Kangen Water: Change Your Water, Change Your Life
Sellers of new-age water treatment products charge outrageous prices for zero plausibility.
Filed under Consumer Ripoffs, Fads
| Skeptoid #139 February 03, 2009 Podcast transcript | Listen | Subscribe |
|
By Brian Dunning, Skeptoid Podcast
Episode 139, February 03, 2009
http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4139
Today we're going to take a scientific look at one of the latest multilevel marketing fads: healing water machines, devices costing thousands of dollars claiming to ionize or alkalize your tap water, and claiming a dazzling range of health and medical benefits. Sold under such names as Kangen, Jupiter Science, KYK, and literally hundreds of others, these machines do either nothing or almost nothing (beyond basic water filtration), and none of what they may actually do has any plausible beneficial purpose. They are built around the central notion that regular water is so harmful to the body that their price tags, as much as $6,000, are actually justified. They are essentially water filters with some additional electronics to perform electrolysis. They are sold with volumes of technical sounding babble that may impress a non-scientific layperson, but to any chemist or medical doctor, they are laughably meaningless (and in many cases, outright wrong).
Here's a really quick coverage of the basics of the real science. The pH scale goes from about 0 to 14. 7 is neutral pH. Lower numbers are acidic, and higher numbers are alkaline. All aqueous solutions contain some dissociated water molecules in the form of positive hydrogen ions (H+) and negative hydroxide ions (OH-). When there are more hydroxide ions, it's because the solution contains positively charged metal ions like sodium, calcium or magnesium for those hydroxide ions to bind to, thus making the solution alkaline. Conversely, when there are more positive hydrogen ions, there needs to be some other negatively charged ions, usually bicarbonate (HCO3-) and the solution is thus acidic. Pure water has neither such chemicals in it, and so it has neutral pH. To electrolyze or ionize water, you must add some chemicals of one type or the other. For a more complete discussion of this, I recommend a web page by Stephen Lower, a chemist from Simon Fraser University.
Make no mistake about it: Ionizing and alkalizing water machines are a textbook example of inventing an imaginary problem that needs to be solved with expensive pseudoscientific hardware. It should come as no surprise that the most expensive of these machines are usually sold through multilevel marketing: A one-two punch that first takes advantage of a layperson's lack of scientific expertise to interest them in the product, and then takes advantage of their lack of business or mathematical expertise to convince them that they're virtually guaranteed to become a millionaire through a pyramid model.
The company making the most noise right now is Kangen. They use the slogan "Change your water - change your life." Google that phrase; 49 million results currently. It's a brilliant slogan; everyone would like to change their life for the better, wouldn't it be great if all it took was changing your water? I glance over some of these URLs: MyMiracleWater.com, VeryHealthyWater.com, WaterMiracles.com, AlkalineWaterMiracle.info — people selling easy answers to imaginary problems.
Let's look at the claims these sellers make. The successful MLM companies generally dodge government regulators by making no illegal claims themselves; instead, they allow those claims to be made by their independent distributors: First charging them big dollars for the privilege, and then burdening them with the risk of needing to make untrue health claims in order to recoup their foolish investment. So I've looked over a lot of these independent web sites and come up with what they generally say are the reasons you need to buy their supposedly special water.
Ionized water molecules form into hexagonal rings, which allow the water to be better absorbed by your body.
Water molecules in liquid water move about freely, there is no way that a hexagonal arrangement could be formed or made stable. Stephen Lower is one of many chemists who have debunked this completely made-up and chemically implausible claim. If you're interested in the details, read his excellent web page "Water Cluster Quackery". Hexagonal arrangements of liquid molecules are not a characteristic of ionization or of alkalinity. Such hexagonal arrangements in water have never been observed or plausibly theorized, and thus there is no way that it could have ever been established that such water is better absorbed by your body — since it doesn't exist. The human body has never had a problem being hydrated by water, so this particular claim is a perfect example of a pseudoscientific solution to an imaginary problem.
Kangen water is ionized, which makes it alkaline.
Pure water actually cannot be electrolyzed and dissociated into ions to any appreciable degree, it's not electrically conductive enough. You need to have a significant amount of minerals and impurities in order for it to be electrolyzed, which is why Kangen and its competitors also take your money for packets of mineral salt additives that you need to add to your water to make your machine do anything. Do this, and your water will become chemically alkaline with a cargo of dissolved metallic ions in solution. Basically, your $6,000 Kangen machine, when used with the provided chemicals, is a way to accomplish the same thing as making a weak Clorox bleach solution. To chemists, the term "ionized water" is meaningless.
Alkaline water promotes healthy weight loss, and boosts the immune system.
Two scientific-sounding medical claims, both too vague to be testable. "Immune system boosting" is medically meaningless, which is something we'll delve into in greater depth in a future episode. Basically, you can't be healthier than healthy; and a healthy immune system is a delicate balance between attacking foreign bodies and attacking your own healthy tissue. "Boosting" it, if such were possible, would cause your own healthy tissue to be attacked. This is called an autoimmune diease, such as lupus. It's not something you want. Alkaline water has never been shown to have any such effect.
Alkaline water is an antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals and slows the aging process.
We've discussed the whole phenomenon of antioxidants before too, in Skeptoid #86 about antioxidant fruit juices. Although oxidation does contribute to some age-related diseases, consuming antioxidants does not affect normal aging. Even if they did, you wouldn't get them from alkalized water: When water is alkalized, it contains hypochlorites, which are oxidizing agents. Basically, the opposite of what is claimed.
Drinking alkaline water reduces the acidity in your body and restores it to a healthy alkaline state. It is well known in the medical community that an overly acidic body is the root of many common diseases, such as obesity, osteoporosis, diabetes, high blood-pressure and more.
This is absolutely false. Your body's acidity is not, in any way, affected by the pH of what you eat or drink. Eating alkaline food stimulates production of acidic digestive enzymes, and eating acidic foods causes the stomach to produce fewer acids. Your body's primary mechanism for the control of pH is the exhalation of carbon dioxide, which governs the amount of carbonic acid in the blood. Nor has there ever been any plausible research that shows any connection between these diseases and body acidity, this also appears to be completely made up. This is a classic case of using simplistic terminology to sell a product to the scientifically illiterate.
Alkaline water detoxifies and cleanses your colon. Without it, mucoid plaque clogs your bowels and contributes to many diseases.
The dreaded mucoid plaque again! Mucoid plaque is an invention by the purveyors of colon cleansing products, it has never actually been observed in medical science. Since it doesn't exist, it's impossible to say whether it would be affected by an alkaline diet. Digestive enzymes neutralize the pH of whatever you eat by the time it gets to your bowels anyway, so it's hard to imagine what science might possibly support a claim such as this.
Kangen water is an anti-bacterial cleanser. Kills 99% of bacteria on contact. Spray it on your throat to prevent a cold.
Fascinating. They also promote Kangen water to aquarium owners because of its amazing power to support bacteria. The fact is that some bacteria are affected by pH, and some are not. Most thrive in a particular range, but relatively few bacteria are affected by the small 1 or 2 point difference between tap water and water that has been treated with Kangen mineral salt additives. It could be argued that sellers are simply saying whatever they think their target market wants to hear.
Acidic water, like that from your tap, is harmful.
The most common source of acidic water is the cleanest and most natural of all: normal rainwater, with a pH of about 5.6. Most tap water is within a point of 7, which is neutral, so your tap water is probably already more alkaline than clean rainwater. Are you still convinced that this is so dangerous that you need to drop two to six thousand dollars on a machine that any chemist or dietitian will tell you has no credible benefit?
There is one possible use for water if it could be made heavily alkaline, and that's to treat heartburn in the esophagus. But it wouldn't be anywhere near as effective as, for example, a single Tums tablet. However, water so treated would have to be so laden with salts that it would be virtually undrinkable. For more on this, see Skeptoid #128 for a discussion of treating gastric reflux.
Please, everyone: Before you invest money in a Kangen machine or any similar competitive machine, or in becoming a distributor for them, do two things. First, ask a chemist to review their scientific claims; and second, ask a doctor about the medical claims. Maybe you'll find that I'm wrong and the multilevel marketing people have discovered whole new branches of chemistry and medicine heretofore unknown to science. Or maybe you'll find that they're simply another spin-the-wheel-and-invent-a-new-age-pseudoscience trying to separate you from your money with fantastic technobabble and glamorous personal testimonials, and just maybe you'll save those thousands of dollars.
© 2009 Skeptoid Media, Inc.
References & Further Reading
Bender, D.A. "The Crystal Truth about Ionized Water." Health Watch. 1 Apr. 2005, Newsletter 57: 8.
Hanaoka, K. "Antioxidant effects of reduced water produced by electrolysis of sodium chloride solutions." Journal of Applied Electrochemistry. 21 Aug. 2001, 31: 1307–1313.
Hiraoka, A., Takemoto, M., Suzuki, S., Shinohara, A., Chiba, M., Shirao, M., Yoshimura, Y. "Studies on the Properties and Real Existence of Aqueous Solution Systems that are Assumed to have Antioxidant Activities by the Action of "Active Hydrogen"." Journal of Health Science. 1 Jan. 2004, Volume 50, Number 5: 456-465.
Lower, Stephen. "'Ionized' and Alkaline Water." Water Pseudoscience and Quackery. AquaScams, 11 May 2009. Web. 14 Jan. 2010. <http://www.chem1.com/CQ/ionbunk.html>
Melton, Lisa. "The antioxidant myth: a medical fairy tale." New Scientist. 5 Aug. 2006, Issue Number 2563: 40-43.
Novella, S. "Have You Had Your Antioxidants Today?" The Science of Medicine. The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, 1 Nov. 2011. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. <http://www.csicop.org/si/show/have_you_had_your_antioxidants_today>
Uthman, E. "Mucoid Plaque." Quackwatch. Stephen Barrett, MD, 7 Jan. 1998. Web. 3 Feb. 2009. <http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/QA/mucoidplaque.html>
Reference this article:
Dunning, B.
"Kangen Water: Change Your Water, Change Your Life." Skeptoid Podcast. Skeptoid Media, Inc.,
3 Feb 2009. Web.
24 May 2013. <http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4139>
Discuss!
10 most recent comments | Show all 337 comments
Proponents of miracle water,
Have you considered that perhaps the benefits you are experiencing are simply from drinking more water? ...as opposed to other less healthy alternatives (ie. sodas, etc.)? I propose that you try this experiment: replace your miralce water with normal tap water or bottled water. I contend that you will experience the same benefits; that the positive results you've experienced are a result of a healthier diet and better hydration attributable to replacing your previously less-healthy drink choices with water....not specially treated water....just water. The treated water is just a marketing ruse which takes advantage of this very simple concept.
1-Ton, TX
May 15, 2013 8:32am
Peter, Alphen a/d Rijin, the Netherlands,
On PubMed, in the search box, enter "electrolyzed reduced water" which is the scientific name. Do me a favor after you read several entries on PubMed give the other readers your honest opinion on whether you think ERW is fake or for real. At least you seem to be willing to do your own research. I will also email you scientific research that I found if you would simply send me your email address.
1-Ton, TX,
At least you are thinking, but the answer is no, regular drinking water has a positive ORP (+300 or higher) and a neutral pH (7). ERW has a negative ORP (- 400 or lower) and a pH of 9.5 or higher these can be measured with a ORP/pH meter which can be purchased at Amazon.com, if you are interested. The negative ORP of electrolyzed water is a measure of the electrons that scavenge free radicals in a person's body and the higher pH is a measure of the alkalinity, which helps the body become more alkaline and less acidic. These two components is what makes ERW drastically different than bottled drinking water. You are right in that drinking sodas and other sweet drinks are very acid forming and are poor choices if someone is trying to improve their condition of low-grade acidosis.
charleschen91350@gmail.com
Charlie, Los Angeles
May 15, 2013 3:22pm
Exactly 1-Ton , most people do not drink enough water in a day, if you go from little to no water consumption per day to drinking the recommended amount of regular tap water & cut out caffeinated drinks, your body benefits, we all have certain amounts of toxins in our bodies because of poor diets and or chronic illnesses and drugs, drinking large amounts of regular water helps flush these toxins out. Take me for example I have a congenital disease along with chronic pain, I started to cut out all the crappy drinks IE: pop coffee ect and started drinking large amounts of tap water, within a week I felt better things digested better and moved through my body better, I also had more energy. I stopped drinking a lot of water again and reverted back to pop coffee tea ect and wouldn't you know it, I felt crappy all over again, so in my opinion it isnt MIRACLE water that helps, its any basic tap water, if you drink the recommended amounts and cut out the garbage drinks your body will benefit greatly as it is being given enough water to help flush the system of toxins..I didn't need a $4000.00 machine to figure it out, just basic knowledge of water and how much of it the body needs to function correctly
laura, vancouver bc
May 15, 2013 3:39pm
Laura,
What you are saying is basically correct, change what you put into your body and you will feel different, either better or worse. Replace processed food with organic fresh fruits and vegetables and it will make a world of difference (Ref: Joel Fuhrman or Neal Barnard). Yes, plain tap water with a pH of 7 is literally light years better than Coke with a pH of 3.2. However, whatever you may think in your head, plain tap water will not give you the same benefits as electrolyzed reduced water with a pH of 9.5 and an oxidation reduction potential (i.e. it reduces oxidation inside your body) of -400. Do you think anyone would spend $4000 for a machine that produces the same benefits as tap water? People are not that stupid. Don't be guilty of dismissing ERW with little or no knowledge. You can be like Peter of the Netherlands in an earlier post and go to pubmed.gov (pubmed is not a commercial website, but a database run by the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health)search "electrolyzed reduced water". It will pull up 87 scientific research entries on electrolyzed reduced water (alkaline for internal use) and electrolyzed oxidizing water (acidic for external use). Every entry describes electrolyzed water as beneficial. To skeptics of ERW, do your research and educate yourself so you don't bash ERW which is helping millions of people right now and could help one of your loved ones, if not yourself in the future.
charleschen91350@gmail.com
Charlie, Los Angeles
May 15, 2013 8:47pm
"Do you think anyone would spend $4000 for a machine that produces the same benefits as tap water? People are not that stupid."
Yes I do, and yes they are.
"ERW which is helping millions of people right now and could help one of your loved ones"
No doubt that it is helping people. But my argument is that the majority of said people dont NEED ERW; that they would experience the same beneifts from normal water. People regularly fall prey to scientific jargon that they neither understand nor research and consequently purchase things that they don't need. This is the basic sales principle behind ERW and other new-age/trendy health treatments and fad diets.
1-Ton, TX
May 16, 2013 7:09am
1-Ton is correct. Until people realize that science, and not belief is what proves fact vs. fiction, millions will fall prey to ruses such as this.
Water is water is water. Your body adjusts/adapts to the minor swings in pH.
Rob, Holt, MI
May 16, 2013 11:43pm
I only tried the water once. I work in Afghanistan and all I drink there is bottled water as there is no drinking water. For me I drink about 8 bottles per day minimum to hydrate in the heat or cold. It is a very dry climate in the southern part of Afghanistan and I am in Kandahar. But I can tell you after drinking the Kangen water just one evening I felt more hydrated and the next day I had to drink a ton of my reverse osmosis tap water as I was so thirsty and could not feel as hydrated. My wife had some left and I drank her's in the morning. She has pain in her joints and slept through the night after drinking the water and was so mad that I drank her water as she was trying to see if that was the reason. Read Suzanne Sommer's book, "Knockout" an interview with Doctors and tell me how smart most doctors are. They know little about nutrition as it is not taught in school and the way the treat cancer is only the standard of care taught in school. They are taught to either cut it out, radiate it out, or chemo it out. That is the standard of care taught in med school. chemo is THE biggest money maker for all hospitals and look at the pharmaceutical adds on TV now! Talk about snake oil! And doctors read and endorse all kinds of stuff that is killing us in the pharmaceutical field. Cancer is still on the rise isn't it? How smart are we in dealing with the different types of cancer and yet they treat them all as if they are the same! Even Jesus had is doubting Thomas
Dennis, 32937
May 17, 2013 6:10am
Charlie, I find that you take offence to anyone's comments or opinions that do not reflect your own. My opinion is just that, mine. Contrary to what you think I have tried the kangen water, a friend of mine is a distributor, I found no more benefit in it to the way I felt as I did with regular water, as I stated before I have a congenital disease which causes me great grief, it effects my liver and pancreas, the kangen water did nothing more to help this then the regular water I drink ,sorry if that bothers you but it is the truth. Please do not assume I am not educated because I didn't buy into the product or it's claims. Please show me one credible oncologist who says that kangen water cured one of their patients, some of the claims being made can be very harmful if people choose water over medical treatment. Kangen water did NOT cure me, it didn't shrink my tumor that I have had since birth, it didn't open my bile ducts and cure them, it didn't help me digest my food any better nor did it make my liver or pancreas function better. If you put certain claims out there you can expect that not everyone will jump on the bandwagon and you have to expect that people who have tried it will speak their minds whether it is in agreement with you or not. I disagree with you that it has more benefits then tap water as it did nothing different for me then my tap water has. I tried it for my friend, I gave it the benefit of the doubt, it didn't do what is claimed, plain and simple
laura, vancouver bc
May 17, 2013 8:51am
Laura,
Thank you for your post, but contrary to your sentiments I do not take offense from opinions different than my own. I'm trying enlighten the skeptics that come to this site believing that ERW is a scam, because it's not, it's for real. And the benefits people receive from drinking it, absolutely cannot be duplicated by tap water. I'm sure your Kangen distributor friend was well intentioned when she had you try the water, but apparently she did not know the limitations of ERW. You explained your disease is congenital and by definition congenital means present since birth. ERW cannot be expected to help with issues you had from birth. It won't help a person born blind nor will it help a baby born without limbs. ERW helps people with low-grade acidosis. Low-grade acidosis develops over time, because of stress, environmental pollutants and our acid-forming American diet. Disorders that are typically relieved are the ones that deal with over-acidity, e.g. acid reflux, gout, etc., and the so called "age related" diseases e.g. arthritis, joint pain, diabetes, high blood pressure, gastrointestinal disorders, etc. These disorders have to do with diet and lifestyle, they are not present at birth, they are adult diseases. Florence is a 76 year old female who one year ago was taking 8 different medications for high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis and depression. After 8 months of drinking ERW her doctor took her off of all medications. Possible with tap water? No.
Charlie, Los Angeles
May 17, 2013 9:05pm
Make a comment about this episode of Skeptoid (please try to keep it brief & to the point). Anyone can post:
You can also discuss this episode in the Skeptoid Forum, hosted by the James Randi Educational Foundation, or join the Skeptalk email discussion list.
What's the most important thing about Skeptoid?
![[Valid RSS]](/images/valid-rss-rogers.png "Validate my RSS feed"){kind=small}
@Charlie,
Where on PubMed can I find this scientific research and in what journals has this research been published?
Peter, Alphen a/d Rijn, the Netherlands
May 15, 2013 6:37am