Sunday, August 1, 2010

Doesn't The Stomach Acid Destroy Alkaline Water?

We will let Sang Whang, holder of many degrees in science and engineering and a holder of many patents as well as the author of many books on alkalinity and the body, including, "Reverse Aging" answer that seeming paradox.

"What happens to the alkaline water once it reaches the stomach, which is highly acidic'" People who have some knowledge of the human body, including medical doctors, ask this question. Let me answer that question once and for all to erase any doubts about the health benefits of alkaline water.

In order to digest food and kill the kinds of bacteria and viruses that come with the food, the inside of our stomach is acidic. The stomach pH value is maintained at around 4. When we eat food and drink water, especially alkaline water, the pH value inside the stomach goes up. When this happens, there is a feedback mechanism in our stomach to detect this and commands the stomach wall to secrete more hydrochloric acid into the stomach to bring the pH value back to 4. So the stomach becomes acidic again. When we drink more alkaline water, more hydrochloric acid is secreted to maintain the stomach pH value. It seems like a losing battle.

However, when you understand how the stomach wall makes hydrochloric acid, your concerns will disappear. A pathologist friend of mine gave me the following explanation. There is no hydrochloric acid pouch in our body. If there were, it would burn a hole in our body. The cells in our stomach wall must produce it on an instantly-as-needed basis. The ingredients in the stomach cell that make hydrochloric acid (HCl) are carbon dioxide (CO2), water (H2O), and sodium chloride (NaCl) or potassium chloride (KCl).

NaCl + H2O + CO2 = HCl + NaHCO3, or
KCl + H2O + CO2 = HCl + KHCO3

As we can see, the byproduct of making hydrochloric acid is sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) or potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3), which goes into blood stream. These bicarbonates are the alkaline buffers that neutralize excess acids in the blood.
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Bill's Comments:
Amazing, isn't it? The alkaline water stimulates the stomach to make more acid, to restore it to the proper Ph to compensate for the increase in alkalinity caused by the alkaline water. In so doing, a by product of the acid production in the stomach, where it is needed for proper digestion, is the production of sodium bicarbonate, the alkaline buffer that the body needs a store of to prevent or cure acidosis of the blood.

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