Alkaline water, touted by celebrities like Beyoncé and Tom Brady, has seen a surge in popularity, with the market growing from $47m in 2014 to a projected $687m by the end of 2018. But experts say the health claims behind this high-pH water are not supported by scientific evidence.
The alkaline water trend is based on the 'acid-ash hypothesis,' an old idea that certain foods increase acid levels in the body, leading to health problems. This was popularised by Robert O Young, who was jailed in 2017 for practising medicine without a licence. Dr Tanis Fenton, an adjunct professor at the University of Calgary, told British Brief that rigorous evidence for alkaline water's benefits is lacking.
Fenton explains that the body tightly regulates blood pH at around 7.4, and drinking alkaline water cannot change this. While it may affect urine pH, that is simply a sign of healthy kidney function. 'Alkaline water is a solution to a problem that doesn't need solving,' she says.
Tim Caulfield, author of Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?, attributes the trend to 'science-y sounding' ideas and the multitrillion-dollar wellness industry. Lucie Greene of J Walter Thompson notes that rising 'connoisseurship around water' and bottled water's overtaking of soda in the US have also fuelled the fad.
