I sold hundreds of alkaline water ionizers in 2008 after experiencing amazing results myself when I drank the water.
I will never forget the day when the owner of the company that I was selling machines for said to me in 2009:
“Sell as many machines as you can, for as much as you can, for as long as you can, because this won’t last.”
I quit selling for the company that day and started this blog shortly thereafter.
It was only after I stopped selling alkaline water ionizers that I began to look into the science behind the claims of the alkaline water ionizer industry. Part of my research included a trip to Korea in 2010 to inspect water ionizer manufacturing facilities and talk to their engineers. The engineers at the time were telling me that I should be researching hydrogen machines but I didn’t listen as I was focused on ORP and pH to a lesser extent. That was a big mistake on my part.
In 2014, I was reintroduced to the hydrogen story and I reached out to a young American scientist named Tyler Lebaron who seemed to be “the guy” in molecular hydrogen (H2) gas world in America. After a week of fierce Q&A with Tyler, my quest to prove the alkaline story was legitimate was in tatters. Tyler destroyed every argument that I presented and he also guided me through the hydrogen gas story.
Another day I will never forget was writing on this blog apologizing to readers for being part of the alkaline water hoax. Life does have a way of humiliating the arrogance out of you.
Why do so many people get positive results from alkaline water ionizers?
Alkaline water ionizers produce a lot of molecular hydrogen (H2) gas when they are new or if you clean the plates every week. It also helps if you drink the water in the first few seconds after the water comes out of the machine before the bubbles in the drinking glass rise to the surface and are lost into the air.
It is is the H2 that is responsible for all the health benefits falsely claimed by the alkaline water ionizer industry. In fact, more than 700 scientific studies and peer reviewed papers indicate that H2 is beneficial for 170 human diseases. The alkaline water story has never had the backing of the scientific or medical communities while 1,600 researchers are currently studying H2 around the world.
Most people that buy or start drinking alkaline water feel the benefits for a few weeks. People just assume they continue to receive the benefits because they have paid a lot of money for their alkaline water ionizer, but most of any perceived benefit is likely from the placebo effect once the plates begin to scale up.
As an alkaline water ionizer ages, or if you don’t deep clean the plates every week, the machine will produce less and less H2 as time goes on. If an alkaline water ionizer is producing few or no bubbles, the benefits of the machine are essentially the same as an inexpensive under the counter carbon filter.
Is there a better way to get hydrogen enriched water than buying an alkaline water ionizer?
Yes.
A few years ago, an Asian manufacturer began producing water ionizers that included a device called a HDU (Hydrogen Diffusion Unit) which is installed after the water has passed through the electrolysis chamber. The HDU captures the H2 gas produced during electrolysis and actually mixes (diffuses) it back into the water instead of letting the H2 gas escape. The bottom line is that water produced by the hydrogen machines holds the H2 for hours instead of seconds like the alkaline water ionizers.
Are there any other benefits of hydrogen ionizers versus alkaline water ionzers?
Yes, the hydrogen machines are much more advanced than alkaline water ionizers in a number of ways.
The hydrogen machines divert calcium and magnesium found in the source water past the electrolysis chamber so that the plates don’t get scaled up and stop producing H2. The hydrogen machines reintroduce the calcium and magnesium back into the water supply before the water is dispensed from the machine. Scale build-up on the plates is the biggest problem limiting the ability of alkaline water ionizers to produce H2. An alkaline water ionizer can produce alkaline water long after scaled plates inhibit the production of H2, but you now understand that alkaline pH water doesn’t provide any health benefits.
The hydrogen units utilize a PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) in the electrolysis chamber which allows the creation of H2 during electrolysis regardless of the hardness level of the source water. Alkaline water ionizer are unable to ionize water without the presence of alkali minerals in the water, which means that they won’t work in soft source water conditions. In the past, Enagic (the leading brand of alkaline water ionizers allowed users to inject a form of bleach into the system to enhance performance when customers had soft water. Today, the alkaline water ionizer companies use mineral enriched filters to help when soft source water conditions prevail.
Are hydrogen machines more expensive than alkaline water ionizers?
No.
In fact, the hydrogen units on the market in America typically sell for $2,000 while most of the alkaline water companies still marketing their outdated technology still charge between $2,000 and $5,000. Go figure.
Which water ionizer machine should you buy?
Unlike most buying decisions in life, there is a clear and undisputed winner when it comes to buying a water ionizer.
First off, buy a hydrogen unit. Never buy an alkaline water ionizer….ever!
Second, start your search for hydrogen products with Brilliantz
Why buy from Brilliantz
I have been a fan of the hydrogen machine that Brilliantz sells since the time when I was asked me a few years ago to help re-develop and test the original hydrogen machines that were first produced in Asia. I feel very fortunate that I was allowed to be part of the team as my credentials paled in comparison to others in the group. The team did an incredible job of improving the efficiency and reliability of the product and all of the H2 products that Brilliantz sells are top quality.
The fact that I like the products and people at Brilliantz isn’t enough of a reason for me to specifically recommend the company as I have always tried to remain unbiased and support all the companies involved in the industry.
The reason I specifically recommend Brilliantz is due to the fact that they sell directly to the public without paying commissions or referral fees. As a result, their prices are 50% lower on H2 products than the prices of their competitors.
If you are interested in looking into H2 products, check out Brilliantz at www.brilliantz.com/discount/waterfyi. I have provided a referral link as opposed to a direct link to the Brilliantz website so that you can save an additional 5% if you use the link and type “waterfyi” into the coupon code box when ordering.
Hi there,
Thank you for this article. I have been following your articles for quite some time. It was from your recommendation that I bought Vitev ALKALINE WATER IONIZERS back then. Currently we are still using the same system at home. I am wondering what we should do now. Continue using it ? Is it really necessary to switch to Brilliantz that you recommend now ? I would appreciate if you can give me your advise. Thank you very much.
Hi Elane:
Vitev has never sold water ionizers to the best of my knowledge. They have and continue to sell natural water filter systems whereby water flows through a canister of component materials. If the item that you bought contains magnesium (it probably does) as one of the components, your filter system will be generating some H2 as long as you clean the magnesium with a weak acid on a regular basis.
The Brilliantz hydrogen machines and tablets create more H2 and on a far more consistent basis that the Vitev products, but I wouldn’t spend the money to upgrade as you are probably getting H2 from your Vitev product.
Thanks for the great information. Do you receive financial compensation of any kind from Brilliantz?
Hi Kevin:
Brilliantz should be paying me for all the referrals they get from me but I don’t receive any compensation.
I enrolled with the company as an Affiliate a year or so ago so that readers could get a discount using my Affiliate code, but the company discontinued the program as they now sell directly to the public at wholesale prices. According to the company, their sales are up about 500% since they made the switch so I guess consumers like the change.
Your first sentence is the best. Here is a footnote in one of Tyler’s studies:
“..the SD501 was able to produce a supersaturated hydrogen gas solution (2.0 ppm)…”
Please stop attacking Kangen water units. Also the enhancer that is used to boost the strong acidic and alkaline waters the unit also makes (a $2000 added value your unit doesn’t make) is for sanitizing and cleaning plus topical skin ailments only. Stop telling people it’s a chemical that goes in the drinking water. That is a lie.
Of course we drink the water fresh from the machine within 30 seconds to capture all the H2 but there is more to it than H2. There are 5 qualities to Kangen water and it is powerful water. I spent 5 years trying the other units on the market and even criticized Kangen water with another company I worked for before those units began to stop working after 3-5 years. Then, after 5 years I finally followed my friends advice and tried the Kangen water. That is when I realized the other units had weak water. I had never felt the water from the other units until Kangen. So don’t say this is some placebo effect. You embarrass yourself when you say foolish marketing things you hear from the sly marketers attacking Kangen to a public that believes you. Stop misleading the public! People are dying because of both ignorant and sly foxes out there making false statements.
With all 7 levels of functional water the unit makes, it’s a great life changing deal at the price and only $44/mo to start with zero down. My entire family is better now and it saved my 87 year old mother. There are literally 1000’s of testimonials from around the world for over 40 years on Kangen water and the units last an average of 20-30 years.
Hi Aaron:
The cost for the parts in the top-of-the-line Kangen units cost approximately $160. When you add in the labor/shipping/corporate overhead and profit, the cost of the units landed in the USA is about $500. It doesn’t matter what marketing hype you dredge up, the Kangen units are massively over priced.
I have talked with Tyler extensively about the Kangen units. It is safe to say that while the Kangen units may be capable of producing up to 2 ppm, most of the units that have been sold over time produce 0.5 ppm or less at this time. While Kangen water ionizers and other ionizer brands can produce lots of H2 if their plates are not scaled up, they don’t have a mechanism to place the H2 into solution so most if not all of the H2 gets lost before the Kangen customers drink the water.
The new H2 generation tablets on the market actually produce about 8ppm of supersaturated H2 solution which is 8x to 16x more than the Kangen machines actually produce. The tablets also provide healthy levels of highly bio-available magnesium, which is very important for health. Kangen doesn’t produce any Mg.
A one month supply of the H2 tablets typically sell for $60, or $40 for auto-ship, which equates to $480 per year. The Kangen filters cost approximately half that amount each year and they are lousy filters. Therefore, if you buy a Kangen unit for $5,000, it takes about 20 years for a Kangen user to recapture the cost of their unit versus buying tablets and that doesn’t include the opportunity cost on the $5,000.
So, what the Kangen customers get is a massively over-priced machine that is incredibly inferior to the H2 tablets when it comes to providing H2 and Mg.
I’m sure that Kangen customers take comfort in knowing that they are helping the career of a family member or friend even if they are paying 10x what the machine is actually worth for an inferior product. You must be so proud.