Is alkaline water good for high blood pressure or just more false hope? In this article, I’ll answer this question, thoroughly, with scientific evidence to back up my conclusions.
Our main goal here at AWMS is to share fact-based alkaline water information and tips to help you heal and/or prevent health problems.
For more than a decade, heart disease has been the number 1 cause of death in the United States. Heart attack falls under the umbrella of heart disease-related deaths.
I’m sure if you’re here right now, you or a loved one are concerned about high blood pressure leading to a heart attack or stroke.
Through my research, I’ve found promising evidence linking alkaline ionized water therapy to a reduction in high blood pressure, primarily through better hydration.
You may be saying to yourself, Well, if all I need to do is stay hydrated to lower my blood pressure, why not just drink more tap water?
In this article, you’ll learn why alkaline ionized water that’s rich in alkaline minerals, including magnesium, does a better job of hydrating your body than plain tap water.
First, let’s answer the primary question.
Is alkaline water good for high blood pressure?
There are two primary reasons why alkaline water benefits people with high blood pressure:
- It contains a more bioavailable form of magnesium (easier for your body to absorb).
- The water itself is easier for our bodies to absorb, leading to better hydration throughout the body and lower blood viscosity.
A 2001 study in Shangai measured participants’ blood glucose, cholesterol, and blood pressure before and after 3 to 6 months. The study resulted in the participants lowering their levels in each of the three categories.
Alkaline water made by a quality water ionizer contains alkaline minerals that are easy for our bodies to absorb.
Calcium, magnesium, and potassium are all found in alkaline ionized water.
Magnesium plays a critical role in balancing essential minerals in your body.
There’s evidence showing that magnesium deficiency causes hypertension even when you have sufficient supplies of calcium and potassium.
We’ve all heard about cutting back on salt to lower blood pressure. If you eat too much salt and too little potassium, it throws off the ratio.
Well, the same study found that a magnesium deficiency can mimic a potassium deficit, which happens when you eat too much salt and too little potassium.
Why is the calcium and magnesium in alkaline water easier for our bodies to absorb?
Calcium and magnesium found in tap water are both bicarbonates.
After water enters a water ionizer, alkaline minerals and acidic bicarbonate ions are split.
This results in alkaline calcium and magnesium hydroxide, which is easier for our bodies to absorb.
In one study, athletes consumed 4 liters of alkaline mineral-rich water daily.
The study found that the athletes who consumed alkaline water had improved hydration status, quicker recovery times after workouts, and better acid-base balance than the participants who drank normal table water.
An Interesting Study Linking Magnesium to Reduced Heart Attack Deaths
If you rewind back to 1992, there was a study on the effect of a magnesium injection during a heart attack. The study included 2,300 patients in Great Britain.
A magnesium injection given during heart attacks reduced the death rate by 25%.
This is a significant enough number to conclude that magnesium plays a critical role in the prevention and treatment of a heart attack.
Today’s Geriatric Medicine reported that a decade-long study of over 70 years of cardiovascular disease research concluded that magnesium deficiency plays a larger role in heart disease than even saturated fat and cholesterol.
The heart contains the highest levels of magnesium, and magnesium regulates calcium levels in the heart. Without sufficient magnesium, calcium levels rise dramatically, leading to angina or even heart attack.
Best Way to Drink Alkaline Water to Lower Blood Pressure
By now, you know how important magnesium and hydration are for keeping your blood pressure in check.
In fact, staying well hydrated is one of the easiest ways to lower blood pressure.
The problem with tap water is it’s full of stuff we don’t want to drink (chlorine) and minerals that are hard to absorb.
The best water to lower blood pressure is made by the best water ionizer.
Another problem you run into when shopping for alkaline water products is that you get flooded with too many options.
While other products such as alkaline water filter pitchers or countertop alkaline water filters will indeed raise the pH of your drinking water, they do so by adding more minerals.
A water ionizer uses the minerals that are already in your water and makes them easier to absorb.
Plus, the top water ionizers come equipped with powerful filters that remove water contaminants to undetectable levels.
Other water filtration products won’t give you the same results.
For example, the Tyent UCE-11 ionizer uses .01 micron filters – the same level used in kidney dialysis machines.
If you have hard water, water ionizer filters will get the job done while alkaline filter pitchers won’t.
Understanding pH of Alkaline Water
There’s a lot of misconception and confusion around alkaline water, mainly due to opportunists who want to trick people into believing that raising the pH of your water is a miracle cure.
Here’s the thing: an alkaline pH alone isn’t what makes alkaline water healthy.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that the higher the pH of your water the healthier it is. This is a dangerous thought process, and it’s what the skeptics employ when they attempt to debunk alkaline water benefits.
You see, ionized water is healthier than alkaline water alone. A lot of tap water is alkaline, but it won’t give you the same benefits as alkaline ionized water with the same pH.
Personally, I drink alkaline ionized water with a max pH of 9.5. That’s as high as I’ll go, and I prefer the 8 to 9 range.
Why?
Because I’m after ionized water benefits. As long as the pH is slightly alkaline, it won’t negatively affect my body.
Water with too high of a pH is not meant for human consumption, nor will it give you any additional health benefits.
And always remember, better hydration alone works wonders for the human body. You don’t need a scientific study to know that’s the truth.
Our bodies are made of roughly 60% water. It only makes sense that purer water and better hydration lead to better overall health.
Now that we’re on the same page, here are the best times to drink alkaline water for blood pressure benefits.
Best Times to Drink Alkaline Water
Since alkaline water is alkaline, there are certain times when we shouldn’t drink it to avoid messing with the stomach pH when it shouldn’t be messed with.
Here’s a list of considerations:
- Don’t drink alkaline water while eating or 1/2 hour before and after meals. Since alkaline water can temporarily raise stomach pH, we don’t want to mess with stomach acids while they’re doing their job to digest our food.
- Drink alkaline water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Personally, this is my favorite time of day to drink it. I always get an extra boost of energy by drinking it right when I wake up.
- Drink it throughout the day between meals.
- Try to drink at least one glass before bed, just not so much that it makes you wake up in the middle of the night. Doing this dilutes the sodium in the body. Going to bed dehydrated leads to thickened blood in the morning. People with high blood pressure obviously want to avoid this.
I find that we need different amounts of water every day, depending on what activities we do that day. A day full of exercise or sweat requires more water than a day lounging inside.
One thing you’ll find is alkaline ionized water tastes really good.
During my many hours of research, I’ve come across numerous reports written by people who have upped their water intake and cut out soda because they love the taste of water from their ionizers so much.
I’ve even watched a video of a dog who had a choice between a bowl of tap water and ionized water. The dog sniffed both bowls before enthusiastically choosing the alkaline water.
Final Thoughts
In order to reap the benefits of ionized water, it’s best to invest in a reliable ionizer.
For high blood pressure, the purity of your water and more absorbable minerals – primarily magnesium – are more important than the water pH.
For the sake of example, someone suffering from acid reflux should consider the benefits of a higher water pH more than someone with high blood pressure.
Please don’t fall into the trap of believing that the higher the pH the healthier the water.
Only opportunists and people who lack alkaline water knowledge are selling that hogwash.
Here on my site, I provide legitimate alkaline water knowledge with cited scientific studies that I spent hours researching so you don’t have to.
A lot of sites simply regurgitate information without putting in the required time to write a quality article or guide.
I like to provide you with information that’s not only helpful but easy to digest.
That’s enough of that, though.
Is alkaline water good for high blood pressure? The final answer is yes.
If you follow what’s written here, you’ll get the most benefit.
