Alkaline Water Reduces Exercise Damage in Athletes After Intense Training
- Authors
- Byung-Roh Kim, 임인수
- Journal
- Exercise Science
- Year
- 2012
- DOI
- 10.15857/ksep.2012.21.1.1
- Study Type
- Human
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- South Korea
- Health Condition
- Exercise-Induced Oxidative Stress
- Body System
- Muscular
TL;DR
Drinking ionized alkaline water seemed to reduce exercise-induced oxidative stress and inflammation in young athletes.
Key Finding
Two weeks of ionized alkaline water supplementation reduced exercise-induced increases in a marker of oxidative stress (serum MDA) and suppressed inflammatory gene expression in highly trained athletes after exhaustive exercise.
Summary
This study examined whether drinking ionized alkaline water for 2 weeks could reduce oxidative stress (cellular damage from intense exercise) in 18 trained athletes. After the athletes ran on a treadmill at high intensity, researchers measured markers of oxidative stress and inflammation in their blood. They found that athletes who drank ionized alkaline water showed smaller increases in a key oxidative stress marker (MDA) and had lower levels of inflammatory molecules compared to when they drank regular tap water.
Practical Takeaway
This small study in trained athletes suggests ionized alkaline water may help reduce oxidative stress during intense exercise, but the findings are preliminary. The study was short (2 weeks) and involved only 18 athletes, so larger and longer studies are needed before drawing firm conclusions about whether this water would benefit recreational exercisers or non-athletes.
Abstract (excerpt)
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of ionized alkali water supplement on oxidative stress and proinflammatory cytokines in highly trained high school and college track athletes (n=18). In an single group and cross-over design, all subjects consumed tap water and ionized alkali…