This Kangen water review is an opinion piece.
When I first published a post about Kangen a few years back, I immediately got a flood of evil, angry messages from Kangen salespeople and devotees (but mostly salespeople). Most of them wanted to tell me how wrong I was, and that their uncle/mother/neighbor/whoever cured their cancer/can now walk/healed their autoimmune disease with Kangen water from their Kangen water machine.
People in my comments have said that Kangen water has prevented them from getting the flu for 10 years, and has cured their friends of AIDS and cancer.
A lot of them sound like this:
Have u ever tested the water??
Gave u ever drunk the water ?
How dare you give your opinion about something that u have not even tried
Do u know how many people are drinking the water and the water helped them to heal themselves from cancer even and many other illnesses
This is a medical device and approved by over 7000 doctors
So. Test the water before u waste your time to write no true articles
That’s all fine, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
But what everyone is NOT entitled to, is their own science. And in my opinion, Kangen water salespeople and users have really lost sight of that fact.
Let’s talk about Kangen, water, and science.
What is Kangen Water?
Kangen water machines are produced by a company called Enagic. These machines change the pH of water by running it across metal plates in a process called ‘electrolysis.’ The company can then say that their water is ‘ionized’ and ‘alkaline.’
The machines are very expensive – like thousands of dollars. And the claims that are made about them seemingly justify the cost of a Kangen machine. Seemingly.
Kangen water claims
Proponents and Kangen salespeople say that Kangen water hydrates our bodies better than normal water, and can improve health, detoxify, and keep us younger for longer. They say it can make our hair thicker and help us sleep better.
They also believe that Kangen and other ionized waters are antioxidants, which can help prevent and heal disease. That’s a huge claim, especially when we’re talking about water…and incurable illnesses that make people desperate and vulnerable while looking for some sort of cure.
Without a doubt, Japan has contributed a ton of incredible things to the world. Groundbreaking electronics, beautiful ceramics, martial arts, the best chef’s knives ever, and even general anesthesia was developed by a Japanese scientist.
With Kangen, Japan has created a water purifier and ionizer with a cult following.
But one thing the country hasn’t done is change human physiology. This is an important consideration when you’re looking at the efficacy of Kangen water in doing everything people claim it does: physiology, especially our acid-base system, isn’t up for grabs.
It is what it is, and ultimately, we need to work within its confines.
What is pH?
Acidity and alkalinity, or pH, are measured on a scale of 0-14.
The pH of pure water is 7, and Canadian tap water is between 7-10.5. Tap water in the US is probably around the same.
Types of Kangen water
Kangen water machines produce 5 different ‘types’ of water, aka pH options:
Strong Kangen water
Strong Kangen water has a pH of 11 (very alkaline), and isn’t meant for drinking.
According to the company, this water type is best for food prep (‘removing the rawness from vegetables’) and cleaning.
Kangen water
Kangen water has a pH of 8.5-9.5. Kangen’s claim about this water type is that “this electrolytically-reduced, hydrogen-rich water works to restore your body to a more alkaline state, which is optimal for good health.”
Clean water
Clean water has a pH of 7.0, which is neutral and ‘easily absorbed by your body’ (their claim, not mine).
Kangen says this water is best for making baby food and taking medication.
Beauty water
Beauty water has a pH of 4.0-6.0. Apparently, “this slightly acidic water is recognized for its astringent effects. It’s terrific to use for gentle cleaning and beauty care.”
Strong acidic water
Strong acidic water, with a pH of 2.7, is for disinfecting.
According to Kangen, “This water has disinfecting properties. Use Strong Acidic Water to sanitize kitchen utensils, countertops, and more to prevent cross-contamination.”
Let’s use hospitals as an example here. These facilities have strict infection control standards and disinfection of all surfaces in a hospital is essential. As someone who has worked in hospitals in both the US and Canada, I will say that I’ve never even once seen a facility using acidic water to disinfect anything.
Is Kangen water healthy?
I have a lot to say about all of this.
Let’s start with the alkaline water and health theory, which, I’m sorry to tell you, is total garbage. But unfortunately for them, much of the Kangen water machine sales pitch depends on the hypothesis that alkaline water can promote health.
Although some Kangen reps will tell you that there are numerous studies that prove the benefits of consuming alkalized water for health, this is false. A lot of Kangen salespeople have sent me the same couple of Japanese studies about ionized water. So yeah, I’ve seen those, and if you’re a Kangen rep reading this, those studies aren’t convincing. So no, I don’t need to read them again.
In an interaction I had with a Kangen salesperson, they directed me to ‘check Google’ for such studies, which is a sure indication that
1. the studies don’t exist and
2. the person has zero clues about science.
If you’re going to sell something that you claim is backed up by research, the onus is on you to produce said research upon request. Telling me to look the studies up for myself is a huge red flag.
Current studies about alkalized water are small and unconvincing, but I guess if you can’t interpret research or don’t bother to look at it in the first place, you might believe someone’s claims that ‘good research exists’ about a product.
Don’t make that mistake!
Do we need alkaline water to detox or balance our bodies?
No!
Human physiology is a wonderful thing, involving complex processes to ensure homeostasis within our bodies.
Balancing pH is one of those processes, which is done entirely by the kidneys and lungs and has ZERO TO DO WITH WHAT YOU EAT, OR WITH KANGEN WATER!!
OMG do I need to say it one more time for those of you in the back?
YOU CAN NOT CONTROL THE pH OF YOUR BODY WITH FOOD OR WATER!!
Our blood is tightly controlled at a 7.4 pH. Period.
A lot of alkaline water pushers will argue about say that a poor diet can cause ‘systemic acidosis,’ which is another crazy scare tactic that I absolutely can’t stand.
Systemic – or metabolic – acidosis will put you into the ICU, and is not caused by eating ‘acidic’ foods.
Here are the most common causes of metabolic acidosis:
Ketoacidosis from diabetes type 1.
Kidney failure.
Excess lactic acid buildup due to shock.
Fistulas and other conditions causes GI losses.
Notice that you don’t see, ‘eating acidic food’ on the list. That’s because the concept of ‘systemic acidosis’ in terms of acid-alkaline diets is completely made up.
If you could control your body’s pH by what you eat, we’d all be dead by now. Having an unbalanced body pH is NOT causing all sorts of horrible diseases, because nobody is walking around just living their life in that situation. They’re in the hospital being treated…and not with ionized water.
The important points of acid-base balance are simple, and there’s no excuse to ignore or not understand them just to make a buck.
There is also no science behind the claim that alkaline water is better absorbed and that it hydrates ‘on a cellular level’ better than ordinary water. ‘On a cellular level’? Just marketing nonsense.
Everything we do affects us on a cellular level, because WE ARE MADE OF CELLS.
Normal water out of your tap does a great job of hydrating us, or we’d all be walking around dehydrated.
Can Acidic Water Disinfect or Sanitize Surfaces?
Another misleading claim that Enagic makes is that Kangen ‘acidic’ water can disinfect and sanitize surfaces.
This is not only impossible, it’s also really dangerous.
Let’s put it this way: Kangen’s ‘strong acidic water’ is a pH of 2.7. To put that figure into real-world terms, lemon juice has a pH of 2, and orange juice’s pH is 3.
So, Kangen’s ‘strong acidic water’ is somewhere between lemon and orange juice in its acidity.
Would you use lemon or orange juice to disinfect a contaminated countertop?
I dare you to spill raw chicken juice onto your kitchen counter, wipe it with lemon juice, then make a salad on the same countertop.
Don’t want to do it, right? Why not?
BECAUSE 2.7 pH DOESN’T DISINFECT ANYTHING, AND TELLING PEOPLE THAT IT DOES IS COMPLETELY NEGLIGENT.
And here we have Kangen’s site actually saying, “Beauty salons, hair salons, restaurants, agricultural colleges, daycare centers, pet shops, and nursing homes all benefit greatly from the use of Strong Acidic Water.
Daycare centres and nursing homes? I think just making this claim should be illegal. Please do not use water of any type to clean contaminated surfaces.
And while I’m at it, Kangen water is not an antioxidant. That doesn’t even make sense.
Kangen users post all sorts of crazy fear-mongering trash online, like the following:
The common denominator in all of these is that they’re all fear-based, talking about toxins, government conspiracies, and chemophobia. None of these marketing tactics are ethical or helpful.
Mixing meat and starch is safe (although not surprising that someone with an alkaline diet social feed would make this claim), and that is NOT colon cancer in that disgusting photo.
Also: Kangen water doesn’t cure cancer. No food or beverage does. If they did, cancer wouldn’t exist.
There’s nothing about Kangen water that’s going to help your hair, your sleep, your disease risk, your skin, or anything else, more than regular water.
Despite their ‘toxic’ claims, tap water isn’t poison. It’s highly regulated, and anyone who tells you otherwise is probably using fear tactics to try and sell you something….like a $5000 Kangen water ionizer that does absolutely nothing.
Oh, did I mention that Kangen is an MLM company? That’s not shocking in the least.
Kangen Water Review in Short
If you want filtered water, Kangen water machines can do that for you. But you can get cheaper water filters and NOT buy into the Kangen grift.
The health claims made by both Enagic and its users about acid and alkaline water do not appear to be accurate, and there is no convincing research on the benefits of ionized water.
The use of fear tactics to sell a product is never okay, and the spreading of untruths about physiology and ‘research’ isn’t either.
The entire alkaline/ionic water grift needs to go away now.