Water is…Water (or “Yes, I drink enough water, thank you”)!
For starters, let’s clear some things up, ok?
*Our tap water is good. (I believed it).
I was curious, though, so I took a minute to go to ewg.org (a non-profit with 3rd party research). If you choose to try this at home, beware. I plugged in my zip code, scrolled down–remembered that “legal” is not necessarily safe–and read as I wept.
We had just installed an (expensive) filtration system, so we figured we were good.
Not so fast. The more I read, the more I realized that our system didn’t just filter the contaminants, it filtered all of the minerals, too. This unit didn’t ionize and didn’t offer almost 100 ways to replace potentially toxic household products either. https://evolve.ecokangen.com/en_US/. It also didn’t come from an almost 50-year-old company or have a proven lifespan of 25+ years. (These were the testimonies I kept coming back to…) I read on and thought about all of the alkaline water I bought at the store as another option.
I can get all that from designer bottled water, can’t I?
Turns out, no. The water I purchased was in plastic bottles. No matter how impressive the design of these beauties was, it was still plastic. Unsustainable microplastic leeched into the water I was drinking after potentially sitting on storeroom shelves for weeks. And this “alkaline” water, it turned out, had chemical ingredients added, such as sodium bicarbonate. (Ingredients? The water has ingredients?)
Okay, I thought, you have my attention. What IS Kangen Water, and why will I be obsessed with it (eye roll)?
The Kangen Water machine is an ionizer (not just your basic, expensive “filter”). It was manufactured originally in 1974 as a medical device by a company called Enagic, in Japan. (Kangen is a Japanese word meaning “a return to origin”.) To ionize is to gain or lose an electron, and water that has been ionized becomes either alkaline or acidic. This means that the pH has been adjusted up or down.
So why does this matter to me? (Buckle up for a little science.)
The acidic water produced is full of positively charged Hydrogen ions. (Note: we should only apply acidic water to the outside of our body.) Water is run over positive and negative electrodes which ionize the water. It is then separated into alkaline and acidic water as it passes through membranes. This is accomplished by repelling the water that has been “charged” into positive and negative ions. The electrodes are titanium, a very hard metal, double coated with platinum, a very conductive metal. (Nothing is added to the water.) With me so far?
Why we now only drink Kangen Water.
What I found is that there are three main benefits to Kangen Water.
1. It is a powerful antioxidant.
I used to spend hundreds of dollars month purchasing antioxidants because they are important anti-disease, anti-aging, and anti-cancer substances. They accomplish this by neutralizing free radicals (oxygen molecule that is missing one electron). Free radical damage causes us to age and suffer from disease. Since Kangen Water is a liquid, electrically-created antioxidant, it is easily absorbed into the body which makes it very effective and powerful.
Once the Ionized antioxidant in the form of Hydroxyl Ions (oxygen molecule with an extra electron) donates its extra electrons to free radicals, we are left with lots of oxygen; Kangen Water gives us energy by providing our bodies with lots of oxygen! (This is one of the most incredible and unique aspects of Kangen Water, by the way.)
2. It balances body pH because it is very alkaline.
Our diet is often extremely acidic. Soft drinks, fast foods, and processed foods deposit acid waste in our bodies that builds up over time and create an ideal environment for diseases of all kinds to thrive. Maintaining an alkaline pH helps us to maintain an environment in our bodies that is NOT conducive to disease. It may take years to get to this state (depending on how acidic your body is), but because of its ionized properties, Kangen Water actually flushes acid waste from our bodies.
3. Kangen Water has a different molecular cluster size. (Personally, I think this is super cool.)
It contains only 5-6 water molecules as it is changed from an irregular shape with 10-13 molecules into a hexagonal shape that is half its size. This smaller or “reduced” water is much more hydrating than conventional water.
There are two consequences of this.
First, Kangen Water hydrates the cells more efficiently.
Secondly, it is extremely detoxifying.
The detoxification properties of Kangen Water are really powerful. Enagic’s ionizers have different levels of intensity because the average person cannot start out drinking the strongest level. (This is particularly true of the elderly, who need to start out at the lowest level and work their way up slowly.) People who have spent a lifetime building up acid waste in their bodies will suffer headaches and diarrhea if they drink too much too soon.
Okay, I’m listening.
How does it taste compared with conventional water?
We have found it to be much smoother than conventional water. This is because of the molecule cluster size and shape. (As I mentioned, it is small with a hexagonal shape so it feels smooth, well, because it is.) It is easily absorbed by the cells in the body so it does not fill me up or cause me to bloat the way conventional water can when I drink large amounts at once. (Fun fact: it also doesn’t slosh around in my belly because it is absorbed.) People who are closer to optimal health usually notice the difference almost immediately.
How does Kangen Water affect athletes? (This is one of my personal favorites.)
In an extremely positive way, as you might expect. Blood oxygen levels will rise to varying degrees with regular use of Kangen Water. This increases stamina and endurance and provides the muscles, tissue, and organs with high amounts of oxygen which the human body often lacks, even in athletes, because of inadequate diets. Professional and amateur sports are discovering this and it is rapidly becoming one of the most established benefits to athletes everywhere. (Steph Curry drinks it which is enough for me.)
Truth is, though, these machines are expensive, running anywhere from $3000-$5000 per unit. We definitely thought long and hard about this purchase, but after drinking the water exclusively for 2 weeks, we CRAVED it. I was also looking for my next career move and it just so happened that our purchase came with the opportunity to make a 6-figure income from a global business. It also came with an entire community offering resources and support and, a year later, I have found time and financial freedom–plus a purpose of my own now that our kids are growing up and moving out.
We went for it and bought our first machine–actually a machine, a shower unit, and the anti-inflammatory addition of Enagic’s Turmeric or Ukon line. (This set is often referred to as the Trifecta).
We have never looked back.
