example, hydrogen peroxide?
Free radicals are divided into primary, secondary and tertiary
Primary free radicals emerge constantly as a result of body activity as a protection mean against bacteria, viruses, foreign and degenerated (cancer) cells. Thus, phagocytes release and use free radicals as a weapon to fight against microorganisms and cancer cells. Thus, phagocytes, first of all, quickly consume a large amount of O2 (respiratory explosion) and then use it to develop active oxygen forms.
Secondary radicals unlike primary ones do not fulfill any physiologically useful functions. On the contrary, they cause destructive effect on cellular constructions trying to deprive “full-value” molecules of electrons, as a result, a damaged molecule becomes a free (tertiary) radical itself, but most often its a weak one, unable to destruct.
Formation of secondary free radicals (not radicals in general) leads to development of pathologic conditions and lies in the basis of carcinogenesis, atherosclerosis, chronic inflammations and neuro-degenerative diseases.
Factors causing redox-potential imbalance towards oxidation and formation of secondary free radicals are multiple and directly related to our lifestyle. Radiation, smoking, drinks with high oxidizing potential, chlorinated water, environmental pollution, soil oxidation and acid rains, excessive number of preservatives and convenience food, antibiotics and xenobiotics, computers, TV-sets, mobile phones. We cannot control many of the above-mentioned factors, something we do not want to change; however, we are able to change most of them. Anyway, we should know our “enemies” by sight.
Chain reactions with participation of free radicals may be a reason of or may complicate development of many hazardous diseases, like asthma, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, atherosclerosis, heart diseases, phlebitis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, epilepsy and disseminated sclerosis, depressions and others.
Antioxidants
Our body uses antioxidants to fight with free radicals – substances able to catch and neutralize free radicals. Antioxidants are successfully applied for treating a wide range of diseases.
The most popular antioxidants are vitamins C, E, B, A. Ascorbic acid or vitamin C appears to be the most popular water-soluble antioxidant.
Alkaline ionized water is a multifunctional antioxidant
Alkaline ionized water is a multifunctional antioxidant. On the one hand, it is able to act as an antioxidant, and on the other hand – it can repeatedly intensify effect of enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants – vitamin C and flavonoids.
In America and Japan the alkaline water is called a reduced water, because it has a reduced negative redox-potential. Latest researches of the Japanese and American scientists have proved the high antioxidant activity of reduced water.
Ionized water antioxidant activity protects DNA from injury. Alkaline water catches and neutralizes hydrogen peroxide compounds, and a hydrogen peroxide compounds’ destructive effect on the DNA decreases considerably. Alkaline or reduced water intensifies ascorbic acid antioxidant activity.
So alkaline ionized water on the cellular level:
• demonstrates antioxidant properties comparable with vitamin C and other popular antioxidants;
• intensifies vitamin C activity protecting DNA from destructive influence of free radicals.