Rumor: Drinking alkaline water can have beneficial anti-aging properties
Truth: This requires more research but appears to be true.
As humans age, our telomeres get shorter every time a new cell is made. A telomere is a region of repetitive DNA that protects the end of a chromosome and eventually, the telomere gets so short that the cell dies. This is what is known as aging.
A recent study has shown that telomere length is highly influenced by the pH of its environment, considerably shortening when exposed to low pH. A pH level lower than the normal pH of around 7.0.
However, a study done on mice has shown that the administration of alkaline water has decreased the aging of mice. It prevents the formation of oxidants which can damage DNA, thus reducing the shortening of telomeres and slowing down aging.
References
- Logozzi, M., Mizzoni, D., Di Raimo, R., Andreotti, M., Macchia, D., Spada, M., & Fais, S. (2020). In vivo antiaging effects of alkaline water supplementation. Journal of Enzyme Inhibition and Medicinal Chemistry, 35(1), 657–664. https://doi.org/10.1080/14756366.2020.1733547
