By Laura McCordThe bottled water category is one that continues to puzzle me.It in just under a decade it has managed to achieve significantscale in terms of household penetration – currently it is 70% withan annual growth rate of 5%; and in terms of dollar sales – in 2011,the market reached over $12.1B and is projected to continue togrow to reach a minimum of $17.2B in the next five years. You’dthink there’d be no place to grow; after all, it is water.Do you know your potential for Hydrogen (pH)?Just when I thought there was nothing more that couldbe done to make this fairly mature category exciting, I’mintroduced to enhanced water. Not just enhanced with flavor –that’s been done and it did boost sales early on in the decade.I’m taking enhanced with the proper alkaline to improve thewater, and thusly, your pH balance.When it comes to pH (potential of Hydrogen), most peopleknow more about why this matters in a pool or aquarium thanin our own bodies. But did you know that our bodies are morethan 75% water, too? In fact, our blood is 83% water and hasa very specific pH of 7.365; if our blood varies more than 0.1pH from that level, illness quickly follows. Our body worksconstantly to maintain that pH balance. The food we eat andwater we drink has a pH, too.20 OnTREND May/August 2013
Here are a few common examples:Carbonated cola – pH 2.0Cup of coffee – pH 4.1/li>Ground beef – pH 3.2This got me to thinking, if so much, some 90% of the averageAmerican diet is made of acidic food and water, how does ourbody manage to dispose of all this acid? Scarily enough thebody will find a way to get what it needs. In order to neutralizeall the acidic products we put in our body; our body will turnaround and leach (remove) the alkaline minerals, also known aselectrolytes, such as calcium and magnesium from our bones.That leads to a whole other set of problems. Don’t worry, ourVMS expert, Anne Evanoff will have some supplements that canhelp you replace the electrolytes that you’ve lost. Or, you coulddrink water that has been enhanced with these electrolytes!You are what you eat…but more of what you drinkNot only will water enhanced with the proper alkaline mineralsof calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium, help your bodyachieve and better maintain the proper pH, there’s a plethoraof additional benefits including increased energy, improvedcellular hydration, cardiovascular health, anti-aging properties,weight management, bone health and immunity support.Wow, water, especially the properly enhanced varieties reallydoes a body good!There is presently no one thing anyone can do to live aperfect, healthy life. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to thisequation. However, most doctors and health experts agreethat the best place to start it by drinking alkaline water.Really? Alkaline Water? Yes, because alkaline water is:Super Hydrating! If our bodies are fighting to maintain itsproper pH and we drink acidic water, it’ll be of no benefit. It willsimply flush through the system, taking many alkaline mineralswith it. When you drink alkaline water, you are drinking inmineral-rich water that the body craves to stay hydrated.Ionized water doesn’t sit in the stomach and slosh aroundfeeling heavy and bloated: it’s absorbed quickly, routed to thecells and pulled through the skin as perspiration; that’s thehydration equation!Full of Anti-Oxidants! Oxidation is aging, just like a nailoxidizes and rusts. Alkaline water is made by an electrolysisprocedure leaving the water negatively charged. A freeradicalis a positively-charged hydrogen ion running amuck inthe body. With alkaline water, you’ll feel younger, have moreenergy, don’t get hung over as easily and sleep like a baby!Great for pH balancing! It’s not easy for us Americans tofollow an alkaline diet, especially with our fast-paced lives. Andeven so, dietary preferences and personal taste still cause us toeat acidic food – who doesn’t like a good tomato-based pastasauce or a nice juicy steak! Now, with alkaline water, it’s easy toneutralize the acidity of our favorite foods just by drinking theclean, delicious water.What is pH? The abbreviation pH stands for potential hydrogen.This abbreviation is always spelled with a small “p” and a capital“H.” In scientific terms, what pH would stand for is ability ofmolecules to attract hydrogen ions. An acidic molecule wouldhave a low ability to attract hydrogen ions, while an alkalinemolecule would have a high ability to attract hydrogen ions. ThepH of a solution is measured on a scale from zero to 14. On the pHscale, zero would stand for the highest possible acidity reading, 7is neutral, and 14 is the highest alkalinity reading.Source: http://www.vaxa.com/what-does-ph.cfmWith all this talk about pH balanced water,I’ll bet you’re now wondering what are some brandsthat I’d recommend to help you help yourself and yourcustomers maintain the proper pH balance that our bodiescrave? Here you go…and the good thing is, these are allavailable in varying sizes through the <strong>KeHE</strong> enterprise:BRAND pH FACTOR CLASSIFICATIONESSENTIA 9.5 ALKALINEEVAMOR 8.8 ALKALINEREAL ALKALIZED WATER 8.0 ALKALINEETERNAL 8.0 ALKALINEFIJI 7.5 NEUTRALTHE HUMAN BODY 7.365 WHERE WEWANT TO BEKiwaii 7.2 NEUTRALPenta 7.0 NEUTRALDasani 5.7 Very AcidicAquafina 5.5 Very AcidicSources cited: www.mintel.com Bottled Water, May 2012; <strong>KeHE</strong> OAK-RCreporting system; www.ionizerresearch.com; www.truehealth.com;Balancing ActAlmost all illnesses can be traced back totwo simple problems:Dehydration - water is the fluid of life. When webecome dehydrated, we reduce our body’s ability toprocess nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Further, westarve the body of the fluid by which it cleanses anddetoxifies the organs and blood, leaving toxins runningrampant in our bodies.Over-Acidification - our bodies prefer an alkalineenvironment. When acid builds up, it robs everyavailable resource to maintain pH balance. Excess acidis stored in the body and slowly poisons us over time.In an ideal environment, we each would have plentyof fresh air and physical activity, as well as a diet thatconsists of green, leafy vegetables, unrefined “wholefoods”, and plenty of fresh, pure water to wash itdown. Living like this would help keep us pH balancedand processing foods and expelling wastes. Throughgood nutrition alone, it is possible to maintain a healthyand disease-free lifestyle.Source: NestleMay/August 2013 ONTREND 21
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