Prior to beginning this blog, it’s encouraged that you review the first blog of the “Earth’s Finest Water” series, The Artesian Aquifer.

            Continuing the search for truth behind “Earth’s Finest Water,” we look into what is actually in Fiji’s water. Fiji’s water is filtered by volcanic rock that “gathers minerals and electrolytes.” Well what kinds of minerals are we talking about? Below is a list of the minerals found in Fiji Water.

            Now if you notice, Fiji has a pH of 7.7. What does potential of hydrogen even mean? DrinkRealWater.com explains that pH is a logarithmic measure of hydrogen ion concentration used to compare solution acidities (-log (H+)). The H stands for Hydrogen while the p stands for the German word potenze, which in English translates to “power.” Therefore, pH means the “power of hydrogen.” Hydrogen has the power to completely change the wellbeing of a solution. For example: a solution with a pH as low as 1 is extremely acidic, whereas a solution with a pH as high as 9.8 is to be pure ethanol.

            Pure water at room temperature has a pH of 7. According to the diagram above, pure water does have some acidosis. So, increasing pH to make it more neutral is better for our health, but increasing it too much could cause death. With a pH of 7.7, Fiji Water is more alkalinity rather than having more acidity like pure water.

            What does a more alkalinity water do to someone’s body? Well the stomach has a pH of about 4. The acidity helps break down our food, but when we drink water that is more alkalinity based (Fiji Water), the pH in the stomach increases. High levels of pH are never a problem when it comes to the stomach because the stomach has a protection method to always bring the pH back down. When alkalinity enters the stomach, the stomach commands the secretion of hydrochloric acid through the walls to bring the pH back down to 4.

            Can a high pH with high alkaline levels be good for us? Many American’s sure do think so, as many of them have started doing the Alkaline Diet  This diet contains foods and beverages with high pH’s or high alkaline levels. So rather than eating grains, fish, meat, poultry, shellfish, cheese, milk, and salt which all produce acid, people in take foods include fresh fruits and vegetables, roots, nuts and legumes. Drinking Fiji water rather than pure water would be beneficial in such a case because Fiji water has a higher level of alkaline rather than regular water.

Why do people start this diet instead of just drinking Fiji Water? Well, many begin the Alkaline Diet because they feel that are lacking energy, have anxiety, or get colds, flus, and migraines frequently. The high levels of alkaline supposedly help with those symptoms. Just drinking Fiji water doesn’t give the body enough alkaline that this diet requires. The diet, in addition to drinking Fiji Water, is important because water has no other additional nutrients, whereas fresh fruits and vegetables have tons of nutrients. According to WebMD.com  by being on an Alkaline Diet one may decrease the risk for kidney stones, slow bone loss, slow muscle waste, increase growth hormone, ease lower back pain, and possibly even make some chronic diseases less likely.

            In 2010, U.S. researchers did a small study that “tracked 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer who decided against conventional medical treatment.” These men went through three months of lifestyle changes, which included the Alkaline Diet, to see if their health improved. In addition to the diet, these men also exercised moderately (walking for thirty minutes each day) and went through an hour of “daily stress management methods” including meditation. Aside from weight loss, the men also lowered blood pressure and noticed that the activity of disease preventing genes increased while a number of disease promoting decreased in regards to their prostate cancer.

            Could it be that Alkaline can help cancer patients? AcidAlkalineDiet.com explains that by focusing on the absorption of Alkaline, patients will have a more alkaline-based system rather than an acid-based system. In their test tube study researchers found that “cancer cells and tumors thrive and grow in an acidic environment,” and slow down in alkaline environment.

            Here we have found how drinking Fiji water rather than pure water may be more beneficial to human’s bodies and health, especially if they have cancer. High levels of Alkaline could be truly helpful to our bodies, however it could be something else entirely as well. There are a number of minerals in Fiji water, including calcium, electrolytes, potassium, etc. that could alter our bodies, but from the information on alkaline, it may be assumed that it is beneficial.

            If you’re still curious about Fiji Water please read into the next blog of the “Earth’s Finest Water” series- Environmental Friendly? There you will learn about the owners of this company and the country that it comes from.