Alkaline Water Shows Promise for Treating Kidney-Related Acid Buildup
- Authors
- Hassan Abol‐Enein, Osama A Gheith, Nashwa Barakat, Eman Nour, Abd‐Elhameed Sharaf
- Journal
- Therapeutic Apheresis and Dialysis
- Year
- 2009
- DOI
- 10.1111/j.1744-9987.2009.00659.x
- Study Type
- Dog
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Egypt
- Health Condition
- Metabolic Acidosis
- Body System
- Renal
TL;DR
Ionized alkaline water was found to significantly improve acid-base balance in animal models with metabolic acidosis caused by kidney problems or gastrointestinal issues.
Key Finding
Ionized alkaline water significantly improved acid-base balance in animal models of metabolic acidosis caused by kidney failure or urinary diversion, with improvements comparable to or better than conventional dialysis approaches.
Summary
Researchers tested ionized alkaline water (water made alkaline through electrolysis) as a treatment for metabolic acidosis—a condition where the body becomes too acidic—in dogs and rats with kidney problems or urinary diversion (rerouted urine). When animals drank alkaline water or received it during dialysis (a kidney-failure treatment), their blood acid levels improved more than when they received regular water. The study suggests alkaline water might help manage this serious condition safely, but human studies are still needed.
Practical Takeaway
This is an animal-only study, so its findings cannot be directly applied to humans yet. While the results are promising and suggest alkaline water may be safe, the authors themselves call for human clinical trials before any therapeutic use can be recommended. Anyone with metabolic acidosis should work with their doctor on proven treatments rather than relying on alkaline water alone.
Abstract
Metabolic acidosis can occur as a result of either the accumulation of endogenous acids or loss of bicarbonate from the gastrointestinal tract or the kidney, which represent common causes of metabolic acidosis. The appropriate treatment of acute metabolic acidosis has been very controversial. Ionized alkaline water was not evaluated in such groups of patients in spite of its safety and reported benefits. So, we aimed to assess its efficacy in the management of metabolic acidosis in animal models. Two models of metabolic acidosis were created in dogs and rats. The first model of renal failure was induced by ligation of both ureters; and the second model was induced by urinary diversion to gut (gastrointestinal bicarbonate loss model). Both models were subjected to ionized alkaline water (orally and by hemodialysis). Dogs with renal failure were assigned to two groups according to the type of dialysate utilized during hemodialysis sessions, the first was utilizing alkaline water and the second was utilizing conventional water. Another two groups of animals with urinary diversion were arranged to receive oral alkaline water and tap water. In renal failure animal models, acid-base parameters improved significantly after hemodialysis with ionized alkaline water compared with the conventional water treated with reverse osmosis (RO). Similar results were observed in urinary diversion models as there was significant improvement of both the partial pressure of carbon dioxide and serum bicarbonate (P = 0.007 and 0.001 respectively) after utilizing alkaline water orally. Alkaline ionized water can be considered as a major safe strategy in the management of metabolic acidosis secondary to renal failure or dialysis or urinary diversion. Human studies are indicated in the near future to confirm this issue in humans.