Yesterday a sales rep from a major water ionizer manufacturer contacted us. They want us to sell water ionizers through AmbrosiaWaterFilters.com.

I know a lot about water filters and water purifiers, but I don’t know that much about water ionizers. I’m hoping that you can help educate me.

I’ve studied the claims of water ionizer manufacturers and, frankly, many of them sound too good to be true. (And in the world of marketing, when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is!)

Manufacturers explain that water ionizers use electricity to split regular tap water into alkaline water and acidic water, and they say that alkaline water offers all sorts of health benefits, including detoxification, antioxidant protection, cancer prevention, and weight loss.

I agree that the typical American diet is far too acidic. The most popular foods like fast food, processed food, soda, sugar, pizza, and burgers are all acid-forming foods, while most people don’t eat enough alkaline foods like green vegetables.

But can ionized water really change the pH level of the body and act as an antioxidant, in a way replacing the function of natural vitamins from vegetables? Most reputable scientists would say, “No.”

Journalist Chris Woolston, “The Healthy Skeptic,” reported in the The LA Times (01/22/07):

Ionized water might cure thirst, but any other benefits seem extremely far-fetched, says Thomas Wheeler, a retired professor of biochemistry at the University of Louisville. The water has never been tested in well-controlled clinical trials. But the claims, Wheeler says, don’t even make scientific sense.

For starters, Wheeler says, any negative ions you drink would immediately bind with positive ions. And even if the negative ions stuck around, they could never act as antioxidants or attack free radicals. “The body relies on molecules like vitamin E and beta carotene for antioxidants. The idea that you could just drink extra electrons is ridiculous.”

Wheeler also dismisses the idea that alkaline water could fight disease or restore the body’s pH balance. “The body goes to great lengths to maintain its pH, and there isn’t much you can eat or drink that will change that,” he says. (Besides, a person who wanted a dose of alkalinity could always just pop a couple of Tums.)

Robert Gillies, a professor of biochemistry, physiology and radiology at the University of Arizona who studies the acidity of tumors, scoffs at the claim that acid buildup is a growing threat to public health. Many tumors are, in fact, acidic, but they aren’t fueled by coffee or soda or tap water, he says. They make the acid themselves. And they aren’t going to be deterred by a glass of alkaline water.

Gillies stops short of calling water ionizers a complete waste of money. Until they’ve been thoroughly studied, he says, there’s always a faint possibility that they might do some good. Consumers have to decide for themselves if that faint hope is worth thousands of dollars.

So, for now, we’re not going to offer water ionizers here at AmbrosiaWaterFilters.com. Water ionziers very expensive devices, and I haven’t had the opportunity to test one. And, based on what I’ve read, I don’t want to spend the money on a test unit.

We work hard to offer our customers the latest, greatest home water filters on the market – and despite the popularity (and potential profitability) of water ionizers, we’re not going to take a gamble on a product that could turn out to be high-priced snake oil.

I’m keeping an open mind about water ionizers because I certainly don’t agree with all opinions from the mainstream medical community; however, when it comes to water ionizers, my mind is more skeptical than open at this point.

Have you had any experiences with ionized water? If you have a water ionizer at home, please tell us your opinion. Skeptical minds want to know!