‘Alkaline’ and ‘antioxidants’ are words that are thrown around a lot when you start reading, watching or listening to health-focused content. But what do these words actually mean? What is alkaline water, what are antioxidants, and should you be interested in them?
And if so…how can you make sure you’re including them in your daily diet?
Here, we’re going to look in depth at the qualities of alkaline and antioxidant ingredients. But in case you’re looking for the short answer: balancing your body with these properties will improve your health. And the easiest way to include them in your diet every day is by drinking alkaline antioxidant water.
What Is ‘Alkaline’?
Your body has a pH balance. That’s the measure of the acid content in your blood. Your pH has a close relationship with your body’s health; it affects your general wellbeing as well as your immune system, and your body’s ability to resist illness.
Blood pH is measured on a scale of 0 to 14. At the bottom of the scale, 0 is highly acidic; while 14 is highly alkaline. Ideally, the pH of a healthy body is about 7.3 — comfortably and healthfully neutral.
Why is this important?
Because when your pH is out of balance, and particularly when your blood is at the more acidic end of the scale, you become more susceptible to illness and disease. In general, you might feel less energetic and vital. But in the long term, an acidic environment provides the perfect growing ground for illness.
What Are ‘Antioxidants’?
Antioxidants are substances found in many natural ingredients that contain negatively charged ions.
The human body is constantly going through a process of oxidation — we draw oxygen in through our lungs and the positively charged ions (or free radicals) within that oxygen take an electron from a cell membrane.
You can see this in action when you cut a piece of fruit and leave it on the side, only to find that it turns brown. It’s also the process that causes metal to rust.
This process is natural and necessary. But when positively charged ions are not balanced with negatively charged ions, oxidation is increased and our cells degrade more quickly. This internal damage ages the body and leaves us vulnerable to disease.
The antioxidants that we consume are crucial for balancing and stabilizing the process of oxidation. That’s why you might have heard that antioxidants can slow or reverse aging — because they reduce the power of free radicals which break down the structure of cells.
When it comes to water, the levels of oxidizing agents are measured by the water’s Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP). When drink water has a positive ORP is has the potential to sustain or increase the deterioration process, and when it has a negative ORP it has antioxidant potential. Most tap water and bottled water has a positive ORP — but the DLYN bottle creates antioxidant water by significantly decreasing the ORP.
How Can You Consume More Alkaline and Antioxidants?
As you’ll know if you’ve begun to learn about alkaline diets, a wide variety of foods are high in alkaline and antioxidants. The majority of these foods are plant-based and nutrition-dense.
Common antioxidants — many of which you’ve probably heard of — include the vitamins A, C and E, and digestive enzymes which help you to process food and extract valuable nutrients.
Focusing on diet will allow you to improve your health in a holistic way. If you’re not sure where to start, check out some of the recipe blog posts we’ve published in recent months! You could start with 6 Brilliant Alkaline Breakfast Ideas. Because breakfast is a good place to start any day and any diet.
But a really easy, quick and instantly effective way to increase your intake of alkaline and antioxidants is by drinking alkaline antioxidant water.
What Is Alkaline Antioxidant Water?
Antioxidant water has been ionized; it contains a high concentration of electrons and a negative ORP. The additional electrons act as stabilizers in your body, countering the effects of free radicals and preventing cell damage. Different ionizing devices have varying levels of ionizing power, but some can increase the electron content of your water by thousands.
Simply filling your water bottle with antioxidant water means that you can carry the incredibly health-enhancing power of antioxidant water with you wherever you go. Sip on it throughout the day instead of your usual tap water or bottled water and you will be doing the best you can for your body — without having to spend loads of money or devote hours of your time to meal planning and prep.
How to Make Alkaline Antioxidant Water at Home (or Anywhere)
There are a number of ionizing machines on the market, some of which can be installed into your kitchen sink, and others which are standalone units. But the cost is a big obstacle for many people. Plus an ionizer does not necessarily improve the pH of your water — so you might need an additional process to up the alkaline.
The DLYN Water Bottle does both at a very accessible price. Its VitaBead Diffuser lasts up to 400 refills and effectively increases the alkaline content of your tap water and the antioxidant content. This is because the diffuser lowered the ORP of your water to a negative level of -150, as a result of the interaction between the water and the natural minerals released by the VitaBeads.
Even better, you can take it anywhere and you don’t have to carry anything else with you. Fill it up from any tap and it will do the work for you. This means that you don’t have to remember to fill several bottles with water from your built-in kitchen ionizer before you head out, because you can just fill up and alkalize water as you go.
The impact of carrying something so simple with you can be quite remarkable. You know that your water bottle is more than just a bottle; that it is a way for you to actively and continuously care for your body and improve your wellness. It almost becomes a symbol of your commitment to yourself.
It reminds you, as you go about your day, that you care about your health. That you are working to improve your health. That reminder can stop you from reaching for the unhealthy snacks. It can motivate you to go out for that run or stop by the gym on your way home from work. Because taking care of your health is complete mind-body work; each small thing that you do for yourself inspires you to do the next small thing, and the next, and then the next.
Before you know it your lifestyle has shifted. You are healthy. You are a person who focuses on wellness and effortlessly makes the best choices for your body and being.
