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Alkaline water: chemistry vs marketing

Published: 30-Dec-2025 (17:40); Viewed: 48; Difficulty: 1 out of 10

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Alkaline water: chemistry vs marketing
pH by itself is a momentary measurement, not a guarantee of chemical behavior. Pure or near-pure bottled drinking water—even if labeled “pH 9”—contains almost no dissolved minerals. That means no buffering capacity. As soon as such water contacts air (CO2), a bottle cap, saliva, or food, its pH shifts rapidly toward neutral. In practical terms, this “alkalinity” exists only at the factory and only on paper. From a chemistry standpoint, calling this water “highly alkaline” is misleading because alkalinity is not just pH—it is the ability to resist pH change, which requires dissolved bicarbonates, carbonates, or other salts.

This is why claims that pH 9 water can “alkalize the body” collapse under basic physiology. Human saliva, gastric acid, and blood buffering systems overwhelm any unbuffered liquid instantly. The body tightly regulates blood pH around 7.35–7.45 regardless of what you drink. A bottle of low-mineral water with a high pH number has no realistic physiological impact beyond hydration. What remains is branding, typography, and the appeal of a big number on a label.





Why mineral waters are different (San Pellegrino example)

True alkaline waters are mineral waters, not purified or lightly treated drinking waters. San Pellegrino is a good reference example: it contains significant amounts of bicarbonate, calcium, magnesium, and other dissolved salts, giving it a stable pH around 7.4 and—more importantly—real buffering capacity. Its alkalinity is chemically supported, measurable, and persistent over time. This does not make it medicinal or miraculous, but it makes it honest from a nutritional and chemical perspective.

In short

pH without minerals = unstable marketing number

Minerals + bicarbonates = real alkalinity

If you want alkaline water that actually means something, look at the mineral composition, not just the pH printed on the label.

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by: Librarian
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tags: pH; water
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