The Anti-Aging Secrets of Ionized Water

We cannot stop getting older, but can we arrest the aging process, says author Yinka Thomas, creator of the “No Nips, No Tucks” anti-aging program. “Getting older is natural and inevitable,” she writes. “Aging is not. Scientific study has now shown us that aging can be prevented. It is a choice.”

Getting older relates to the passage of time, while aging relates to the degeneration of cells. Aging is not just a matter of gray hair or wrinkles on the surface of the body.

The same kinds of changes occur inside the body. Muscles atrophy, organs shrink, and bones weaken. The body becomes more susceptible to diseases and injuries, leading to a deterioration in the quality of life, the loss of independence, and dependency on others.

The culprit is not time. It is the constant assault on bodily tissues by organic acids and free radicals. These molecules are very unstable and react rapidly and non-specifically with most biological molecules, including cellular components such as DNA, proteins and lipids. This reaction is known as oxidation. The oxidation caused by free radicals has been linked to many diseases, including cancer, arthritis, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and diabetes.

The body controls free radicals through a complex network of antioxidant metabolites and enzymes that work together to prevent oxidative damage. Antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, and E often carry an oxygen molecule with an extra electron, or ion, attached. The extra ion gives the oxygen molecule a negative charge. The negatively charged antioxidants are attracted to the positively charged free radicals. When they meet, the antioxidants and the free radicals bond, preventing the free radicals from causing further oxidation reactions. When free radicals are controlled, tissue breakdown slows or stops. “Changes in your lifestyle will slow, stop and even reverse the ageing process,” writes Thomas. “If we implement these changes, we will stay strong, energized and youthful as we get older.”

One of the changes Thomas recommends is drinking ionized water. By delivering an electrical charge to regular tap water, a water ionizer divides water into two streams: alkaline for drinking and acidic for topical applications, such as washing the face and hair. Like antioxidant vitamins, the alkaline water molecules have an abundance of negatively charged ions. Once swallowed and absorbed into the system, these negatively charged molecules are attracted to the positively charged free radicals. When the two meet, they exchange electrons and bond. This action neutralizes the free radicals and prevents them from causing the kind of cellular damage that leads to aging.