Alkaline Water During Pregnancy Increases Baby Weight But May Harm Heart

TL;DR

Drinking alkaline ionized water during pregnancy and nursing led to unusually high body weight in rat offspring, possibly due to higher calcium levels passed from mother to babies.

Key Finding

Offspring of rats given alkaline ionized water gained significantly more body weight than offspring given regular tap water, despite no differences in milk production or consumption between the two groups.

Summary

Researchers gave pregnant and nursing rats alkaline ionized water (water treated to increase alkalinity and mineral content) instead of regular tap water to see how it affected milk production and offspring growth. Male and female offspring of mothers drinking alkaline ionized water gained weight faster than offspring of mothers drinking tap water, but surprisingly, the mothers' milk production and the amount of milk the babies drank were the same in both groups. The researchers suspect that higher calcium levels in the alkaline water, which passed to babies either before birth through the placenta or after birth through milk, caused the extra weight gain.

Practical Takeaway

This animal study suggests that alkaline ionized water's higher mineral content (specifically calcium) may affect fetal and infant growth, but the findings are limited to rats and raise concerns—the study also noted that accelerated growth was linked to heart damage in male offspring. These results do not support using alkaline ionized water during pregnancy or nursing without further human research and medical guidance.

Abstract (excerpt)

The authors previously reported that male offspring of mothers rats given alkaline ionized water (AKW) showed a significantly higher body weight by day 14 after birth than did offspring of mother rats given tap water (TPW); furthermore, marked myocardial necrosis and fibrosis were observed…

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