Alkaline Water Plus Walking Reduces Inflammation in Diabetes
- Authors
- Yohanes Andy Rias, Adi Lukas Kurniawan, Ching Wen Chang, Christopher James Gordon, Hsiu Ting Tsai
- Journal
- Antioxidants
- Year
- 2020
- DOI
- 10.3390/antiox9100946
- Study Type
- Human
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Taiwan
- Health Condition
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Body System
- Endocrine
TL;DR
Drinking alkaline electrolyzed water and walking regularly can help reduce inflammation and improve the quality of life for people with type 2 diabetes.
Key Finding
Combining alkaline electrolyzed water consumption with regular walking produced greater reductions in inflammation and oxidative stress markers, and greater improvements in quality of life, than either intervention alone in people with type 2 diabetes.
Summary
This study tested whether drinking alkaline electrolyzed water (water treated with electricity to increase alkalinity) combined with regular walking could reduce inflammation and oxidative stress (cellular damage) in people with type 2 diabetes. Over 8 weeks, 81 people were divided into four groups: one drank alkaline water, one walked regularly, one did both, and one made no changes. The researchers measured markers of inflammation and oxidative stress in the blood, plus quality of life. Both alkaline water and walking alone improved these markers, but the combination worked better than either alone, and all three groups improved more than the control group.
Practical Takeaway
This small 8-week study suggests that alkaline electrolyzed water may complement exercise benefits for people with type 2 diabetes, though the improvement beyond walking alone was modest. However, the study did not compare alkaline water to regular water, so it's unclear whether the alkalinity itself matters or if simply drinking more water would have similar effects. More research is needed before making this a primary diabetes management strategy.
Abstract
Alkaline electrolyzed water (AEW) and walking are strongly recommended for ameliorating oxidative stress and inflammation. Nevertheless, there is a lack of information on the combination of both on alleviating inflammation, oxidative stress, and improving the quality of life (QoL). We investigated the synergistic effects of drinking AEW and walking on advanced glycation end products (AGEs), advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs), malondialdehyde (MDA), white blood cells (WBCs), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and QoL. In total, 81 eligible patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) were randomly allocated via single blind to four groups: consumed 2 L/day of AEW (n = 20), instructed to walk for 150 min/week (n = 20), received a combination of AEW and walking (n = 20), and continue their habitual diet and activity (n = 21). Data were collected and analyzed before and after 8 weeks of intervention. Our results showed a significant interaction between the group and time, with both AEW and walking independently and synergistically ameliorating AGEs, AOPPs, MDA, NLR and WBCs levels. Moreover, the AEW group had a higher physical and total QoL score. The walking group and the combined group had higher scores in physical, mental and total QoL compared to the control group. The synergistic effect of AEW and regular walking are an advisable treatment for patients with T2DM.