Recently, I was introduced to Kangen water by a close friend of my father. Kangen water is alkalized water produced from a water ionizing machine made by a company named Enagic. The term Kangen is basically a Japanese word meaning “returning to source / origin.” There are other companies who sell water ionizers but Enagic is the company that offers the highest quality product. So high, that the Japanese approved its use as a medical device.

At first, I was highly skeptical about the water because the company Enagic sells the device through representatives via a multi-level marketing format. That fact immediately made me doubtful on the worthiness of the product. Yet, I knew my dad’s friend, John, was a very honest and caring friend so I allowed him to supply with me additional information regarding Kangen water. Basically the Enagic water ionizer is a machine that ionizes the water and has the ability to make the ph balance of the water alkaline through the process electrolysis. The resulting alkaline water is water that has smaller water molecules which makes the water easier to absorb by the cells in the body – essentially making it‘wetter’ water. In addition, the alkaline water helps to reduce the acidity of the body which is beneficial as most chronic diseases dwell in acidic environments. Other positive attributes of the water is its high antioxidant value, purity, and its ability to address a number of chronic ailments such as diabetes, allergies, bowel problems, and more. This was all the information that John gave me at the time. It all seemed quite impressive that it sounded to good to be true. Later that evening I went home to research the alkaline water claims on the Internet and found a site that from the famous natural physician, Dr. Weil who stated that the alkaline water hype was baloney. That was all that was needed for the natural skeptic in me to immediately stop my interest in this ‘miracle’ water. John continued to extol the virtues of the water to my family members, while supplying them with the water month after month. I just ignored any conversation about the water from then and politely declined when offered more water.

About six months later which is now present time, the topic of Kangen water came up again after I suffered from a medical condition relapse. It would take a while to accurately describe my multiple symptoms but basically my well-being is extremely low and one of problematic symptom is my inability to take much fluid as I get too nauseous from them. Again, my father and grandmother prompted me to try the water as they were very concerned for health. Eventually, without much thought or expectations I tried the water and too my surprise it didn’t make me nauseous and within minutes I somehow just felt ‘better’. Being more of a natural pessimist and not easily susceptible to placebo affects, I was encouraged by this event. I have never believed much in natural cures, etc. and have always preferred real western medication so my biases definitely did not affect my reaction to the water. I have now been taking the water for about three weeks and while I wouldn’t call it a miracle cure, I definitely would say that I have felt progressively better which has enticed me to further research the water.

So again, I searched the Internet for information though this time looking also at positive reviews of the water instead of solely negative. I was quite amazed to have found a lot of positive remarks about alkaline water from sources other than customer testimonials – from sources from medical physicians, university research labs, and medical journals. A particularly convincing source of information came from a famed Japanese gastroenterologist, Dr. Hiromi Shinya. Dr. Shinya was an instrumental figure in the development of modern colonoscopy procedures. As a result, "many and probably most of the fundamental principles of the procedure [colonoscopy] were developed by Dr. Shinya" (Sivak 2004, p. 978). Performing over 300,000 colonoscopies, Dr. Shinya noted a link between intestinal health and disease. He routinely prescribes an alkaline diet and alkaline water resulting in astonishing improvements in health. This YouTube video,
of actual colonoscopic procedures show before and after views of colons that have showed dramatic improvement after a three month trial of an alkaline diet along with Kangen water. I found this proof convincing because Dr. Shinya is a well-renowned physician with no vested interests in the Enagic company yet he highly recommends Kangen water and offers convincing proof of real life colonoscopies.

In regard to the claims against the efficacy of alkaline water, since I have no background in neither medical nor scientific studies, I cannot confirm or dispute the claims. Also due to the scope of this paper, it would not be possible to compile an adequate amount of clinical research support to afford a definitive stand on the issue. I could however, give my personal opinion and experience with alkaline water and provide some evidence that provides ample evidence proving that alkaline water can be very effective for many health conditions. The strongest evidence is the fact that the very stringent Japan Ministry of Health and Welfare approved the Enagic brand alkaline water ionizer for use in medical facilities throughout the Japan. They state that alkaline ionized water (AIW) produced by this equipment is known to be effective against gastrointestinal fermentation, chronic diarrhea, indigestion and hyperchylia as well as for controlling gastric acid. Official Pharmaceutical Guidelines of Japan, Vol. IT' by Japan Public Documents Association, Hirokawa PublIshin Co., 1996.

- Jennifer Tsukamoto