What is Alkaline Water: Benefits, Side Effects, and Risks

Alkaline Water is nowadays in great talk and many people are curious to know its health benefits, side effects, and risks.

If you are also curious to know all these or any of the answers then you have found the right page. Here I will try to answer each and every single query of yours.

Enough of the introduction, let’s start the actual discussion on our topic.

What is Alkaline Water?

Alkaline water is basic in nature having a pH of greater than 7. It usually has a pH of 8 to 9 but some even claim that it also has a pH of 10.

What is pH?

This term is used to measure the acidity or basicity of a product. It has a scale of 0 to 14. Anything which comes under 0 to 6 is acidic and 8 to 14 is basic, figure 7 shows the neutral state.

We all know that plain/regular water has a pH of 7 and it is neutral in nature. So, anything above that is basic in nature and below that is acidic.


you have learned what is alkaline water, so let’s discuss some benefits of it.

Possible Benefits of Alkaline Water

It has not yet fully confirmed that alkaline water is better than regular water but there is some evidence that it is beneficial for the body. (1)

So, here I am going to tell you some possible benefits of drinking alkaline water which has been noticed but not fully confirmed.

  1. According to a study conducted in 2012, it has been seen that drinking alkaline water with a pH of 8.8 can help in the treatment of reflux disease.

It has been seen that water of pH 8.8 deactivates the pepsin which could cause reflux disease and that is how it is helpful in such patients.

  1. There are also some other benefits but they are not confirmed and I have not found any supporting claims to back them up.

But still, I am going to mention them as they are noticed by some people and that is why there is all hype about them.

They include:

  • Antioxidant Properties
  • Weight Loss
  • Boosts Immune System
  • Helps Fight Cancer
  • Resists Diabetes
  • Helps Detox the Body
  • Prevents Heart Diseases
  • Slows Bone Loss

Possible Risks and Side Effects

Like some benefits, it also has some possible side effects.

Note: When I talk about risks or side effects it does not mean that they will appear in every person. It totally depends on person to person.

As we know that our stomach is acidic which helps in the killing of the bacteria. So, if we drink alkaline water it could possibly neutralize the pH of the stomach and prevents the killing of harmful bacteria which could cause some infections or diseases.

We also know, that our gastrointestinal tract has different pH values. In some places it is basic and on others acidic and drinking alkaline water could alter the pH by increasing it to more basic.

alkaline water

If it becomes too alkaline on the places where the pH needs to be acidic then it could cause some issues, like:

  • Twitching of Muscles
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Alters Kidney Functions

Natural vs Artificial Alkaline Water

Now, I am going to discuss with you about natural and artificial alkaline water and which one is more beneficial.

First, let me tell you that there is no alternative to the natural thing. The water which gathers different kinds of minerals while passing through rocks and springs and become alkaline is far more beneficial than artificially made water.

Now, the second point, I’m not against the artificially created alkaline water but you have to check properly before buying that it has all the minerals required. Otherwise, it could lead to minerals deficiency in the body.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a study mentioning that regularly drinking mineral deficient water could cause some issues and one must avoid drinking it on a regular basis.

Final Thoughts!

Now, you have the whole overview of the alkaline water with possible benefits and side effects and you can decide whether you should take it or not.

Generally, it is considered safe to use but again it totally depends on person to person.

Author: Usama Azam



  1. Iris Chan July 5, 2019 at 3:20 am - Reply

    Ever since I started drinking alkaline water, I started having shortness of breath. Not sure if it is the cause.

    • Usama Azam July 8, 2019 at 3:11 pm - Reply

      Hi Iris,
      According to my personal experience, alkaline water has no such side effects (could be due to asthma) but you can definitely test it out by not drinking it for at least 1 week. If the problem solves by the normal water then stop using it otherwise see a doctor.
      Hope it helps!

  2. Iris July 10, 2019 at 2:54 am - Reply

    Thank you so much for the information.

    • Usama Azam July 10, 2019 at 11:09 am - Reply

      You are most welcome.

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