Alkaline Water Lowers Cholesterol and Heart Disease Risk in Rats
- Authors
- Z. Salemi, , H. Farahani, , B. Moradi, , R. Sharif Moghadasi,
- Journal
- Alborz University Medical Journal
- Year
- 2015
- DOI
- 10.18869/acadpub.aums.4.3.184
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Iran
- Health Condition
- High Cholesterol
- Body System
- Cardiovascular
TL;DR
Drinking alkaline water may help lower bad cholesterol and fats in the blood, potentially reducing the risk of heart-related diseases.
Key Finding
Alkaline water reduced cholesterol and triglyceride levels in rats, with some reduction in LDL cholesterol, but had no significant effect on HDL cholesterol.
Summary
Researchers gave alkaline water (water with added minerals that make it less acidic) to rats for 32 weeks and measured how it affected their blood fat levels. Rats drinking alkaline water had lower cholesterol and triglycerides (a type of blood fat) compared to control rats, though results were mixed for LDL (bad cholesterol) and HDL (good cholesterol) didn't change significantly.
Practical Takeaway
This rat study suggests alkaline water may help improve certain blood fat markers, but the results were inconsistent across different measures and this is animal research only. Much more research—including human studies—would be needed before drawing conclusions about whether alkaline water could benefit human heart health.
Abstract
Backgrounds: Alkaline water could be prepared through both electro-chemical and natural ways and previous studies have shown that alkaline water scavenges oxygen radicals in cell culture. It’s expected that alkaline water has positive and preventive effects on diseases related to stress oxidative like atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. In recent study, we showed the effects of alkaline water on serum lipid profile in wistar rats. Materials and Methods: In this study 32 male wistar rats weighing 250-200 g were used. Rats divided randomly into four groups, namely control group, alkaline group 1, alkaline group 2 by adding sodium bicarbonate, and acidic group by adding acetic acid to their drinking water. After 32 weeks, blood samples were obtained and lipid profile was measured in all groups, the data was analyzed with SPSS statistical software. Results: Relay on obtained results, cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations in alkaline water group1 and 2 to control group and LDL concentrations in alkaline water group1 have been reduced significantly (p<0.5). While LDL concentration in alkaline water group2 and HDL concentrations in alkaline water group1 and 2 to control group have not significant changes. Conclusion: Results of this study declare that daily administration of alkaline water can improve serum lipid profile and maybe reduced risk of oxidative stress diseases.