Alkaline Water
26/4/19
In 2013, Beyonce demanded alkaline water as part of her rider and this kickstarted a fad that is still growing. The marketing gimmick is to take water (with a pH of around 7) and make it more alkaline (around 8-9 depending on the product) and sell it. The market has gone from zero to almost $1bn in this time. The current Rangers FC manager and former Liverpool FC star Steven Gerrard endorses one such product, called Angel Revive Water, which is produced on an industrial estate in St Helens.
The reasons given why you should drink this - over perfectly good tap water - is that it helps reduce your body's pH from the harm caused by eating acidic foods such as meat and dairy. However there is no good evidence that it does anything of these things. Your body is quite capable of managing your pH levels, it is why your urine is acidic.At best you are making your urine less acidic and your bank balance less full.
Alkaline water is part of a larger trend in different water products such as oxygenated water and raw water. They are essentially all marketing inventions with wild and often contradictory health claims. Clean drinking water is produced with great skill, effort and money for almost all of us literally on tap. You'd make the world a better place taking the money you waste on expensive urine and donating it to a charity helping people who don't have this luxury such as Water Aid.